Cost of living comparison

compared to
Chicago vs. Austin Cost of Living Summary

Chicago is 24.4% more expensive than Austin.

Restaurants
pay 19.5% more in Chicago
Groceries
pay 18.5% more in Chicago
Transportation
pay 20.5% more in Chicago
Housing
pay 4.7% less in Chicago
Childcare
pay 82.2% more in Chicago
Entertainment and Sports
pay 30.6% more in Chicago
Clothing
pay 4.2% more in Chicago

The cost of childcare, entertainment and sports, transportation, restaurants, groceries, and clothing in Chicago are more expensive than in Austin. Notably, childcare is significantly more expensive in Chicago.

Chicago vs. Austin Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Chicago instead of Austin, you would:

pay 19.5% more for restaurants

 
Austin
Chicago
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $18.00
 
$25.00
 
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$10.00
 
$11.34
 
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $2.62
 
$3.02
 

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pay 18.5% more for groceries

 
Austin
Chicago
Bread
1 loaf
$3.60
 
$4.19
 
Local cheese (8 oz) $6.37
 
$7.87
 
Milk (1 gallon) $3.94
 
$3.94
 

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pay 20.5% more for transportation

 
Austin
Chicago
Gasoline (1 gallon) $3.04
 
$4.16
 
Monthly public transit pass $45.00
 
$75.00
 
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $35,000.00
 
$31,965.00
 

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pay 4.7% less for housing

 
Austin
Chicago
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$70.43
 
$58.52
 
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $2,280.66
 
$2,360.96
 
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $1,508.91
 
$1,512.92
 

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pay 82.2% more for childcare

 
Austin
Chicago
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $1,465.00
 
$2,475.00
 
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $21,625.00
 
$42,300.00
 

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pay 30.6% more for entertainment and sports

 
Austin
Chicago
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $6.00
 
$7.50
 
Cappuccino in mid-range area $5.31
 
$5.30
 
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$9.00
 
$17.00
 

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pay 4.2% more for clothing

 
Austin
Chicago
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$63.62
 
$64.98
 
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$52.38
 
$51.67
 
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$89.78
 
$97.00
 

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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: March 2025
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