Cost of living comparison
compared to
Ames vs. Rotterdam Cost of Living Summary
Ames is 25.9% cheaper than Rotterdam.
Ames vs. Rotterdam Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Ames instead of Rotterdam, you would:
pay 16.4% less for restaurants
|
Rotterdam
|
Ames
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$20.72
€18.49
|
$18.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$13.44
€11.99
|
$12.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$3.86
€3.45
|
$2.67
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$3.42
€3.05
|
$2.31
|
|
Rotterdam vs. Ames - Cost of restaurants
pay 29.1% more for groceries
|
Rotterdam
|
Ames
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$2.37
€2.12
|
$3.58
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$6.02
€5.37
|
$5.14
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$5.52
€4.93
|
$3.28
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$5.35
€4.78
|
$3.42
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$6.10
€5.45
|
$6.15
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.52
€1.36
|
$2.63
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.16
€1.03
|
$0.83
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.18
€1.05
|
$3.00
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.55
€1.39
|
$2.33
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.78
€0.70
|
$2.00
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.68
€0.61
|
$1.89
|
|
Rotterdam vs. Ames - Cost of groceries
pay 57.0% less for transportation
|
Rotterdam
|
Ames
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$9.75
€8.70
|
$3.58
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$110.85
€98.94
|
$35.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$41,419.02
€36,968.05
|
$25,000.00
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$31.97
€28.53
|
$18.68
|
|
Rotterdam vs. Ames - Cost of transportation
pay 43.6% less for housing
|
Rotterdam
|
Ames
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$54.94
€49.03
|
$71.25
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,961.78
€1,750.96
|
$1,020.00
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,523.86
€1,360.10
|
$822.75
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$229.16
€204.54
|
$136.55
|
|
Rotterdam vs. Ames - Cost of housing
pay 20.4% more for childcare
|
Rotterdam
|
Ames
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$2,681.14
€2,393.02
|
$1,364.44
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$12,697.80
€11,333.27
|
$36,151.80
|
|
Rotterdam vs. Ames - Cost of childcare
pay 0.8% less for entertainment and sports
|
Rotterdam
|
Ames
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$7.05
€6.30
|
$4.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$4.38
€3.91
|
$5.00
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$14.56
€12.99
|
$13.00
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$48.58
€43.36
|
$68.33
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$15.68
€13.99
|
$16.00
|
|
Rotterdam vs. Ames - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 19.1% less for clothing
|
Rotterdam
|
Ames
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$93.71
€83.64
|
$57.94
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$39.14
€34.93
|
$44.06
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$109.92
€98.11
|
$90.00
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$141.23
€126.06
|
$106.02
|
|
Rotterdam vs. Ames - Cost of clothing
We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated October 2026). How we calculate this
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Compare further: Rotterdam vs. Ames
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