Cost of living comparison
compared to
Iowa City vs. United States Cost of Living Summary
Iowa City is 6.9% cheaper than United States overall.
- Restaurants
-
pay 12.2% less in Iowa City
- Groceries
-
pay 20.9% less in Iowa City
- Transportation
-
pay 18.1% less in Iowa City
- Housing
-
pay 8.4% less in Iowa City
- Childcare
-
pay 1.3% less in Iowa City
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 4.8% less in Iowa City
- Clothing
-
pay 17.4% more in Iowa City
Expenses including groceries, transportation, restaurants, housing, entertainment and sports, and childcare are lower in Iowa City.
Iowa City vs. United States Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Iowa City instead of United States, you would:
pay 12.2% less for restaurants
|
United States
|
Iowa City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$19.45
|
$15.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$11.12
|
$9.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.56
|
$2.62
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.00
|
$1.81
|
|
United States vs. Iowa City - Cost of restaurants
pay 20.9% less for groceries
|
United States
|
Iowa City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$3.56
|
$2.68
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$6.50
|
$4.65
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$3.97
|
$3.27
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.27
|
$4.13
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$5.41
|
$4.77
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.37
|
$1.52
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.78
|
$0.54
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.04
|
$1.24
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.21
|
$2.23
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.34
|
$0.92
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.38
|
$1.29
|
|
United States vs. Iowa City - Cost of groceries
pay 18.1% less for transportation
|
United States
|
Iowa City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.41
|
$3.01
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$65.85
|
$16.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$32,336.38
|
$29,454.22
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$17.61
|
$21.90
|
|
United States vs. Iowa City - Cost of transportation
pay 8.4% less for housing
|
United States
|
Iowa City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$68.97
|
$72.85
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,664.59
|
$1,231.25
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,416.15
|
$1,100.00
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$150.19
|
$163.91
|
|
United States vs. Iowa City - Cost of housing
pay 1.3% less for childcare
|
United States
|
Iowa City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,387.27
|
$1,266.67
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$23,196.46
|
$24,601.00
|
|
United States vs. Iowa City - Cost of childcare
pay 4.8% less for entertainment and sports
|
United States
|
Iowa City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$5.84
|
$5.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.15
|
$5.38
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$9.90
|
$9.00
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$51.45
|
$49.33
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$13.64
|
$13.50
|
|
United States vs. Iowa City - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 17.4% more for clothing
|
United States
|
Iowa City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$51.08
|
$70.00
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$41.81
|
$48.33
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$87.56
|
$100.00
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$112.04
|
$115.00
|
|
United States vs. Iowa City - 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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