Cost of living comparison
compared to
Iowa vs. Tokyo Cost of Living Summary
Iowa is 33.4% more expensive than Tokyo.
- Restaurants
-
pay 2.1 times more in Iowa
- Groceries
-
pay 5.9% less in Iowa
- Transportation
-
pay 26.0% less in Iowa
- Housing
-
pay 34.5% more in Iowa
- Childcare
-
pay 73.3% more in Iowa
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 36.6% more in Iowa
- Clothing
-
pay 12.2% more in Iowa
The cost of restaurants, childcare, entertainment and sports, housing, and clothing in Iowa are more expensive than in Tokyo. Expenses including transportation and groceries are lower in Iowa. Notably, restaurants is significantly more expensive in Iowa.
Iowa vs. Tokyo Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Iowa instead of Tokyo, you would:
pay 2.1 times more for restaurants
|
Tokyo
|
Iowa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$8.02
¥1,249
|
$15.83
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$5.01
¥781
|
$10.57
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$1.16
¥181
|
$2.46
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$0.84
¥131
|
$1.82
|
|
Tokyo vs. Iowa - Cost of restaurants
pay 5.9% less for groceries
|
Tokyo
|
Iowa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.55
¥242
|
$2.77
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$7.21
¥1,123
|
$5.89
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$5.71
¥890
|
$3.33
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$2.33
¥363
|
$3.30
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$3.52
¥548
|
$4.57
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.38
¥370
|
$1.96
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.18
¥184
|
$0.65
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.48
¥386
|
$1.93
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.64
¥411
|
$1.93
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.43
¥222
|
$0.99
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.48
¥231
|
$1.30
|
|
Tokyo vs. Iowa - Cost of groceries
pay 26.0% less for transportation
|
Tokyo
|
Iowa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.50
¥701
|
$3.02
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$73.51
¥11,449
|
$38.07
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$22,332.63
¥3,478,419
|
$28,093.10
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$30.07
¥4,684
|
$15.46
|
|
Tokyo vs. Iowa - Cost of transportation
pay 34.5% more for housing
|
Tokyo
|
Iowa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$33.44
¥5,209
|
$65.62
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,071.65
¥166,915
|
$1,069.66
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$642.24
¥100,032
|
$852.78
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$122.16
¥19,027
|
$133.13
|
|
Tokyo vs. Iowa - Cost of housing
pay 73.3% more for childcare
|
Tokyo
|
Iowa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$519.69
¥80,944
|
$1,152.45
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$15,131.74
¥2,356,844
|
$18,898.50
|
|
Tokyo vs. Iowa - Cost of childcare
pay 36.6% more for entertainment and sports
|
Tokyo
|
Iowa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$4.01
¥624
|
$4.44
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$3.43
¥534
|
$5.43
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$4.01
¥624
|
$8.55
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$68.19
¥10,621
|
$63.76
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$12.70
¥1,978
|
$13.58
|
|
Tokyo vs. Iowa - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 12.2% more for clothing
|
Tokyo
|
Iowa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$56.84
¥8,853
|
$55.34
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$40.48
¥6,306
|
$41.65
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$62.67
¥9,762
|
$81.56
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$90.37
¥14,076
|
$106.86
|
|
Tokyo 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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