Cost of living comparison
compared to
Iowa vs. South Carolina Cost of Living Summary
Iowa is 15.6% cheaper than South Carolina.
Iowa vs. South Carolina Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Iowa instead of South Carolina, you would:
pay 5.1% less for restaurants
|
South Carolina
|
Iowa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$18.26
|
$17.44
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$11.29
|
$10.71
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.75
|
$2.66
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.14
|
$1.93
|
|
South Carolina vs. Iowa - Cost of restaurants
pay 21.8% less for groceries
|
South Carolina
|
Iowa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$3.57
|
$2.86
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$6.52
|
$5.29
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$3.54
|
$3.19
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.26
|
$3.35
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$6.42
|
$4.87
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.66
|
$2.11
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.75
|
$0.65
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.55
|
$2.01
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.58
|
$1.93
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.70
|
$1.07
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.72
|
$1.29
|
|
South Carolina vs. Iowa - Cost of groceries
pay 12.2% less for transportation
|
South Carolina
|
Iowa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.43
|
$3.52
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$57.12
|
$34.83
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$33,498.60
|
$32,592.26
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$16.31
|
$15.02
|
|
South Carolina vs. Iowa - Cost of transportation
pay 25.5% less for housing
|
South Carolina
|
Iowa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$69.68
|
$67.97
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,550.07
|
$1,095.70
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,238.74
|
$867.32
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$155.49
|
$143.75
|
|
South Carolina vs. Iowa - Cost of housing
pay 7.8% less for childcare
|
South Carolina
|
Iowa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,378.67
|
$1,080.37
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$17,884.58
|
$19,409.87
|
|
South Carolina vs. Iowa - Cost of childcare
pay 12.8% more for entertainment and sports
|
South Carolina
|
Iowa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$5.65
|
$4.61
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.60
|
$5.52
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$8.89
|
$9.16
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$34.64
|
$61.55
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$12.90
|
$13.85
|
|
South Carolina vs. Iowa - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 1.9% more for clothing
|
South Carolina
|
Iowa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$49.47
|
$51.95
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$37.12
|
$38.14
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$89.72
|
$88.30
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$105.99
|
$107.49
|
|
South Carolina vs. Iowa - 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
Change currency:
Compare further: South Carolina vs. Iowa
Salary Calculator · Free tool
What salary would you need in Iowa?
→
Quality of Life Comparison · 13 statistics
Be 32.7% less likely to be unemployed in Iowa
→
Size Comparison · See true size
South Carolina is about 1.9 times smaller than Iowa.
→
Moving from South Carolina to Iowa · Cost, visas & climate
Compare cost of living, salary and climate.
→
Explore more U.S. state comparisons
See how other U.S. states compare.
Browse all state comparisons.
Help us improve these prices
MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate.
Learn more
Ask the Elsewhere Community
Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Iowa or South Carolina. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.