Cost of living comparison
compared to
Iowa vs. Rhode Island Cost of Living Summary
Iowa is 15.9% cheaper than Rhode Island.
- Restaurants
-
pay 16.8% less in Iowa
- Groceries
-
pay 26.5% less in Iowa
- Transportation
-
pay 29.5% less in Iowa
- Housing
-
pay 31.9% less in Iowa
- Childcare
-
pay 25.9% less in Iowa
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 9.6% less in Iowa
- Clothing
-
pay 28.7% more in Iowa
Expenses including housing, transportation, groceries, childcare, restaurants, and entertainment and sports are lower in Iowa.
Iowa vs. Rhode Island Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Iowa instead of Rhode Island, you would:
pay 16.8% less for restaurants
|
Rhode Island
|
Iowa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$20.33
|
$15.83
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$13.33
|
$10.57
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.65
|
$2.46
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.19
|
$1.82
|
|
Rhode Island vs. Iowa - Cost of restaurants
pay 26.5% less for groceries
|
Rhode Island
|
Iowa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$3.99
|
$2.77
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$6.34
|
$5.89
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.86
|
$3.33
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.99
|
$3.30
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$5.50
|
$4.57
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.68
|
$1.96
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.16
|
$0.65
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.23
|
$1.93
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.51
|
$1.93
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.69
|
$0.99
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.70
|
$1.30
|
|
Rhode Island vs. Iowa - Cost of groceries
pay 29.5% less for transportation
|
Rhode Island
|
Iowa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.21
|
$3.02
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$70.00
|
$38.07
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$36,181.63
|
$28,093.10
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$27.61
|
$15.46
|
|
Rhode Island vs. Iowa - Cost of transportation
pay 31.9% less for housing
|
Rhode Island
|
Iowa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$65.25
|
$65.62
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$2,195.21
|
$1,069.66
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,880.56
|
$852.78
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$171.52
|
$133.13
|
|
Rhode Island vs. Iowa - Cost of housing
pay 25.9% less for childcare
|
Rhode Island
|
Iowa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,353.94
|
$1,152.45
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$30,000.00
|
$18,898.50
|
|
Rhode Island vs. Iowa - Cost of childcare
pay 9.6% less for entertainment and sports
|
Rhode Island
|
Iowa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$6.42
|
$4.44
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$4.71
|
$5.43
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$12.17
|
$8.55
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$62.00
|
$63.76
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$14.42
|
$13.58
|
|
Rhode Island vs. Iowa - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 28.7% more for clothing
|
Rhode Island
|
Iowa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$43.10
|
$55.34
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$29.67
|
$41.65
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$73.83
|
$81.56
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$78.89
|
$106.86
|
|
Rhode Island 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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