Cost of living comparison
Chicago is 17.4% cheaper than New York City.
If you lived in Chicago instead of New York City, you would:
pay 6.6% less for restaurants
|
New York City
|
Chicago
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$30.00
|
$25.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$12.00
|
$12.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$3.17
|
$2.99
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.33
|
$2.40
|
|
pay 16.5% less for groceries
|
New York City
|
Chicago
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$4.83
|
$4.20
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$8.42
|
$8.29
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$5.65
|
$4.06
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$5.22
|
$4.07
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$6.93
|
$6.78
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$3.10
|
$2.70
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.96
|
$0.89
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.53
|
$2.10
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.93
|
$2.24
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.81
|
$1.19
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.69
|
$1.35
|
|
pay 14.7% less for transportation
|
New York City
|
Chicago
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.85
|
$4.22
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$132.00
|
$80.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$35,000.00
|
$37,383.69
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$22.40
|
$14.43
|
|
pay 31.5% less for housing
|
New York City
|
Chicago
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$71.82
|
$57.48
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$4,350.00
|
$2,432.29
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$2,895.30
|
$1,517.89
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$143.65
|
$122.94
|
|
pay 26.1% less for childcare
|
New York City
|
Chicago
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$3,123.56
|
$2,170.00
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$58,000.00
|
$45,450.00
|
|
pay 18.8% less for entertainment and sports
|
New York City
|
Chicago
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$8.00
|
$7.50
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.72
|
$5.21
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$17.00
|
$16.00
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$147.95
|
$76.63
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$20.00
|
$15.00
|
|
pay 7.9% less for clothing
|
New York City
|
Chicago
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$72.17
|
$60.46
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$48.24
|
$53.75
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$101.23
|
$97.19
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$169.09
|
$130.31
|
|
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