Cost of living comparison

Ukraine

compared to

United States

Des Moines vs. Kiev Cost of Living Summary

Des Moines is 91.1% more expensive than Kiev.

Restaurants: pay 2.0 times more in Des Moines
Groceries: pay 99.6% more in Des Moines
Transportation: pay 39.2% more in Des Moines
Housing: pay 2.3 times more in Des Moines
Childcare: pay 50.3% more in Des Moines
Entertainment and Sports: pay 2.7 times more in Des Moines
Clothing: pay 3.7% more in Des Moines

The cost of entertainment and sports, housing, restaurants, groceries, childcare, and transportation in Des Moines are more expensive than in Kiev. Notably, entertainment and sports, housing, and restaurants are significantly more expensive in Des Moines.

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Des Moines vs. Kiev Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Des Moines instead of Kiev, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 2.0 times more for restaurants

	Kiev	Des Moines
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$11.14 UAH501.88	$20.00	+79.5%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$7.80 UAH351.31	$12.00	+53.8%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.80 UAH36.01	$3.00	+275.2%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.57 UAH25.67	$2.49	+336.7%
Average			+100.1%

Kiev vs. Des Moines - Cost of restaurants

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pay 99.6% more for groceries

	Kiev	Des Moines
Bread 1 loaf	$0.88 UAH39.43	$2.95	+236.8%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.12 UAH230.76	$4.77	-6.8%
Milk (1 gallon)	$5.04 UAH226.99	$3.38	-33.0%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.02 UAH91.04	$3.93	+94.4%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.41 UAH108.49	$4.39	+82.1%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.55 UAH24.92	$2.01	+263.8%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.71 UAH32.01	$0.70	-2.0%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.84 UAH38.01	$2.01	+138.4%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.27 UAH57.11	$1.70	+34.1%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.28 UAH12.77	$1.43	+403.9%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.21 UAH9.56	$1.00	+368.7%
Average			+99.6%

Kiev vs. Des Moines - Cost of groceries

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pay 39.2% more for transportation

	Kiev	Des Moines
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$6.69 UAH301.35	$3.71	-44.6%
Monthly public transit pass	$11.14 UAH501.88	$58.00	+420.5%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$29,407.28 UAH1M	$35,052.00	+19.2%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$5.79 UAH260.98	$11.94	+106.1%
Average			+39.2%

Kiev vs. Des Moines - Cost of transportation

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pay 2.3 times more for housing

	Kiev	Des Moines
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$6.61 UAH297.83	$71.15	+975.9%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$632.91 UAH28,506.61	$1,161.80	+83.6%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$343.71 UAH15,480.97	$864.75	+151.6%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$76.57 UAH3,448.79	$143.28	+87.1%
Average			+128.1%

Kiev vs. Des Moines - Cost of housing

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pay 50.3% more for childcare

	Kiev	Des Moines
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$411.05 UAH18,513.68	$1,183.50	+187.9%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$15,064.36 UAH679K	$11,812.00	-21.6%
Average			+50.3%

Kiev vs. Des Moines - Cost of childcare

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pay 2.7 times more for entertainment and sports

	Kiev	Des Moines
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.34 UAH60.23	$5.00	+273.9%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$1.70 UAH76.65	$6.00	+252.6%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.45 UAH155.58	$8.03	+132.5%
Monthly membership at local gym	$36.41 UAH1,640.09	$63.75	+75.1%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$5.57 UAH250.94	$15.00	+169.2%
Average			+168.5%

Kiev vs. Des Moines - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 3.7% more for clothing

	Kiev	Des Moines
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$74.25 UAH3,344.32	$60.68	-18.3%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$39.74 UAH1,790.03	$43.33	+9.0%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$96.27 UAH4,336.22	$103.00	+7.0%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$120.00 UAH5,404.83	$145.78	+21.5%
Average			+3.7%

Kiev vs. Des Moines - Cost of clothing

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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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