Cost of living comparison

compared to

Iowa City vs. Wroclaw Cost of Living Summary

Iowa City is 28.4% more expensive than Wroclaw.

Restaurants
pay 14.7% more in Iowa City
Groceries
pay 41.7% more in Iowa City
Transportation
pay 18.5% less in Iowa City
Housing
pay 45.8% more in Iowa City
Childcare
pay 2.3 times more in Iowa City
Entertainment and Sports
pay 35.1% more in Iowa City
Clothing
pay 0.6% more in Iowa City

The cost of childcare, housing, groceries, entertainment and sports, restaurants, and clothing in Iowa City are more expensive than in Wroclaw. Notably, childcare is significantly more expensive in Iowa City.

Iowa City vs. Wroclaw Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Iowa City instead of Wroclaw, you would:

pay 14.7% more for restaurants

 
Wroclaw
Iowa City
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $10.23
PLN40.37
$14.00
 
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$10.23
PLN40.37
$9.00
 
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $2.18
PLN8.61
$2.83
 

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pay 41.7% more for groceries

 
Wroclaw
Iowa City
Bread
1 loaf
$1.54
PLN6.09
$2.71
 
Local cheese (8 oz) $4.69
PLN18.50
$4.65
 
Milk (1 gallon) $4.08
PLN16.10
$3.02
 

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pay 18.5% less for transportation

 
Wroclaw
Iowa City
Gasoline (1 gallon) $6.32
PLN24.96
$3.83
 
Monthly public transit pass $28.12
PLN111.02
$16.00
 
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $30,576.90
PLN121K
$35,473.37
 

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pay 45.8% more for housing

 
Wroclaw
Iowa City
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$17.80
PLN70.27
$82.25
 
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $844.50
PLN3,333.48
$1,199.75
 
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $661.82
PLN2,612.39
$1,075.75
 

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pay 2.3 times more for childcare

 
Wroclaw
Iowa City
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $484.37
PLN1,911.96
$1,266.67
 
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $12,088.03
PLN47,714.88
$23,429.75
 

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pay 35.1% more for entertainment and sports

 
Wroclaw
Iowa City
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $4.09
PLN16.15
$5.00
 
Cappuccino in mid-range area $4.04
PLN15.94
$5.67
 
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$6.26
PLN24.73
$8.89
 

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pay 0.6% more for clothing

 
Wroclaw
Iowa City
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$93.99
PLN371.01
$64.22
 
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$39.22
PLN154.79
$50.56
 
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$92.44
PLN364.88
$100.00
 

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We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated November 2026). How we calculate this

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