Cost of living comparison
London is 17.0% more expensive than Chicago.
If you lived in London instead of Chicago, you would:
pay 12.1% less for restaurants
|
Chicago
|
London
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$25.00
|
$25.83
£20.47
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$11.34
|
$10.33
£8.19
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$3.02
|
$2.46
£1.95
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.44
|
$1.85
£1.47
|
|
pay 21.2% less for groceries
|
Chicago
|
London
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$4.19
|
$2.07
£1.64
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$7.87
|
$5.65
£4.47
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$3.94
|
$6.31
£5.00
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$3.75
|
$4.45
£3.52
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$6.63
|
$4.26
£3.38
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.44
|
$1.56
£1.24
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.90
|
$0.75
£0.60
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.19
|
$1.44
£1.14
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.27
|
$1.79
£1.42
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.16
|
$0.69
£0.55
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.37
|
$0.70
£0.56
|
|
pay 2.2 times more for transportation
|
Chicago
|
London
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.16
|
$7.39
£5.86
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$75.00
|
$258.31
£204.71
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$31,965.00
|
$36,531.14
£28,951.62
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$14.43
|
$35.26
£27.94
|
|
pay 34.0% more for housing
|
Chicago
|
London
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$58.52
|
$41.63
£32.99
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$2,360.96
|
$2,834.46
£2,246.37
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,512.92
|
$2,063.73
£1,635.55
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$126.63
|
$263.90
£209.15
|
|
pay 19.9% less for childcare
|
Chicago
|
London
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$2,475.00
|
$2,333.60
£1,849.42
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$42,300.00
|
$27,892.30
£22,105.18
|
|
pay 3.2% more for entertainment and sports
|
Chicago
|
London
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$7.50
|
$8.27
£6.55
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.30
|
$4.80
£3.81
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$17.00
|
$19.76
£15.66
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$72.00
|
$65.66
£52.04
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$15.00
|
$16.14
£12.79
|
|
pay 14.5% more for clothing
|
Chicago
|
London
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$64.98
|
$96.94
£76.83
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$51.67
|
$50.55
£40.06
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$97.00
|
$114.87
£91.04
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$146.00
|
$135.36
£107.28
|
|
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