Cost of living comparison

compared to

Iowa vs. Macau Cost of Living Summary

Iowa is 27.5% more expensive than Macau overall.

Restaurants
pay 2.4 times more in Iowa
Groceries
pay 4.6% less in Iowa
Transportation
pay 4.3% more in Iowa
Housing
pay 25.3% more in Iowa
Childcare
pay 33.2% more in Iowa
Entertainment and Sports
pay 0.5% more in Iowa
Clothing
pay 9.4% less in Iowa

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

Iowa vs. Macau Cost Breakdown

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

pay 2.4 times more for restaurants

 
Macau
Iowa
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $6.24
MOP49.95
$15.83
 
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$6.33
MOP50.70
$10.57
 
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $1.04
MOP8.34
$2.46
 

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pay 4.6% less for groceries

 
Macau
Iowa
Bread
1 loaf
$1.67
MOP13.39
$2.77
 
Local cheese (8 oz) $8.77
MOP70.21
$5.89
 
Milk (1 gallon) $11.42
MOP91.39
$3.33
 

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pay 4.3% more for transportation

 
Macau
Iowa
Gasoline (1 gallon) $6.88
MOP55.07
$3.02
 
Monthly public transit pass $22.46
MOP179.82
$38.07
 
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $31,195.80
MOP249,754.99
$28,093.10
 

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pay 25.3% more for housing

 
Macau
Iowa
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$36.81
MOP294.71
$65.62
 
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $1,064.40
MOP8,521.64
$1,069.66
 
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $1,056.50
MOP8,458.37
$852.78
 

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pay 33.2% more for childcare

 
Macau
Iowa
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $686.31
MOP5,494.61
$1,152.45
 
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $19,181.71
MOP153,569.65
$18,898.50
 

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pay 0.5% more for entertainment and sports

 
Macau
Iowa
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $5.80
MOP46.45
$4.44
 
Cappuccino in mid-range area $4.91
MOP39.27
$5.43
 
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$6.24
MOP49.95
$8.55
 

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pay 9.4% less for clothing

 
Macau
Iowa
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$70.13
MOP561.45
$55.34
 
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$34.52
MOP276.40
$41.65
 
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$96.08
MOP769.25
$81.56
 

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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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