Cost of living comparison

compared to

Iowa vs. Mali Cost of Living Summary

Iowa is 2.5 times more expensive than Mali overall.

Restaurants
pay 2.6 times more in Iowa
Groceries
pay 16.3% more in Iowa
Transportation
pay 31.6% less in Iowa
Housing
pay 4.8 times more in Iowa
Entertainment and Sports
pay 3.4 times more in Iowa

The cost of housing, entertainment and sports, restaurants, and groceries in Iowa are more expensive than in Mali. Notably, housing, entertainment and sports, and restaurants are significantly more expensive in Iowa.

Iowa vs. Mali Cost Breakdown

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

pay 2.6 times more for restaurants

 
Mali
Iowa
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $6.70
F CFA3,747
$15.83
 
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$6.42
F CFA3,590
$10.57
 
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $0.77
F CFA432
$2.46
 

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pay 16.3% more for groceries

 
Mali
Iowa
Bread
1 loaf
$3.84
F CFA2,145
$2.77
 
Local cheese (8 oz) $8.91
F CFA4,979
$5.89
 
Milk (1 gallon) $8.86
F CFA4,951
$3.33
 

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pay 31.6% less for transportation

 
Mali
Iowa
Gasoline (1 gallon) $4.41
F CFA2,466
$3.02
 
Monthly public transit pass ?? $38.07
 
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) ?? $28,093.10
 

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pay 4.8 times more for housing

 
Mali
Iowa
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$57.51
F CFA32,142
$65.62
 
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $175.00
F CFA97,804
$1,069.66
 
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $80.00
F CFA44,710
$852.78
 

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pay (unknown) more for childcare

 
Mali
Iowa
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly ?? $1,152.45
 
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters ?? $18,898.50
 

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pay 3.4 times more for entertainment and sports

 
Mali
Iowa
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $2.39
F CFA1,334
$4.44
 
Cappuccino in mid-range area $1.89
F CFA1,056
$5.43
 
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$0.93
F CFA522
$8.55
 

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pay (unknown) more for clothing

 
Mali
Iowa
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
?? $55.34
 
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
?? $41.65
 
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
?? $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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