Cost of living comparison
compared to
Iowa vs. San Francisco Cost of Living Summary
Iowa is 37.0% cheaper than San Francisco.
- Restaurants
-
pay 32.4% less in Iowa
- Groceries
-
pay 39.4% less in Iowa
- Transportation
-
pay 35.9% less in Iowa
- Housing
-
pay 42.1% less in Iowa
- Childcare
-
pay 59.7% less in Iowa
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 30.9% less in Iowa
- Clothing
-
pay 18.9% less in Iowa
Expenses including childcare, housing, groceries, transportation, restaurants, and entertainment and sports are lower in Iowa.
Iowa vs. San Francisco Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Iowa instead of San Francisco, you would:
pay 32.4% less for restaurants
|
San Francisco
|
Iowa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$30.00
|
$15.83
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$14.50
|
$10.57
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$3.30
|
$2.46
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.59
|
$1.82
|
|
San Francisco vs. Iowa - Cost of restaurants
pay 39.4% less for groceries
|
San Francisco
|
Iowa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$5.06
|
$2.77
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$11.69
|
$5.89
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$5.85
|
$3.33
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$6.26
|
$3.30
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$6.63
|
$4.57
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$3.22
|
$1.96
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.31
|
$0.65
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.37
|
$1.93
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$3.23
|
$1.93
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.67
|
$0.99
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.81
|
$1.30
|
|
San Francisco vs. Iowa - Cost of groceries
pay 35.9% less for transportation
|
San Francisco
|
Iowa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.89
|
$3.02
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$90.00
|
$38.07
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$36,753.89
|
$28,093.10
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$20.31
|
$15.46
|
|
San Francisco vs. Iowa - Cost of transportation
pay 42.1% less for housing
|
San Francisco
|
Iowa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$68.78
|
$65.62
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$3,446.66
|
$1,069.66
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$2,736.00
|
$852.78
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$179.63
|
$133.13
|
|
San Francisco vs. Iowa - Cost of housing
pay 59.7% less for childcare
|
San Francisco
|
Iowa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$3,236.11
|
$1,152.45
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$42,000.00
|
$18,898.50
|
|
San Francisco vs. Iowa - Cost of childcare
pay 30.9% less for entertainment and sports
|
San Francisco
|
Iowa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$8.00
|
$4.44
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.98
|
$5.43
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$14.00
|
$8.55
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$109.64
|
$63.76
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$17.00
|
$13.58
|
|
San Francisco vs. Iowa - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 18.9% less for clothing
|
San Francisco
|
Iowa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$70.00
|
$55.34
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$48.82
|
$41.65
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$102.00
|
$81.56
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$133.67
|
$106.86
|
|
San Francisco 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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