Cost of living comparison
compared to
Iowa vs. United Kingdom Cost of Living Summary
Iowa is 8.0% cheaper than United Kingdom overall.
- Restaurants
-
pay 0.1% more in Iowa
- Groceries
-
pay 26.8% more in Iowa
- Transportation
-
pay 43.0% less in Iowa
- Housing
-
pay 5.7% less in Iowa
- Childcare
-
pay 13.6% less in Iowa
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 7.7% less in Iowa
- Clothing
-
pay 12.6% less in Iowa
The cost of groceries and restaurants in Iowa are more expensive than in United Kingdom. Expenses including transportation, childcare, clothing, entertainment and sports, and housing are lower in Iowa.
Iowa vs. United Kingdom Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Iowa instead of United Kingdom, you would:
pay 0.1% more for restaurants
|
United Kingdom
|
Iowa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$20.41
£15.41
|
$15.83
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$9.94
£7.51
|
$10.57
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.32
£1.75
|
$2.46
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.65
£1.24
|
$1.82
|
|
United Kingdom vs. Iowa - Cost of restaurants
pay 26.8% more for groceries
|
United Kingdom
|
Iowa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.59
£1.20
|
$2.77
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$4.71
£3.55
|
$5.89
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$6.20
£4.68
|
$3.33
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$3.87
£2.92
|
$3.30
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$3.87
£2.92
|
$4.57
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.32
£1.00
|
$1.96
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.73
£0.55
|
$0.65
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.28
£0.97
|
$1.93
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.49
£1.13
|
$1.93
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.72
£0.54
|
$0.99
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.71
£0.54
|
$1.30
|
|
United Kingdom vs. Iowa - Cost of groceries
pay 43.0% less for transportation
|
United Kingdom
|
Iowa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$7.22
£5.45
|
$3.02
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$99.05
£74.80
|
$38.07
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$36,224.29
£27,355.86
|
$28,093.10
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$22.08
£16.67
|
$15.46
|
|
United Kingdom vs. Iowa - Cost of transportation
pay 5.7% less for housing
|
United Kingdom
|
Iowa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$41.90
£31.64
|
$65.62
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,285.79
£971.00
|
$1,069.66
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,062.09
£802.07
|
$852.78
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$233.57
£176.39
|
$133.13
|
|
United Kingdom vs. Iowa - Cost of housing
pay 13.6% less for childcare
|
United Kingdom
|
Iowa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,530.71
£1,155.97
|
$1,152.45
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$19,375.12
£14,631.70
|
$18,898.50
|
|
United Kingdom vs. Iowa - Cost of childcare
pay 7.7% less for entertainment and sports
|
United Kingdom
|
Iowa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$6.35
£4.79
|
$4.44
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$4.54
£3.43
|
$5.43
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$19.18
£14.48
|
$8.55
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$49.26
£37.20
|
$63.76
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$13.88
£10.48
|
$13.58
|
|
United Kingdom vs. Iowa - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 12.6% less for clothing
|
United Kingdom
|
Iowa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$86.00
£64.94
|
$55.34
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$44.20
£33.38
|
$41.65
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$95.21
£71.90
|
$81.56
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$101.36
£76.54
|
$106.86
|
|
United Kingdom 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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