Cost of living comparison

China

compared to

United States

Iowa City vs. Shanghai Cost of Living Summary

Iowa City is 58.0% more expensive than Shanghai.

Restaurants: pay 2.8 times more in Iowa City
Groceries: pay 44.7% more in Iowa City
Transportation: pay 6.3% more in Iowa City
Housing: pay 88.5% more in Iowa City
Childcare: pay 12.9% less in Iowa City
Entertainment and Sports: pay 66.5% more in Iowa City
Clothing: pay 23.4% more in Iowa City

The cost of restaurants, housing, entertainment and sports, groceries, clothing, and transportation in Iowa City are more expensive than in Shanghai. Notably, restaurants and housing are significantly more expensive in Iowa City.

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Iowa City vs. Shanghai Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Iowa City instead of Shanghai, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 2.8 times more for restaurants

	Shanghai	Iowa City
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.47 CN¥29.94	$14.00	+212.9%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.22 CN¥34.93	$9.00	+72.4%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.60 CN¥4.01	$2.83	+372.6%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.37 CN¥2.47	$2.19	+491.4%
Average			+182.1%

Shanghai vs. Iowa City - Cost of restaurants

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pay 44.7% more for groceries

	Shanghai	Iowa City
Bread 1 loaf	$1.98 CN¥13.22	$2.71	+37.3%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$8.60 CN¥57.52	$4.65	-45.9%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.88 CN¥46.02	$3.02	-56.2%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.70 CN¥11.36	$3.51	+106.7%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.48 CN¥9.89	$4.77	+222.7%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.99 CN¥6.65	$1.52	+53.0%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.16	$0.54	-29.9%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.90 CN¥6.05	$1.24	+37.2%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.15	$2.20	+186.2%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.36 CN¥2.40	$0.92	+155.6%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.43 CN¥2.90	$1.08	+150.1%
Average			+44.7%

Shanghai vs. Iowa City - Cost of groceries

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pay 6.3% more for transportation

	Shanghai	Iowa City
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.96 CN¥33.21	$3.83	-22.9%
Monthly public transit pass	$29.83 CN¥199.59	$16.00	-46.4%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$19,374.76 CN¥130K	$35,473.37	+83.1%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$5.67 CN¥37.92	$20.00	+252.9%
Average			+6.3%

Shanghai vs. Iowa City - Cost of transportation

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pay 88.5% more for housing

	Shanghai	Iowa City
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$10.55 CN¥70.59	$82.25	+679.6%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,036.96 CN¥6,938.07	$1,199.75	+15.7%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$588.71 CN¥3,938.93	$1,075.75	+82.7%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$44.06 CN¥294.77	$206.36	+368.4%
Average			+88.5%

Shanghai vs. Iowa City - Cost of housing

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pay 12.9% less for childcare

	Shanghai	Iowa City
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,413.50 CN¥9,457.42	$1,266.67	-10.4%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$27,686.22 CN¥185K	$23,429.75	-15.4%
Average			-12.9%

Shanghai vs. Iowa City - Cost of childcare

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pay 66.5% more for entertainment and sports

	Shanghai	Iowa City
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.19 CN¥7.98	$5.00	+319.0%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.35 CN¥22.41	$5.67	+69.2%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.73 CN¥24.95	$8.89	+138.4%
Monthly membership at local gym	$65.69 CN¥439.52	$49.33	-24.9%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.95 CN¥59.88	$13.50	+50.9%
Average			+66.5%

Shanghai vs. Iowa City - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 23.4% more for clothing

	Shanghai	Iowa City
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$54.37 CN¥363.79	$64.22	+18.1%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$37.09 CN¥248.19	$50.56	+36.3%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$75.49 CN¥505.08	$100.00	+32.5%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$105.70 CN¥707.25	$115.00	+8.8%
Average			+23.4%

Shanghai vs. Iowa City - 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 October 2026). How we calculate this

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