Cost of living comparison

 Italy
compared to
 United States
United States vs. Italy Cost of Living Summary

United States is 56.2% more expensive than Italy overall.

Restaurants
pay 19.4% more in United States
Groceries
pay 45.5% more in United States
Transportation
pay 5.7% more in United States
Housing
pay 2.2 times more in United States
Childcare
pay 2.5 times more in United States
Entertainment and Sports
pay 61.9% more in United States
Clothing
pay 5.0% less in United States

The cost of childcare, housing, entertainment and sports, groceries, restaurants, and transportation in United States are more expensive than in Italy. Notably, childcare and housing are significantly more expensive in United States.

United States vs. Italy Cost Breakdown

If you lived in United States instead of Italy, you would:

pay 19.4% more for restaurants

 
Italy
United States
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $16.15
€14.79
$18.59
 
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$10.06
€9.22
$10.47
 
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $2.55
€2.34
$2.50
 

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pay 45.5% more for groceries

 
Italy
United States
Bread
1 loaf
$2.04
€1.87
$3.49
 
Local cheese (8 oz) $6.83
€6.26
$6.33
 
Milk (1 gallon) $5.53
€5.07
$3.91
 

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pay 5.7% more for transportation

 
Italy
United States
Gasoline (1 gallon) $7.22
€6.62
$3.61
 
Monthly public transit pass $38.81
€35.55
$65.15
 
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $28,223.13
€25,853.66
$31,583.67
 

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pay 2.2 times more for housing

 
Italy
United States
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$28.87
€26.45
$67.50
 
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $656.19
€601.10
$1,655.99
 
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $511.91
€468.93
$1,423.40
 

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pay 2.5 times more for childcare

 
Italy
United States
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $508.72
€466.01
$1,351.84
 
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $9,465.55
€8,670.87
$22,265.44
 

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pay 61.9% more for entertainment and sports

 
Italy
United States
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $5.01
€4.59
$5.78
 
Cappuccino in mid-range area $1.69
€1.55
$5.04
 
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$6.20
€5.68
$9.68
 

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pay 5.0% less for clothing

 
Italy
United States
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$78.41
€71.83
$50.38
 
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$33.87
€31.02
$40.66
 
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$86.07
€78.84
$85.52
 

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The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you. We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: March 2025
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