Cost of living comparison
compared to
Iowa vs. Oakland Cost of Living Summary
Iowa is 30.2% cheaper than Oakland.
- Restaurants
-
pay 28.7% less in Iowa
- Groceries
-
pay 38.4% less in Iowa
- Transportation
-
pay 26.6% less in Iowa
- Housing
-
pay 32.2% less in Iowa
- Childcare
-
pay 54.0% less in Iowa
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 10.7% less in Iowa
- Clothing
-
pay 21.1% less in Iowa
Expenses including childcare, groceries, housing, restaurants, transportation, and clothing are lower in Iowa.
Iowa vs. Oakland Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Iowa instead of Oakland, you would:
pay 28.7% less for restaurants
|
Oakland
|
Iowa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$30.00
|
$15.83
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$15.00
|
$10.57
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.93
|
$2.46
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.33
|
$1.82
|
|
Oakland vs. Iowa - Cost of restaurants
pay 38.4% less for groceries
|
Oakland
|
Iowa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$5.27
|
$2.77
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$10.35
|
$5.89
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$5.46
|
$3.33
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$6.50
|
$3.30
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$6.75
|
$4.57
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$3.53
|
$1.96
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.00
|
$0.65
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.90
|
$1.93
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.80
|
$1.93
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$2.04
|
$0.99
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.55
|
$1.30
|
|
Oakland vs. Iowa - Cost of groceries
pay 26.6% less for transportation
|
Oakland
|
Iowa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.79
|
$3.02
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$85.00
|
$38.07
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$23,894.01
|
$28,093.10
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$22.70
|
$15.46
|
|
Oakland vs. Iowa - Cost of transportation
pay 32.2% less for housing
|
Oakland
|
Iowa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$63.33
|
$65.62
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$2,035.71
|
$1,069.66
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,883.33
|
$852.78
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$190.70
|
$133.13
|
|
Oakland vs. Iowa - Cost of housing
pay 54.0% less for childcare
|
Oakland
|
Iowa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$2,738.89
|
$1,152.45
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$37,770.00
|
$18,898.50
|
|
Oakland vs. Iowa - Cost of childcare
pay 10.7% less for entertainment and sports
|
Oakland
|
Iowa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$8.00
|
$4.44
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.33
|
$5.43
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$11.00
|
$8.55
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$54.28
|
$63.76
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$14.50
|
$13.58
|
|
Oakland vs. Iowa - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 21.1% less for clothing
|
Oakland
|
Iowa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$72.33
|
$55.34
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$56.00
|
$41.65
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$103.17
|
$81.56
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$124.75
|
$106.86
|
|
Oakland 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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