Cost of living comparison
compared to
Iowa vs. Reno Cost of Living Summary
Iowa is 15.1% cheaper than Reno.
- Restaurants
-
pay 21.2% less in Iowa
- Groceries
-
pay 14.7% less in Iowa
- Transportation
-
pay 25.9% less in Iowa
- Housing
-
pay 25.9% less in Iowa
- Childcare
-
pay 19.6% less in Iowa
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 1.4% more in Iowa
- Clothing
-
pay 0.3% more in Iowa
The cost of entertainment and sports and clothing in Iowa are more expensive than in Reno. Expenses including transportation, housing, restaurants, childcare, and groceries are lower in Iowa.
Iowa vs. Reno Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Iowa instead of Reno, you would:
pay 21.2% less for restaurants
|
Reno
|
Iowa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$27.00
|
$15.83
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$14.00
|
$10.57
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.88
|
$2.46
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.90
|
$1.82
|
|
Reno vs. Iowa - Cost of restaurants
pay 14.7% less for groceries
|
Reno
|
Iowa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$4.04
|
$2.77
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$5.58
|
$5.89
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.94
|
$3.33
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.44
|
$3.30
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$5.47
|
$4.57
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.07
|
$1.96
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.76
|
$0.65
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.45
|
$1.93
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$3.21
|
$1.93
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.25
|
$0.99
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.51
|
$1.30
|
|
Reno vs. Iowa - Cost of groceries
pay 25.9% less for transportation
|
Reno
|
Iowa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.25
|
$3.02
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$65.00
|
$38.07
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$27,322.00
|
$28,093.10
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$24.23
|
$15.46
|
|
Reno vs. Iowa - Cost of transportation
pay 25.9% less for housing
|
Reno
|
Iowa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$89.29
|
$65.62
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,561.11
|
$1,069.66
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,400.00
|
$852.78
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$142.08
|
$133.13
|
|
Reno vs. Iowa - Cost of housing
pay 19.6% less for childcare
|
Reno
|
Iowa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,371.67
|
$1,152.45
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$24,561.67
|
$18,898.50
|
|
Reno vs. Iowa - Cost of childcare
pay 1.4% more for entertainment and sports
|
Reno
|
Iowa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$8.00
|
$4.44
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.29
|
$5.43
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$9.93
|
$8.55
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$37.68
|
$63.76
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$14.50
|
$13.58
|
|
Reno vs. Iowa - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 0.3% more for clothing
|
Reno
|
Iowa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$55.53
|
$55.34
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$33.25
|
$41.65
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$78.85
|
$81.56
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$147.00
|
$106.86
|
|
Reno 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
Change currency:
Help us improve these prices
MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate.
Learn more
ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY
Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Iowa or Reno. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.