Cost of living comparison

China

compared to

United States

Iowa City vs. Shenzhen Cost of Living Summary

Iowa City is 76.9% more expensive than Shenzhen.

Restaurants: pay 3.1 times more in Iowa City
Groceries: pay 41.6% more in Iowa City
Transportation: pay 16.1% more in Iowa City
Housing: pay 2.2 times more in Iowa City
Childcare: pay 52.8% more in Iowa City
Entertainment and Sports: pay 75.9% more in Iowa City
Clothing: pay 26.7% more in Iowa City

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

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Iowa City vs. Shenzhen Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 3.1 times more for restaurants

	Shenzhen	Iowa City
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$3.73 CN¥24.82	$14.00	+275.5%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.22 CN¥34.75	$9.00	+72.4%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.56 CN¥3.70	$2.83	+409.4%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.34 CN¥2.25	$2.19	+545.9%
Average			+211.2%

Shenzhen vs. Iowa City - Cost of restaurants

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pay 41.6% more for groceries

	Shenzhen	Iowa City
Bread 1 loaf	$1.60 CN¥10.66	$2.71	+69.3%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$10.53 CN¥70.08	$4.65	-55.8%
Milk (1 gallon)	$5.97 CN¥39.72	$3.02	-49.5%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.72 CN¥11.47	$3.51	+103.8%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.53 CN¥10.17	$4.77	+212.2%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.03 CN¥6.86	$1.52	+47.4%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.72 CN¥4.79	$0.54	-25.0%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.87 CN¥5.77	$1.24	+43.2%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.66 CN¥4.37	$2.20	+235.6%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.48 CN¥3.20	$0.92	+90.6%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.57 CN¥3.83	$1.08	+88.5%
Average			+41.6%

Shenzhen vs. Iowa City - Cost of groceries

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pay 16.1% more for transportation

	Shenzhen	Iowa City
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.01 CN¥33.34	$3.83	-23.6%
Monthly public transit pass	$22.37 CN¥148.94	$16.00	-28.5%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$19,374.76 CN¥129K	$35,473.37	+83.1%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$4.65 CN¥30.98	$20.00	+329.8%
Average			+16.1%

Shenzhen vs. Iowa City - Cost of transportation

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pay 2.2 times more for housing

	Shenzhen	Iowa City
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$16.39 CN¥109.12	$82.25	+401.8%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$759.98 CN¥5,059.51	$1,199.75	+57.9%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$476.09 CN¥3,169.53	$1,075.75	+126.0%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$48.84 CN¥325.13	$206.36	+322.5%
Average			+123.8%

Shenzhen vs. Iowa City - Cost of housing

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pay 52.8% more for childcare

	Shenzhen	Iowa City
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$528.93 CN¥3,521.33	$1,266.67	+139.5%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$24,029.94 CN¥160K	$23,429.75	-2.5%
Average			+52.8%

Shenzhen vs. Iowa City - Cost of childcare

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pay 75.9% more for entertainment and sports

	Shenzhen	Iowa City
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.49 CN¥9.93	$5.00	+235.2%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.31 CN¥22.05	$5.67	+71.1%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$4.47 CN¥29.79	$8.89	+98.7%
Monthly membership at local gym	$49.66 CN¥330.60	$49.33	-0.7%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$7.45 CN¥49.60	$13.50	+81.2%
Average			+75.9%

Shenzhen vs. Iowa City - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 26.7% more for clothing

	Shenzhen	Iowa City
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$54.66 CN¥363.92	$64.22	+17.5%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$39.75 CN¥264.62	$50.56	+27.2%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$72.46 CN¥482.43	$100.00	+38.0%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$91.98 CN¥612.32	$115.00	+25.0%
Average			+26.7%

Shenzhen 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 November 2026). How we calculate this

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