Cost of living comparison

Russia

compared to

United States

Des Moines vs. Saint Petersburg Cost of Living Summary

Des Moines is 60.0% more expensive than Saint Petersburg.

Restaurants: pay 94.9% more in Des Moines
Groceries: pay 85.2% more in Des Moines
Transportation: pay 12.2% more in Des Moines
Housing: pay 82.4% more in Des Moines
Childcare: pay 21.5% more in Des Moines
Entertainment and Sports: pay 96.4% more in Des Moines
Clothing: pay 15.2% less in Des Moines

The cost of entertainment and sports, restaurants, groceries, housing, childcare, and transportation in Des Moines are more expensive than in Saint Petersburg. Notably, entertainment and sports, restaurants, and groceries are significantly more expensive in Des Moines.

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Des Moines vs. Saint Petersburg Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Des Moines instead of Saint Petersburg, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 94.9% more for restaurants

	Saint Petersburg	Des Moines
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$11.46 RUB920.56	$20.00	+74.5%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$6.43 RUB516.64	$12.00	+86.5%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.49 RUB119.77	$3.00	+101.1%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.69 RUB55.04	$2.49	+263.1%
Average			+94.9%

Saint Petersburg vs. Des Moines - Cost of restaurants

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pay 85.2% more for groceries

	Saint Petersburg	Des Moines
Bread 1 loaf	$0.93 RUB74.68	$2.95	+217.0%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$6.02 RUB483.39	$4.77	-20.7%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.17 RUB334.98	$3.38	-19.1%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.64 RUB131.74	$3.93	+139.5%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.85 RUB228.70	$4.39	+54.0%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.77 RUB61.57	$2.01	+162.5%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.73 RUB58.34	$0.70	-4.1%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.75 RUB60.41	$2.01	+167.4%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.38 RUB111.15	$1.70	+22.8%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.36 RUB28.81	$1.43	+298.2%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.28 RUB22.51	$1.00	+254.9%
Average			+85.2%

Saint Petersburg vs. Des Moines - Cost of groceries

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pay 12.2% more for transportation

	Saint Petersburg	Des Moines
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$3.25 RUB261.31	$3.71	+13.9%
Monthly public transit pass	$52.51 RUB4,216.72	$58.00	+10.5%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$35,093.40 RUB3M	$35,052.00	-0.1%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$7.60 RUB610.57	$11.94	+57.1%
Average			+12.2%

Saint Petersburg vs. Des Moines - Cost of transportation

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pay 82.4% more for housing

	Saint Petersburg	Des Moines
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$8.55 RUB686.90	$71.15	+731.7%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$730.46 RUB58,656.88	$1,161.80	+59.0%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$437.21 RUB35,108.02	$864.75	+97.8%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$112.08 RUB9,000.21	$143.28	+27.8%
Average			+82.4%

Saint Petersburg vs. Des Moines - Cost of housing

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pay 21.5% more for childcare

	Saint Petersburg	Des Moines
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$549.43 RUB44,119.79	$1,183.50	+115.4%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$17,234.08 RUB1M	$11,812.00	-31.5%
Average			+21.5%

Saint Petersburg vs. Des Moines - Cost of childcare

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pay 96.4% more for entertainment and sports

	Saint Petersburg	Des Moines
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.63 RUB211.35	$5.00	+90.0%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.03 RUB243.12	$6.00	+98.2%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.92 RUB234.84	$8.03	+174.6%
Monthly membership at local gym	$39.61 RUB3,180.84	$63.75	+60.9%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$7.02 RUB563.61	$15.00	+113.7%
Average			+96.4%

Saint Petersburg vs. Des Moines - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 15.2% less for clothing

	Saint Petersburg	Des Moines
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$92.36 RUB7,416.56	$60.68	-34.3%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$50.79 RUB4,078.74	$43.33	-14.7%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$134.52 RUB10,802.47	$103.00	-23.4%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$121.11 RUB9,724.98	$145.78	+20.4%
Average			-15.2%

Saint Petersburg vs. Des Moines - Cost of clothing

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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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