Cost of living comparison

compared to

Iowa vs. Ireland Cost of Living Summary

Iowa is 17.5% cheaper than Ireland overall.

Restaurants
pay 10.3% less in Iowa
Groceries
pay 5.6% more in Iowa
Transportation
pay 46.4% less in Iowa
Housing
pay 26.1% less in Iowa
Childcare
pay 67.1% more in Iowa
Entertainment and Sports
pay 7.6% less in Iowa
Clothing
pay 15.5% less in Iowa

The cost of childcare and groceries in Iowa are more expensive than in Ireland. Expenses including transportation, housing, clothing, restaurants, and entertainment and sports are lower in Iowa.

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Iowa vs. Ireland Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Iowa instead of Ireland, you would:

pay 10.3% less for restaurants

 
Ireland
Iowa
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $19.96
€17.77
$17.44
 
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
 $12.14
€10.81
$10.71
 
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $2.67
€2.38
$2.66
 
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pay 5.6% more for groceries

 
Ireland
Iowa
Bread
1 loaf
 $2.02
€1.79
$2.86
 
Local cheese (8 oz) $5.34
€4.75
$5.29
 
Milk (1 gallon) $5.82
€5.18
$3.19
 
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pay 46.4% less for transportation

 
Ireland
Iowa
Gasoline (1 gallon) $7.65
€6.81
$3.52
 
Monthly public transit pass $110.44
€98.30
$34.83
 
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $38,078.30
€33,891.06
$32,592.26
 
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pay 26.1% less for housing

 
Ireland
Iowa
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
 $49.31
€43.89
$67.97
 
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $1,521.74
€1,354.40
$1,095.70
 
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $1,279.42
€1,138.73
$867.32
 
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pay 67.1% more for childcare

 
Ireland
Iowa
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $1,010.73
€899.58
$1,080.37
 
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $7,428.18
€6,611.35
$19,409.87
 
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pay 7.6% less for entertainment and sports

 
Ireland
Iowa
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $6.56
€5.84
$4.61
 
Cappuccino in mid-range area $4.23
€3.77
$5.52
 
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
 $19.61
€17.45
$9.16
 
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pay 15.5% less for clothing

 
Ireland
Iowa
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
 $88.92
€79.14
$51.95
 
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
 $41.00
€36.49
$38.14
 
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
 $96.60
€85.97
$88.30
 
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We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated October 2026). How we calculate this

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Compare further: Ireland vs. Iowa

Salary Calculator · Free tool
What salary would you need in Iowa?
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Quality of Life Comparison · 4 statistics
Make 51.6% less money in Iowa
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Size Comparison · See true size
Ireland is about 2.1 times smaller than Iowa.
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Moving from Ireland to Iowa · Cost, visas & climate
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City Size Comparison · See true size
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→
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