Cost of living comparison
Germany is 25.5% cheaper than Chicago.
If you lived in Germany instead of Chicago, you would:
pay 15.6% less for restaurants
|
Chicago
|
Germany
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$25.00
|
$13.72
€12.70
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$12.00
|
$10.18
€9.42
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.99
|
$2.83
€2.62
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.40
|
$2.48
€2.30
|
|
pay 29.4% less for groceries
|
Chicago
|
Germany
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$4.20
|
$2.11
€1.96
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$8.29
|
$6.75
€6.25
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.06
|
$4.24
€3.93
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.07
|
$3.55
€3.29
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$6.78
|
$7.19
€6.66
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.70
|
$1.26
€1.17
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.89
|
$0.65
€0.60
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.10
|
$1.00
€0.92
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.24
|
$1.39
€1.29
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.19
|
$0.72
€0.67
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.35
|
$0.77
€0.72
|
|
pay 19.4% more for transportation
|
Chicago
|
Germany
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.22
|
$7.16
€6.63
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$80.00
|
$54.61
€50.56
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$37,383.69
|
$29,249.82
€27,081.65
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$14.43
|
$23.30
€21.57
|
|
pay 13.0% less for housing
|
Chicago
|
Germany
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$57.48
|
$49.15
€45.51
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$2,432.29
|
$800.45
€741.12
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,517.89
|
$616.33
€570.64
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$122.94
|
$232.30
€215.08
|
|
pay 76.2% less for childcare
|
Chicago
|
Germany
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$2,170.00
|
$434.24
€402.05
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$45,450.00
|
$12,512.98
€11,585.45
|
|
pay 38.2% less for entertainment and sports
|
Chicago
|
Germany
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$7.50
|
$4.33
€4.01
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.21
|
$3.44
€3.19
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$16.00
|
$8.81
€8.16
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$76.63
|
$35.42
€32.80
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$15.00
|
$12.56
€11.63
|
|
pay (unknown) more for clothing
|
Chicago
|
Germany
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$60.46
|
$83.65
€77.45
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$53.75
|
$41.29
€38.23
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$97.19
|
$89.84
€83.18
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$130.31
|
$120.25
€111.33
|
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