Cost of living comparison

United States

compared to

Iraq

Iraq vs. United States Cost of Living Summary

Iraq is 61.3% cheaper than United States overall.

Restaurants: pay 72.0% less in Iraq
Groceries: pay 62.7% less in Iraq
Transportation: pay 36.6% less in Iraq
Housing: pay 68.0% less in Iraq
Childcare: pay 90.5% less in Iraq
Entertainment and Sports: pay 51.2% less in Iraq
Clothing: pay 48.2% less in Iraq

Expenses including childcare, restaurants, housing, groceries, entertainment and sports, and clothing are lower in Iraq.

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Iraq vs. United States Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Iraq instead of United States, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 72.0% less for restaurants

	United States	Iraq
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$19.45	$4.66 IQD6,143	-76.0%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$11.12	$6.78 IQD8,931	-39.0%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.56	$0.40 IQD525	-84.4%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$2.00	$0.23 IQD299	-88.7%
Average			-72.0%

United States vs. Iraq - Cost of restaurants

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pay 62.7% less for groceries

	United States	Iraq
Bread 1 loaf	$3.56	$0.76 IQD997	-78.7%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$6.50	$2.55 IQD3,362	-60.7%
Milk (1 gallon)	$3.97	$4.46 IQD5,875	+12.3%
Eggs 1 dozen	$4.27	$1.69 IQD2,223	-60.5%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$5.41	$1.98 IQD2,607	-63.4%
Apples (1 lb)	$2.37	$0.47 IQD624	-80.0%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.78	$0.51 IQD665	-35.5%
Oranges (1 lb)	$2.04	$0.43 IQD565	-78.9%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.21	$0.31 IQD402	-86.2%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.34	$0.29 IQD377	-78.7%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.38	$0.28 IQD371	-79.7%
Average			-62.7%

United States vs. Iraq - Cost of groceries

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pay 36.6% less for transportation

	United States	Iraq
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$3.41	$2.08 IQD2,741	-39.0%
Monthly public transit pass	$65.85	$37.40 IQD49,267	-43.2%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$32,336.38	$15,792.71 IQD21M	-51.2%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$17.61	$15.36 IQD20,232	-12.8%
Average			-36.6%

United States vs. Iraq - Cost of transportation

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pay 68.0% less for housing

	United States	Iraq
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$68.97	$36.30 IQD47,810	-47.4%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,664.59	$287.91 IQD379K	-82.7%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,416.15	$193.91 IQD255K	-86.3%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$150.19	$66.74 IQD87,909	-55.6%
Average			-68.0%

United States vs. Iraq - Cost of housing

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pay 90.5% less for childcare

	United States	Iraq
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,387.27	$138.70 IQD183K	-90.0%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$23,196.46	$2,066.25 IQD3M	-91.1%
Average			-90.5%

United States vs. Iraq - Cost of childcare

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pay 51.2% less for entertainment and sports

	United States	Iraq
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$5.84	$2.78 IQD3,659	-52.4%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$5.15	$2.47 IQD3,252	-52.1%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$9.90	$2.00 IQD2,628	-79.8%
Monthly membership at local gym	$51.45	$34.51 IQD45,459	-32.9%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$13.64	$8.34 IQD10,981	-38.9%
Average			-51.2%

United States vs. Iraq - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 48.2% less for clothing

	United States	Iraq
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$51.08	$25.03 IQD32,975	-51.0%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$41.81	$27.73 IQD36,531	-33.7%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$87.56	$50.80 IQD66,918	-42.0%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$112.04	$38.19 IQD50,305	-65.9%
Average			-48.2%

United States vs. Iraq - Cost of clothing

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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: September 2026

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