Cost of living comparison

Thailand

compared to

United States

Iowa City vs. Nakhon Ratchasima Cost of Living Summary

Iowa City is 2.5 times more expensive than Nakhon Ratchasima.

Restaurants: pay 3.3 times more in Iowa City
Groceries: pay 50.0% more in Iowa City
Transportation: pay 14.6% less in Iowa City
Housing: pay 5.4 times more in Iowa City
Childcare: pay 3.4 times more in Iowa City
Entertainment and Sports: pay 2.2 times more in Iowa City
Clothing: pay 48.5% more in Iowa City

The cost of housing, childcare, restaurants, entertainment and sports, groceries, and clothing in Iowa City are more expensive than in Nakhon Ratchasima. Notably, housing, childcare, and restaurants are significantly more expensive in Iowa City.

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Iowa City vs. Nakhon Ratchasima Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Iowa City instead of Nakhon Ratchasima, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 3.3 times more for restaurants

	Nakhon Ratchasima	Iowa City
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$2.90 THB97.22	$14.00	+383.3%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$6.08 THB203.92	$9.00	+48.1%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.55 THB18.45	$2.83	+415.5%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.31 THB10.30	$2.19	+612.6%
Average			+234.3%

Nakhon Ratchasima vs. Iowa City - Cost of restaurants

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pay 50.0% more for groceries

	Nakhon Ratchasima	Iowa City
Bread 1 loaf	$1.24 THB41.53	$2.71	+119.1%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$7.69 THB258.28	$4.65	-39.5%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.16 THB206.67	$3.02	-51.0%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.48 THB49.78	$3.51	+136.7%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.18 THB39.75	$4.77	+302.8%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.44 THB48.25	$1.52	+5.7%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.56 THB18.81	$0.54	-3.6%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.85 THB28.67	$1.24	+45.2%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.87 THB29.23	$2.20	+152.9%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.55 THB18.49	$0.92	+66.1%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.48 THB16.12	$1.08	+125.6%
Average			+50.0%

Nakhon Ratchasima vs. Iowa City - Cost of groceries

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pay 14.6% less for transportation

	Nakhon Ratchasima	Iowa City
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.18 THB173.76	$3.83	-26.1%
Monthly public transit pass	$19.31 THB648.16	$16.00	-17.1%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$45,632.12 THB2M	$35,473.37	-22.3%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$9.83 THB330.06	$20.00	+103.4%
Average			-14.6%

Nakhon Ratchasima vs. Iowa City - Cost of transportation

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pay 5.4 times more for housing

	Nakhon Ratchasima	Iowa City
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$19.00 THB637.82	$82.25	+332.8%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$218.51 THB7,334.31	$1,199.75	+449.1%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$159.03 THB5,337.82	$1,075.75	+576.5%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$66.94 THB2,246.96	$206.36	+208.3%
Average			+440.9%

Nakhon Ratchasima vs. Iowa City - Cost of housing

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pay 3.4 times more for childcare

	Nakhon Ratchasima	Iowa City
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$178.25 THB5,983.03	$1,266.67	+610.6%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$14,270.93 THB479K	$23,429.75	+64.2%
Average			+241.6%

Nakhon Ratchasima vs. Iowa City - Cost of childcare

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pay 2.2 times more for entertainment and sports

	Nakhon Ratchasima	Iowa City
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.78 THB59.83	$5.00	+180.5%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$1.93 THB64.82	$5.67	+193.5%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.82 THB94.73	$8.89	+215.0%
Monthly membership at local gym	$47.01 THB1,578.02	$49.33	+4.9%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$4.75 THB159.55	$13.50	+184.0%
Average			+124.6%

Nakhon Ratchasima vs. Iowa City - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 48.5% more for clothing

	Nakhon Ratchasima	Iowa City
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$50.55 THB1,696.59	$64.22	+27.1%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$29.23 THB980.98	$50.56	+73.0%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$77.24 THB2,592.65	$100.00	+29.5%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$67.34 THB2,260.25	$115.00	+70.8%
Average			+48.5%

Nakhon Ratchasima vs. Iowa City - 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 November 2026). How we calculate this

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