Cost of living comparison
compared to
Iowa vs. Italy Cost of Living Summary
Iowa is 22.5% more expensive than Italy overall.
- Restaurants
-
pay 1.5% less in Iowa
- Groceries
-
pay 13.2% more in Iowa
- Transportation
-
pay 29.4% less in Iowa
- Housing
-
pay 45.5% more in Iowa
- Childcare
-
pay 2.0 times more in Iowa
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 44.0% more in Iowa
- Clothing
-
pay 16.3% less in Iowa
The cost of childcare, housing, entertainment and sports, and groceries in Iowa are more expensive than in Italy. Expenses including transportation, clothing, and restaurants are lower in Iowa. Notably, childcare is significantly more expensive in Iowa.
Iowa vs. Italy Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Iowa instead of Italy, you would:
pay 1.5% less for restaurants
|
Italy
|
Iowa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$18.50
€15.95
|
$15.83
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$11.64
€10.03
|
$10.57
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.93
€2.52
|
$2.46
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.36
€1.18
|
$1.82
|
|
Italy vs. Iowa - Cost of restaurants
pay 13.2% more for groceries
|
Italy
|
Iowa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$2.30
€1.98
|
$2.77
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$8.02
€6.92
|
$5.89
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$6.00
€5.17
|
$3.33
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$3.93
€3.39
|
$3.30
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$5.46
€4.71
|
$4.57
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.07
€0.93
|
$1.96
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.94
€0.81
|
$0.65
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.17
€1.01
|
$1.93
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.46
€1.26
|
$1.93
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.86
€0.74
|
$0.99
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.80
€0.69
|
$1.30
|
|
Italy vs. Iowa - Cost of groceries
pay 29.4% less for transportation
|
Italy
|
Iowa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$7.83
€6.75
|
$3.02
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$44.40
€38.29
|
$38.07
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$32,732.41
€28,226.04
|
$28,093.10
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$21.32
€18.39
|
$15.46
|
|
Italy vs. Iowa - Cost of transportation
pay 45.5% more for housing
|
Italy
|
Iowa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$31.45
€27.12
|
$65.62
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$740.98
€638.97
|
$1,069.66
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$575.41
€496.19
|
$852.78
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$164.94
€142.23
|
$133.13
|
|
Italy vs. Iowa - Cost of housing
pay 2.0 times more for childcare
|
Italy
|
Iowa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$547.22
€471.89
|
$1,152.45
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$9,750.16
€8,407.82
|
$18,898.50
|
|
Italy vs. Iowa - Cost of childcare
pay 44.0% more for entertainment and sports
|
Italy
|
Iowa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$5.73
€4.94
|
$4.44
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$1.95
€1.68
|
$5.43
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$6.86
€5.92
|
$8.55
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$57.21
€49.33
|
$63.76
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$10.59
€9.14
|
$13.58
|
|
Italy vs. Iowa - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 16.3% less for clothing
|
Italy
|
Iowa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$86.36
€74.47
|
$55.34
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$39.95
€34.45
|
$41.65
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$97.77
€84.31
|
$81.56
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$128.92
€111.17
|
$106.86
|
|
Italy vs. Iowa - Cost of clothing
The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you.
We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world.
Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: December 2025
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