Cost of living comparison
Cape Town is 52.1% cheaper than Chicago.
- Restaurants
-
pay 64.0% less in Cape Town
- Groceries
-
pay 50.2% less in Cape Town
- Transportation
-
pay 23.1% less in Cape Town
- Housing
-
pay 50.8% less in Cape Town
- Childcare
-
pay 90.7% less in Cape Town
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 61.6% less in Cape Town
- Clothing
-
pay 24.2% less in Cape Town
Expenses including childcare, restaurants, entertainment and sports, housing, groceries, and clothing are lower in Cape Town.
If you lived in Cape Town instead of Chicago, you would:
pay 64.0% less for restaurants
|
Chicago
|
Cape Town
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$25.00
|
$8.52
ZAR159.23
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$11.34
|
$5.11
ZAR95.54
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$3.02
|
$0.99
ZAR18.56
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.44
|
$0.78
ZAR14.59
|
|
pay 50.2% less for groceries
|
Chicago
|
Cape Town
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$4.19
|
$1.07
ZAR20.04
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$7.87
|
$4.13
ZAR77.21
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$3.94
|
$4.25
ZAR79.49
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$3.75
|
$2.53
ZAR47.34
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$6.63
|
$2.30
ZAR42.92
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.44
|
$0.73
ZAR13.66
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.90
|
$0.70
ZAR13.00
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.19
|
$0.69
ZAR12.85
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.27
|
$0.70
ZAR13.06
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.16
|
$0.55
ZAR10.26
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.37
|
$0.59
ZAR11.10
|
|
pay 23.1% less for transportation
|
Chicago
|
Cape Town
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.16
|
$5.09
ZAR95.13
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$75.00
|
$42.60
ZAR796.13
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$31,965.00
|
$19,879.98
ZAR371,526.93
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$14.43
|
$9.54
ZAR178.33
|
|
pay 50.8% less for housing
|
Chicago
|
Cape Town
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$58.52
|
$43.29
ZAR808.98
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$2,360.96
|
$784.43
ZAR14,659.76
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,512.92
|
$505.72
ZAR9,451.19
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$126.63
|
$71.33
ZAR1,332.97
|
|
pay 90.7% less for childcare
|
Chicago
|
Cape Town
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$2,475.00
|
$207.06
ZAR3,869.67
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$42,300.00
|
$4,312.73
ZAR80,598.52
|
|
pay 61.6% less for entertainment and sports
|
Chicago
|
Cape Town
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$7.50
|
$2.56
ZAR47.77
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.30
|
$2.12
ZAR39.71
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$17.00
|
$2.95
ZAR55.20
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$72.00
|
$39.65
ZAR741.09
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$15.00
|
$6.82
ZAR127.38
|
|
pay 24.2% less for clothing
|
Chicago
|
Cape Town
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$64.98
|
$53.53
ZAR1,000.38
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$51.67
|
$30.86
ZAR576.68
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$97.00
|
$104.97
ZAR1,961.66
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$146.00
|
$77.06
ZAR1,440.21
|
|
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