Cost of living comparison
compared to
Iowa vs. Zimbabwe Cost of Living Summary
Iowa is 2.5 times more expensive than Zimbabwe overall.
- Restaurants
-
pay 3.1 times more in Iowa
- Groceries
-
pay 70.8% more in Iowa
- Transportation
-
pay 15.7% less in Iowa
- Housing
-
pay 2.6 times more in Iowa
- Childcare
-
pay 4.0 times more in Iowa
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 2.8 times more in Iowa
- Clothing
-
pay 2.2 times more in Iowa
The cost of childcare, restaurants, entertainment and sports, housing, clothing, and groceries in Iowa are more expensive than in Zimbabwe. Notably, childcare, restaurants, and entertainment and sports are significantly more expensive in Iowa.
Iowa vs. Zimbabwe Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Iowa instead of Zimbabwe, you would:
pay 3.1 times more for restaurants
|
Zimbabwe
|
Iowa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$7.25
ZWL2,334.50
|
$15.83
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$5.50
ZWL1,771.00
|
$10.57
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$0.60
ZWL192.35
|
$2.46
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$0.42
ZWL134.02
|
$1.82
|
|
Zimbabwe vs. Iowa - Cost of restaurants
pay 70.8% more for groceries
|
Zimbabwe
|
Iowa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.01
ZWL326.12
|
$2.77
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$5.30
ZWL1,707.41
|
$5.89
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$5.96
ZWL1,918.06
|
$3.33
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$1.98
ZWL636.46
|
$3.30
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$2.37
ZWL762.99
|
$4.57
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.08
ZWL349.08
|
$1.96
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.73
ZWL234.29
|
$0.65
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.07
ZWL344.68
|
$1.93
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$0.61
ZWL196.88
|
$1.93
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.66
ZWL211.93
|
$0.99
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.80
ZWL258.09
|
$1.30
|
|
Zimbabwe vs. Iowa - Cost of groceries
pay 15.7% less for transportation
|
Zimbabwe
|
Iowa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$5.92
ZWL1,906.80
|
$3.02
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$42.50
ZWL13,685.00
|
$38.07
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$23,500.00
ZWL7,567,000.00
|
$28,093.10
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$20.00
ZWL6,440.00
|
$15.46
|
|
Zimbabwe vs. Iowa - Cost of transportation
pay 2.6 times more for housing
|
Zimbabwe
|
Iowa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$159.29
ZWL51,291.92
|
$65.62
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$301.47
ZWL97,073.53
|
$1,069.66
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$202.31
ZWL65,143.08
|
$852.78
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$59.14
ZWL19,042.20
|
$133.13
|
|
Zimbabwe vs. Iowa - Cost of housing
pay 4.0 times more for childcare
|
Zimbabwe
|
Iowa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$231.11
ZWL74,417.78
|
$1,152.45
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$6,406.25
ZWL2,062,812.50
|
$18,898.50
|
|
Zimbabwe vs. Iowa - Cost of childcare
pay 2.8 times more for entertainment and sports
|
Zimbabwe
|
Iowa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$1.62
ZWL523.25
|
$4.44
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$2.52
ZWL810.92
|
$5.43
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$1.35
ZWL434.70
|
$8.55
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$45.19
ZWL14,551.92
|
$63.76
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$11.25
ZWL3,622.50
|
$13.58
|
|
Zimbabwe vs. Iowa - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 2.2 times more for clothing
|
Zimbabwe
|
Iowa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$20.71
ZWL6,668.08
|
$55.34
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$16.58
ZWL5,339.83
|
$41.65
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$48.80
ZWL15,712.98
|
$81.56
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$58.17
ZWL18,731.73
|
$106.86
|
|
Zimbabwe 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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