Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Tbilisi and Iowa City, IA

For one person, living is cheaper in Tbilisi: $1,269 a month against $2,251 in Iowa City, IA, rent and utilities included – about $11,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

61

Cost of Living Index in Tbilisi
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Tbilisi Living Index
109

Cost of Living Index in Iowa City, IA
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Iowa City, IA Living Index

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Tbilisi

🇬🇪 Georgia

$1,269

/mo nomad

Iowa City, IA

🇺🇸 United States

$2,251

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Tbilisi and in Iowa City, IA

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Tbilisi and in Iowa City, IA actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,269 in Tbilisi versus $2,251 in Iowa City, IA.

Tbilisi $1,269
Iowa City, IA $2,251

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,016 in Tbilisi versus $3,264 in Iowa City, IA.

Tbilisi $2,016
Iowa City, IA $3,264

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,763 in Tbilisi versus $4,276 in Iowa City, IA.

Tbilisi $2,763
Iowa City, IA $4,276

Living in Tbilisi costs roughly 44% less than in Iowa City, IA, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Tbilisi is 7% below, Iowa City, IA is 65% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.63 ₾30.07

$15.12 $15.12

-23.08%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$37.83 ₾97.8

$67.3 $67.3

-43.81%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.66 ₾24.98

$9.03 $9.03

6.98%

Cappuccino

$3.57 ₾9.24

$5.54 $5.54

-35.56%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.08 ₾2.78

$2.77 $2.77

-61.01%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.56 ₾1.45

$2.23 $2.23

-74.89%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.62 ₾6.78

$4.86 $4.86

-46.09%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.04 ₾7.85

$7.13 $7.13

-57.36%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.17 ₾5.60

$0.92 $0.92

135.87%

White Bread (500g)

$0.80 ₾2.06

$2.79 $2.79

-71.33%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.74 ₾4.51

$2.02 $2.02

-13.86%

Eggs

$2.83 ₾7.31

$3.71 $3.71

-23.72%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.31 ₾24.07

$9.43 $9.43

-1.27%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.52 ₾16.85

$10.64 $10.64

-38.72%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.95 ₾33.50

$19.95 $19.95

-35.09%

Apples (1kg)

$1.68 ₾4.33

$3.37 $3.37

-50.15%

Banana (1kg)

$1.85 ₾4.79

$1.22 $1.22

51.64%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.97 ₾5.10

$2.65 $2.65

-25.66%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.42 ₾6.25

$4.87 $4.87

-50.31%

Potato (1kg)

$0.82 ₾2.11

$1.98 $1.98

-58.59%

Onion (1kg)

$0.74 ₾1.91

$2.36 $2.36

-68.64%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.34 ₾3.47

$1.71 $1.71

-21.64%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.77 ₾2.00

$2.38 $2.38

-67.65%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.57 ₾9.24

$10.13 $10.13

-64.76%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.67 ₾19.83

$13.70 $13.70

-44.01%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.70 ₾4.39

$1.72 $1.72

-1.16%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.40 ₾6.21

$4.54 $4.54

-47.14%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.40 ₾1.05

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$15.23 ₾39.38

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.14 ₾2.95

$3.91 $3.91

-70.84%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.78 ₾2.02

$1.97 $1.97

-60.41%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$11.83 ₾30.58

$43.67 $43.67

-72.91%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 ₾3.75

$0.99 $0.99

46.46%

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$24.6K ₾63.6K

$27.2K $27.2K

-9.57%

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$22.3K ₾57.8K

$25.8K $25.8K

-13.36%

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$88.8 ₾230

$271 $271

-67.29%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$13.12 ₾33.93

$51.5 $51.5

-74.50%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$19.67 ₾50.9

$81.6 $81.6

-75.89%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$64.1 ₾166

$29.80 $29.80

114.93%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.04 ₾49.24

$19.65 $19.65

-3.10%

Cinema Ticket

$7.12 ₾18.42

$13.86 $13.86

-48.63%

Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)

$375 ₾971

$1,292 $1,292

-70.94%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$10.5K ₾27.1K

$23.7K $23.7K

-55.91%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$104 ₾268

$64.4 $64.4

60.96%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.26 ₾102

$49.68 $49.68

-20.97%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$117 ₾303

$98.6 $98.6

19.07%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$122 ₾315

$115 $115

5.88%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$695 ₾1,798

$1,242 $1,242

-44.03%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$451 ₾1,167

$1,003 $1,003

-55.01%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,355 ₾3,504

$1,933 $1,933

-29.92%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$906 ₾2,343

$1,637 $1,637

-44.66%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,295 ₾5,934

$3,514 $3,514

-34.69%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,345 ₾3,478

$1,811 $1,811

-25.73%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$664 ₾1,718

$3,822 $3,822

-82.62%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

12.62

6.45

95.66%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Tbilisi: October 27, 2026

Last update for Iowa City, IA: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Accommodation & Living

Tbilisi

$451 35.6%

Iowa City, IA

$1K 44.6% 122% $552

Groceries & Markets

Tbilisi

$234 18.4%

Iowa City, IA

$352 15.6% 50.3% $118

Eating Out

Tbilisi

$191 15%

Iowa City, IA

$273 12.1% 43.3% $83

Clothing & Footwear

Tbilisi

$172 13.5%

Iowa City, IA

$147 6.6% 14.2% $24

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Tbilisi

$122 9.6%

Iowa City, IA

$404 18% 233% $283

Sport & Entertainment

Tbilisi

$78 6.2%

Iowa City, IA

$58 2.6% 26.5% $21

Getting Around

Tbilisi

$22 1.7%

Iowa City, IA

$14 * 0.6% 37.2% $8.1

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $695 in Tbilisi and $1,242 in Iowa City, IA. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Iowa City, IA pays about 5.8 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $38 in Tbilisi vs $67 in Iowa City, IA for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $234 vs $352 per month, with Tbilisi cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇪 Tbilisi

🇺🇸 Iowa City, IA

🕒 Local time

01:30 1:30 AM

15:30 3:30 PM

10 h behind Tbilisi

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,241,700 Capital

74,828

💱 Currency

Georgian Lari GEL ₾

United States Dollar USD $

📈 Exchange rate

1 GEL = 0.387 USD

1 GEL = 0.345 EUR

1 USD = 0.892 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

USD, EUR to GEL – Georgian Lari Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇬🇪 Georgian Lari (₾)

Georgian Lari exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 2.59 GEL (1 GEL = 0.387 USD). 1 EUR = 2.9 GEL (1 GEL = 0.345 EUR).

United States Dollar exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.892 EUR).

USD to GEL in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Tbilisi Iowa City, IA 9,760 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Tbilisi
Iowa City, IA

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Tbilisi vs Iowa City, IA: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Tbilisi is about 44% cheaper overall, especially in groceries, utilities, and eating out. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 83% lower in Tbilisi. That’s worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $695 in Tbilisi versus $1,242 in Iowa City, IA. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $375 in Tbilisi versus $1,292 in Iowa City, IA. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Tbilisi – a meal for two runs $38 versus $67 in Iowa City, IA. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,269 in Tbilisi versus $2,251 in Iowa City, IA, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Tbilisi but tight or insufficient in Iowa City, IA. The gap between the two cities makes Tbilisi the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

Safety-wise, Tbilisi and Iowa City, IA are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

It comes down to priorities – Tbilisi wins on affordability, Iowa City, IA on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.