Cost of living comparison
Berlin is 15.6% cheaper than Chicago.
If you lived in Berlin instead of Chicago, you would:
pay 5.1% less for restaurants
|
Chicago
|
Berlin
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$25.00
|
$16.08
€15.41
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$11.34
|
$11.79
€11.30
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$3.02
|
$2.88
€2.76
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.44
|
$2.84
€2.72
|
|
pay 25.5% less for groceries
|
Chicago
|
Berlin
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$4.19
|
$1.96
€1.87
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$7.87
|
$6.66
€6.39
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$3.94
|
$4.57
€4.38
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$3.75
|
$3.28
€3.14
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$6.63
|
$5.41
€5.18
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.44
|
$1.34
€1.29
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.90
|
$0.83
€0.80
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.19
|
$1.00
€0.96
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.27
|
$1.85
€1.77
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.16
|
$0.83
€0.79
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.37
|
$0.80
€0.76
|
|
pay 36.5% more for transportation
|
Chicago
|
Berlin
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.16
|
$7.19
€6.89
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$75.00
|
$52.52
€50.35
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$31,965.00
|
$31,799.21
€30,488.23
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$14.43
|
$29.37
€28.16
|
|
pay 0.3% more for housing
|
Chicago
|
Berlin
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$58.52
|
$44.99
€43.13
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$2,360.96
|
$1,278.77
€1,226.05
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,512.92
|
$938.86
€900.16
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$126.63
|
$263.55
€252.68
|
|
pay 82.4% less for childcare
|
Chicago
|
Berlin
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$2,475.00
|
$306.98
€294.33
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$42,300.00
|
$9,639.17
€9,241.78
|
|
pay 34.1% less for entertainment and sports
|
Chicago
|
Berlin
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$7.50
|
$4.29
€4.11
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.30
|
$3.98
€3.82
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$17.00
|
$9.11
€8.73
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$72.00
|
$37.89
€36.32
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$15.00
|
$13.66
€13.10
|
|
pay 1.0% more for clothing
|
Chicago
|
Berlin
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$64.98
|
$85.49
€81.97
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$51.67
|
$40.99
€39.30
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$97.00
|
$95.49
€91.55
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$146.00
|
$138.30
€132.60
|
|
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