2025 Compare Cities Cost of Living:
Bakersfield, CA vs Waterloo, IA

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Highlights
Is it cheaper to live in Waterloo or is it cheaper to live in Bakersfield?
- Waterloo is 24.1% less expensive than Bakersfield.

Which city has more affordable housing, Waterloo or Bakersfield?
- Waterloo housing costs are 62.7% less expensive than Bakersfield housing costs.

Is Health Care more affordable in Bakersfield or is Health Care more affordable in Waterloo.
- Health related expenses are 14.4% more in Waterloo.
 Bakersfield, CAWaterloo, IAUnited States
 Overall  Unlock75.7100
 Food & Groceries99.0  Unlock100
 Health  Unlock104.8100
 Housing106.7  Unlock100
 Median Home Cost  Unlock$121,000$338,100
 Utilities112  Unlock100
 Transportation  Unlock64.3100
 Miscellaneous111.2  Unlock100
100 = National Average (Below 100 means cheaper than the US average. Above 100 means more expensive.)
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Reviews for Bakersfield    75 Reviews

I am a millennial, born and raised here. As someone who wrestled with staying for years, there are a lot of valid reasons to not come to Bakersfield. Air quality, summer  More

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Over 4 years ago

I have lived here all of my life. 40+ years. It used to be fun and kinda safe but now it is so scary to go outside. We are literally a homeless dumping ground and there  More

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I moved here from Seattle 25 years ago, when it had a population of 200,000, and practically the only place to get coffee was a place called “Duke’s Ranch”. Why did I  More

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Reviews for Waterloo    5 Reviews

The bike racks recently installed on the MET buses was a great idea for a community that has numerous bike riders and  More

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Over 17 years ago

Unless you're into getting wasted on a regular basis there's not a lot to do here. Most people barhop for fun. Being someone who doesn't drink and doesn't enjoy being  More

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Over 17 years ago

So the weather is emotional here - on and off during the summer its hot and rainy, yet during the fall it is quite often beautiful. Winters can be long, and spring can  More

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