Cost of living comparison
Belgium is 5.2% cheaper than Illinois.
If you lived in Belgium instead of Illinois, you would:
pay 17.0% more for restaurants
|
Illinois
|
Belgium
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$16.03
|
$19.07
€18.09
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$10.33
|
$10.84
€10.28
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.49
|
$2.78
€2.63
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.85
|
$2.46
€2.33
|
|
pay 10.4% less for groceries
|
Illinois
|
Belgium
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$3.19
|
$2.28
€2.16
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$5.63
|
$6.70
€6.35
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$3.30
|
$4.44
€4.21
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$2.92
|
$3.43
€3.25
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$5.08
|
$4.78
€4.53
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.10
|
$1.11
€1.05
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.66
|
$0.89
€0.85
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.05
|
$1.07
€1.02
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.82
|
$1.16
€1.10
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.98
|
$0.83
€0.79
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.20
|
$0.73
€0.69
|
|
pay 24.3% more for transportation
|
Illinois
|
Belgium
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.61
|
$6.91
€6.56
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$72.95
|
$45.41
€43.07
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$28,096.73
|
$27,628.35
€26,201.68
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$17.96
|
$26.01
€24.67
|
|
pay 23.1% less for housing
|
Illinois
|
Belgium
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$65.96
|
$49.35
€46.80
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,375.37
|
$815.11
€773.02
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,146.99
|
$705.09
€668.68
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$137.37
|
$154.10
€146.15
|
|
pay 51.9% less for childcare
|
Illinois
|
Belgium
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,394.11
|
$557.50
€528.71
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$24,405.00
|
$13,740.85
€13,031.30
|
|
pay 18.3% less for entertainment and sports
|
Illinois
|
Belgium
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$5.17
|
$4.34
€4.11
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$4.81
|
$3.51
€3.33
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$9.79
|
$9.08
€8.61
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$60.87
|
$36.02
€34.16
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$12.50
|
$12.48
€11.83
|
|
pay 26.1% more for clothing
|
Illinois
|
Belgium
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$51.50
|
$92.82
€88.03
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$41.59
|
$43.31
€41.07
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$80.60
|
$90.40
€85.73
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$115.89
|
$125.11
€118.65
|
|
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