Cost of living comparison
compared to
Iowa City vs. Washington Cost of Living Summary
Iowa City is 26.5% cheaper than Washington.
- Restaurants
-
pay 29.5% less in Iowa City
- Groceries
-
pay 33.0% less in Iowa City
- Transportation
-
pay 20.2% less in Iowa City
- Housing
-
pay 20.6% less in Iowa City
- Childcare
-
pay 45.5% less in Iowa City
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 30.3% less in Iowa City
- Clothing
-
pay 6.5% less in Iowa City
Expenses including childcare, groceries, entertainment and sports, restaurants, housing, and transportation are lower in Iowa City.
Iowa City vs. Washington Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Iowa City instead of Washington, you would:
pay 29.5% less for restaurants
|
Washington
|
Iowa City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$25.00
|
$15.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$12.00
|
$9.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$3.20
|
$2.62
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.79
|
$1.81
|
|
Washington vs. Iowa City - Cost of restaurants
pay 33.0% less for groceries
|
Washington
|
Iowa City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$4.43
|
$2.68
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$8.04
|
$4.65
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.19
|
$3.27
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.55
|
$4.13
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$7.74
|
$4.77
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.95
|
$1.52
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.92
|
$0.54
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.20
|
$1.24
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$3.00
|
$2.23
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.35
|
$0.92
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.64
|
$1.29
|
|
Washington vs. Iowa City - Cost of groceries
pay 20.2% less for transportation
|
Washington
|
Iowa City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.53
|
$3.01
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$77.50
|
$16.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$35,699.74
|
$29,454.22
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$16.73
|
$21.90
|
|
Washington vs. Iowa City - Cost of transportation
pay 20.6% less for housing
|
Washington
|
Iowa City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$69.41
|
$72.85
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$2,568.48
|
$1,231.25
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$2,088.16
|
$1,100.00
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$146.54
|
$163.91
|
|
Washington vs. Iowa City - Cost of housing
pay 45.5% less for childcare
|
Washington
|
Iowa City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$2,650.00
|
$1,266.67
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$40,166.67
|
$24,601.00
|
|
Washington vs. Iowa City - Cost of childcare
pay 30.3% less for entertainment and sports
|
Washington
|
Iowa City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$8.00
|
$5.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$6.07
|
$5.38
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$13.00
|
$9.00
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$103.76
|
$49.33
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$16.75
|
$13.50
|
|
Washington vs. Iowa City - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 6.5% less for clothing
|
Washington
|
Iowa City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$76.00
|
$70.00
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$48.40
|
$48.33
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$104.31
|
$100.00
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$133.22
|
$115.00
|
|
Washington 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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