Cost of living comparison

compared to
Chicago vs. Kentucky Cost of Living Summary

Chicago is 56.7% more expensive than Kentucky.

Restaurants
pay 43.0% more in Chicago
Groceries
pay 34.8% more in Chicago
Transportation
pay 38.3% more in Chicago
Housing
pay 35.5% more in Chicago
Childcare
pay 2.4 times more in Chicago
Entertainment and Sports
pay 74.0% more in Chicago
Clothing
pay 32.8% more in Chicago

The cost of childcare, entertainment and sports, restaurants, transportation, housing, and groceries in Chicago are more expensive than in Kentucky. Notably, childcare is significantly more expensive in Chicago.

Chicago vs. Kentucky Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Chicago instead of Kentucky, you would:

pay 43.0% more for restaurants

 
Kentucky
Chicago
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $14.77
 
$25.00
 
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$9.25
 
$11.34
 
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $2.21
 
$3.02
 

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pay 34.8% more for groceries

 
Kentucky
Chicago
Bread
1 loaf
$2.61
 
$4.19
 
Local cheese (8 oz) $5.61
 
$7.87
 
Milk (1 gallon) $2.62
 
$3.94
 

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pay 38.3% more for transportation

 
Kentucky
Chicago
Gasoline (1 gallon) $3.16
 
$4.16
 
Monthly public transit pass $32.50
 
$75.00
 
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $34,634.71
 
$31,965.00
 

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pay 35.5% more for housing

 
Kentucky
Chicago
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$62.62
 
$58.52
 
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $1,162.24
 
$2,360.96
 
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $976.78
 
$1,512.92
 

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pay 2.4 times more for childcare

 
Kentucky
Chicago
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $1,272.49
 
$2,475.00
 
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $14,996.29
 
$42,300.00
 

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pay 74.0% more for entertainment and sports

 
Kentucky
Chicago
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $4.57
 
$7.50
 
Cappuccino in mid-range area $4.73
 
$5.30
 
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$7.75
 
$17.00
 

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pay 32.8% more for clothing

 
Kentucky
Chicago
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$45.19
 
$64.98
 
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$42.32
 
$51.67
 
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$86.51
 
$97.00
 

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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: January 2025
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