Cost of living comparison
Illinois is 4.9% cheaper than Houston.
If you lived in Illinois instead of Houston, you would:
pay 0.8% more for restaurants
|
Houston
|
Illinois
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$17.25
|
$17.45
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$9.12
|
$9.57
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.49
|
$2.40
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.87
|
$1.87
|
|
pay 0.4% less for groceries
|
Houston
|
Illinois
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$3.05
|
$2.98
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$6.28
|
$5.17
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$3.64
|
$3.24
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$3.72
|
$2.67
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$4.95
|
$4.72
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.05
|
$2.19
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.58
|
$0.62
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.56
|
$1.91
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.24
|
$1.74
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.24
|
$0.93
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.04
|
$1.12
|
|
pay 1.9% less for transportation
|
Houston
|
Illinois
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.11
|
$3.53
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$75.00
|
$77.17
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$33,139.19
|
$31,837.76
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$19.16
|
$15.34
|
|
pay 12.8% less for housing
|
Houston
|
Illinois
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$69.26
|
$66.06
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,624.25
|
$1,337.83
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,230.82
|
$1,055.94
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$147.82
|
$126.10
|
|
pay 6.5% less for childcare
|
Houston
|
Illinois
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,244.14
|
$1,229.51
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$25,333.33
|
$22,314.07
|
|
pay 3.5% less for entertainment and sports
|
Houston
|
Illinois
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$5.00
|
$4.85
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.13
|
$4.57
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$8.75
|
$9.28
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$39.66
|
$44.37
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$15.00
|
$11.73
|
|
pay 10.1% less for clothing
|
Houston
|
Illinois
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$49.00
|
$51.00
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$43.40
|
$37.10
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$101.64
|
$87.83
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$134.56
|
$112.76
|
|
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