Cost of living comparison

compared to

Ankeny vs. Rome Cost of Living Summary

Ankeny is 2.6% more expensive than Rome.

Restaurants
pay 12.9% more in Ankeny
Groceries
pay 13.0% more in Ankeny
Transportation
pay 34.8% less in Ankeny
Housing
pay 7.3% more in Ankeny
Childcare
pay 25.8% more in Ankeny
Entertainment and Sports
pay 35.0% more in Ankeny
Clothing
pay 10.0% less in Ankeny

The cost of entertainment and sports, childcare, groceries, restaurants, and housing in Ankeny are more expensive than in Rome. Expenses including transportation and clothing are lower in Ankeny.

Ankeny vs. Rome Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Ankeny instead of Rome, you would:

pay 12.9% more for restaurants

 
Rome
Ankeny
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $16.80
€15.07
$20.00
 
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$11.20
€10.05
$12.00
 
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $2.96
€2.66
$3.00
 

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pay 13.0% more for groceries

 
Rome
Ankeny
Bread
1 loaf
$2.22
€2.00
$2.95
 
Local cheese (8 oz) $7.42
€6.66
$4.77
 
Milk (1 gallon) $6.49
€5.82
$3.38
 

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pay 34.8% less for transportation

 
Rome
Ankeny
Gasoline (1 gallon) $8.04
€7.21
$3.71
 
Monthly public transit pass $39.19
€35.16
??
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $35,551.60
€31,895.12
$35,908.50
 

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pay 7.3% more for housing

 
Rome
Ankeny
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$31.87
€28.59
$65.33
 
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $1,208.81
€1,084.48
$1,102.50
 
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $873.39
€783.57
$1,144.00
 

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pay 25.8% more for childcare

 
Rome
Ankeny
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $487.21
€437.10
$1,100.00
 
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $16,862.20
€15,127.92
$11,812.00
 

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pay 35.0% more for entertainment and sports

 
Rome
Ankeny
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $5.60
€5.02
$5.00
 
Cappuccino in mid-range area $2.07
€1.86
$5.50
 
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$7.28
€6.53
$8.89
 

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pay 10.0% less for clothing

 
Rome
Ankeny
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$71.31
€63.98
$48.00
 
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$36.31
€32.58
$35.00
 
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$83.63
€75.03
$89.00
 

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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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