Overall
- Naples-Marco Island
- 103.2
- Iowa City
- 91.5
Diff -11.7 RPP
Naples-Marco Island vs Iowa City
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Iowa City is 11.3% less expensive than Naples-Marco Island.
11.3% less expensive
Iowa City, IA is 11.3% less expensive than Naples-Marco Island, FL on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 91.5 vs 103.2). A $100,000 salary in Naples-Marco Island buys about the same as $88,672 in Iowa City; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 103.2 (Naples-Marco Island) vs 91.5 (Iowa City)
- $100k in Naples-Marco Island ≈ $88,672 purchasing power in Iowa City
- Rents drives the gap (-45.5 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair FL:IA 103.2→91.5
TIER-GAP · CROSS-STATE · RENT-LED · BENCH-CROSS · PP-SHIFT
- TIER-GAP Clear tier gap
- CROSS-STATE FL × IA
- RENT-LED Rent-led gap
- BENCH-CROSS Benchmark cross
- PP-SHIFT PP shift
Instrument codes from this pair's BEA Regional Price Parities (overall · goods · services · rents · national benchmark 100 · purchasing-power conversion), not a ranking or recommendation.
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Naples-Marco Island would need to be in Iowa City for the same purchasing power:
| In Naples-Marco Island | In Iowa City | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $44,336 | $-5,664 |
| $75,000 | $66,504 | $-8,496 |
| $100,000 | $88,672 | $-11,328 |
| $150,000 | $133,007 | $-16,993 |
$ in Naples-Marco Island = in Iowa City
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (103.2 → 91.5), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Naples-Marco Island, FL and Iowa City, IA sit in clearly different price tiers, separated by 11.7 RPP points. At this distance, treating the same nominal salary as equivalent would materially change purchasing power.
This route crosses the national benchmark: Naples-Marco Island is above 100 while Iowa City is below it. That makes the move a change of price regime, not merely a rank swap.
Rents leads the difference, with Iowa City 45.5 points lower than Naples-Marco Island. Goods, services, and rents all point in the same broad direction, making the headline comparison more transferable across household types.
Comparable population context is incomplete for this pair, so no market-scale explanation is inferred from the price indexes.
For a housing-sensitive move, validate the rent gap first: HUD Fair Market Rent and the actual unit size can overturn what the blended index implies. On the BEA ratio alone, $100,000 in Naples-Marco Island corresponds to $88,672 in Iowa City.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Naples-Marco Island
- 96.2
- Iowa City
- 93.7
Diff -2.5 RPP
Services
- Naples-Marco Island
- 87.8
- Iowa City
- 83.7
Diff -4.1 RPP
Rents
- Naples-Marco Island
- 129.4
- Iowa City
- 84.0
Diff -45.5 RPP
| Category | Naples-Marco Island | Iowa City | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 103.2 | 91.5 | -11.7 |
| Goods | 96.2 | 93.7 | -2.5 |
| Services | 87.8 | 83.7 | -4.1 |
| Rents | 129.4 | 84.0 | -45.5 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Naples-Marco Island 103.2
Iowa City 91.5
Goods
Naples-Marco Island 96.2
Iowa City 93.7
Services
Naples-Marco Island 87.8
Iowa City 83.7
Rents
Naples-Marco Island 129.4
Iowa City 84.0
Vertical line = national average (100)
Naples-Marco Island
103.2
Cost Index
Iowa City
91.5
Cost Index
How the Price Gap Changed
Naples-Marco Island and Iowa City share 17 published annual releases from 2008 through 2024. Their overall gap widened, moving from 8.6 to 11.7 RPP points. Naples-Marco Island remained the higher-index metro in the latest release.
Goods changed the most within this pair: its gap moved 0.9 points between the first and latest shared releases (1.6 to 2.5 points). This describes a relative price-index history, not a forecast or a household budget.
| Release Year | Naples-Marco Island RPP | Iowa City RPP | Relative Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 104.3 | 95.7 | 8.6 points Naples-Marco Island higher |
| 2012 | 101.6 | 96.5 | 5.1 points Naples-Marco Island higher |
| 2016 | 103.8 | 95.4 | 8.4 points Naples-Marco Island higher |
| 2020 | 99.1 | 95.6 | 3.5 points Naples-Marco Island higher |
| 2024 | 103.2 | 91.5 | 11.7 points Naples-Marco Island higher |
Annual BEA Regional Price Parity releases; a higher index means a higher price level relative to the national average of 100. Selected years shown from the full shared series.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Iowa City more expensive than Naples-Marco Island?
Iowa City is 11.3% less expensive than Naples-Marco Island. The overall cost index is 91.5 vs 103.2 (national average = 100).
What salary in Iowa City equals $100K in Naples-Marco Island?
A $100,000 salary in Naples-Marco Island has the same purchasing power as $88,672 in Iowa City. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Naples-Marco Island and Iowa City?
Rents in Naples-Marco Island are indexed at 129.4 while Iowa City is at 84.0 (national average = 100). Naples-Marco Island has higher rents.
Data sources
- BEA Regional Price Parities (RPP), the cost-of-living indices shown on this page
- U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS), gross-rent observations behind the rents component
- BLS Consumer Price Index (CPI), goods and services price relatives
- BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), labor-driven services component
- HUD Fair Market Rents (FMR), 40th-percentile rent cross-reference
Every figure on PlainCost is rendered directly from BEA Regional Price Parity source data, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, our changelog, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026-08-11. Rankings measure the published cost-of-living index only; we don't recommend where to live or rate any metro's quality of life.