Cost of living comparison
Iowa is 2.1 times more expensive than Sweden.
If you lived in Iowa instead of Sweden, you would:
pay 10.0% more for restaurants
|
Sweden
|
Iowa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$11.31
SEK119.94
|
$15.06
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$9.30
SEK98.56
|
$9.56
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$1.93
SEK20.42
|
$2.17
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.88
SEK19.97
|
$1.72
|
|
pay 17.4% more for groceries
|
Sweden
|
Iowa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$2.55
SEK27.01
|
$2.57
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$5.31
SEK56.27
|
$5.42
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$5.59
SEK59.25
|
$3.44
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$3.82
SEK40.50
|
$2.96
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$4.89
SEK51.80
|
$4.79
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.22
SEK12.90
|
$2.10
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.07
SEK11.32
|
$0.64
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.14
SEK12.06
|
$1.90
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.80
SEK19.11
|
$2.09
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.67
SEK7.06
|
$1.05
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.72
SEK7.67
|
$1.29
|
|
pay 30.2% less for transportation
|
Sweden
|
Iowa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$6.80
SEK72.11
|
$3.22
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$68.13
SEK722.25
|
$41.67
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$27,059.79
SEK286,851.20
|
$27,291.62
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$21.32
SEK226.00
|
$14.84
|
|
pay 73.5% more for housing
|
Sweden
|
Iowa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$29.04
SEK307.80
|
$68.69
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$873.36
SEK9,258.13
|
$1,107.08
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$653.04
SEK6,922.63
|
$831.82
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$69.04
SEK731.89
|
$140.13
|
|
pay 7.8 times more for childcare
|
Sweden
|
Iowa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$121.10
SEK1,283.74
|
$1,030.74
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$2,856.48
SEK30,280.52
|
$20,379.75
|
|
pay 9.1% more for entertainment and sports
|
Sweden
|
Iowa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$6.81
SEK72.24
|
$5.03
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$3.75
SEK39.71
|
$5.05
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$6.25
SEK66.22
|
$8.26
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$39.42
SEK417.84
|
$45.83
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$13.75
SEK145.73
|
$12.12
|
|
pay 8.2% less for clothing
|
Sweden
|
Iowa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$80.13
SEK849.48
|
$46.34
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$34.51
SEK365.79
|
$41.37
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$82.17
SEK871.03
|
$81.19
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$117.97
SEK1,250.57
|
$106.97
|
|
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