Cost of living comparison
Berlin is 15.7% cheaper than Chicago.
If you lived in Berlin instead of Chicago, you would:
pay 7.8% less for restaurants
|
Chicago
|
Berlin
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$25.00
|
$15.24
€14.11
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$12.00
|
$10.88
€10.08
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.99
|
$3.08
€2.85
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.40
|
$2.74
€2.54
|
|
pay 25.3% less for groceries
|
Chicago
|
Berlin
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$4.20
|
$2.14
€1.98
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$8.29
|
$6.94
€6.42
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.06
|
$4.68
€4.33
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.07
|
$3.49
€3.23
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$6.78
|
$6.38
€5.91
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.70
|
$1.31
€1.21
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.89
|
$0.78
€0.72
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.10
|
$1.06
€0.98
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.24
|
$1.65
€1.52
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.19
|
$0.81
€0.75
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.35
|
$0.86
€0.79
|
|
pay 26.4% more for transportation
|
Chicago
|
Berlin
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.22
|
$7.43
€6.88
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$80.00
|
$53.34
€49.38
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$37,383.69
|
$32,415.23
€30,012.42
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$14.43
|
$25.46
€23.58
|
|
pay 5.7% more for housing
|
Chicago
|
Berlin
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$57.48
|
$42.52
€39.37
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$2,432.29
|
$1,392.07
€1,288.88
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,517.89
|
$988.74
€915.45
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$122.94
|
$278.35
€257.71
|
|
pay 84.8% less for childcare
|
Chicago
|
Berlin
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$2,170.00
|
$209.09
€193.59
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$45,450.00
|
$9,427.53
€8,728.71
|
|
pay 32.7% less for entertainment and sports
|
Chicago
|
Berlin
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$7.50
|
$4.90
€4.54
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.21
|
$4.05
€3.75
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$16.00
|
$8.93
€8.26
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$76.63
|
$37.56
€34.78
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$15.00
|
$13.33
€12.35
|
|
pay 8.4% more for clothing
|
Chicago
|
Berlin
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$60.46
|
$88.82
€82.24
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$53.75
|
$41.27
€38.21
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$97.19
|
$96.51
€89.36
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$130.31
|
$144.43
€133.73
|
|
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