Cost of living comparison
compared to
Iowa vs. Thailand Cost of Living Summary
Iowa is 2.2 times more expensive than Thailand overall.
- Restaurants
-
pay 4.0 times more in Iowa
- Groceries
-
pay 70.8% more in Iowa
- Transportation
-
pay 9.2% more in Iowa
- Housing
-
pay 2.9 times more in Iowa
- Childcare
-
pay 2.5 times more in Iowa
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 2.0 times more in Iowa
- Clothing
-
pay 33.6% more in Iowa
The cost of restaurants, housing, childcare, entertainment and sports, groceries, and clothing in Iowa are more expensive than in Thailand. Notably, restaurants, housing, and childcare are significantly more expensive in Iowa.
Iowa vs. Thailand Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Iowa instead of Thailand, you would:
pay 4.0 times more for restaurants
|
Thailand
|
Iowa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$2.67
THB85.43
|
$15.83
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$6.99
THB223.63
|
$10.57
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$0.73
THB23.49
|
$2.46
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$0.36
THB11.51
|
$1.82
|
|
Thailand vs. Iowa - Cost of restaurants
pay 70.8% more for groceries
|
Thailand
|
Iowa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.41
THB45.03
|
$2.77
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$7.88
THB252.05
|
$5.89
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$7.17
THB229.11
|
$3.33
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$2.07
THB66.18
|
$3.30
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$1.41
THB45.15
|
$4.57
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.33
THB42.47
|
$1.96
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.59
THB18.95
|
$0.65
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$0.90
THB28.72
|
$1.93
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$0.75
THB24.08
|
$1.93
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.71
THB22.77
|
$0.99
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.62
THB19.72
|
$1.30
|
|
Thailand vs. Iowa - Cost of groceries
pay 9.2% more for transportation
|
Thailand
|
Iowa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.83
THB154.50
|
$3.02
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$28.12
THB899.09
|
$38.07
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$30,471.21
THB974,258.89
|
$28,093.10
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$10.53
THB336.66
|
$15.46
|
|
Thailand vs. Iowa - Cost of transportation
pay 2.9 times more for housing
|
Thailand
|
Iowa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$18.52
THB592.20
|
$65.62
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$414.60
THB13,256.12
|
$1,069.66
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$266.86
THB8,532.32
|
$852.78
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$60.46
THB1,933.10
|
$133.13
|
|
Thailand vs. Iowa - Cost of housing
pay 2.5 times more for childcare
|
Thailand
|
Iowa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$359.13
THB11,482.48
|
$1,152.45
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$11,104.31
THB355,039.19
|
$18,898.50
|
|
Thailand vs. Iowa - Cost of childcare
pay 2.0 times more for entertainment and sports
|
Thailand
|
Iowa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$2.15
THB68.88
|
$4.44
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$1.97
THB63.01
|
$5.43
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$4.31
THB137.94
|
$8.55
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$53.45
THB1,709.08
|
$63.76
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$6.32
THB201.98
|
$13.58
|
|
Thailand vs. Iowa - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 33.6% more for clothing
|
Thailand
|
Iowa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$37.08
THB1,185.58
|
$55.34
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$29.48
THB942.56
|
$41.65
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$91.15
THB2,914.34
|
$81.56
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$69.13
THB2,210.16
|
$106.86
|
|
Thailand 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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