Cost of living comparison
compared to
Cedar Rapids vs. Palo Alto Cost of Living Summary
Cedar Rapids is 30.9% cheaper than Palo Alto.
- Restaurants
-
pay 33.5% less in Cedar Rapids
- Groceries
-
pay 38.0% less in Cedar Rapids
- Transportation
-
pay 26.7% less in Cedar Rapids
- Housing
-
pay 38.4% less in Cedar Rapids
- Childcare
-
pay 64.0% less in Cedar Rapids
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 28.2% less in Cedar Rapids
- Clothing
-
pay 12.8% more in Cedar Rapids
Cedar Rapids vs. Palo Alto Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Cedar Rapids instead of Palo Alto, you would:
pay 33.5% less for restaurants
|
Palo Alto
|
Cedar Rapids
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$30.00
|
$15.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$12.00
|
$11.50
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$3.30
|
$1.92
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.44
|
$1.52
|
|
Palo Alto vs. Cedar Rapids - Cost of restaurants
pay 38.0% less for groceries
|
Palo Alto
|
Cedar Rapids
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$5.06
|
$2.64
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$11.39
|
$7.12
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$5.85
|
$3.07
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$6.26
|
$2.83
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$6.63
|
$4.93
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$3.22
|
$2.25
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.18
|
$0.54
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.37
|
$2.41
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$3.01
|
$2.13
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.94
|
$1.16
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$2.19
|
$1.04
|
|
Palo Alto vs. Cedar Rapids - Cost of groceries
pay 26.7% less for transportation
|
Palo Alto
|
Cedar Rapids
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.84
|
$2.98
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$90.00
|
$30.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$36,753.89
|
$37,383.69
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$19.06
|
$18.41
|
|
Palo Alto vs. Cedar Rapids - Cost of transportation
pay 38.4% less for housing
|
Palo Alto
|
Cedar Rapids
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$68.78
|
$71.33
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$3,600.00
|
$1,140.00
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$3,148.75
|
$750.00
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$179.63
|
$157.02
|
|
Palo Alto vs. Cedar Rapids - Cost of housing
pay 64.0% less for childcare
|
Palo Alto
|
Cedar Rapids
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$2,823.00
|
$968.00
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$42,000.00
|
$15,795.00
|
|
Palo Alto vs. Cedar Rapids - Cost of childcare
pay 28.2% less for entertainment and sports
|
Palo Alto
|
Cedar Rapids
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$8.00
|
$4.50
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.83
|
$5.46
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$11.50
|
$9.26
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$206.33
|
$100.50
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$16.00
|
$12.75
|
|
Palo Alto vs. Cedar Rapids - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 12.8% more for clothing
|
Palo Alto
|
Cedar Rapids
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$67.50
|
$62.47
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$46.00
|
$63.33
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$88.89
|
$128.26
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$125.00
|
$95.67
|
|
Palo Alto vs. Cedar Rapids - 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: June 2026
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