Detroit vs. Pennsylvania Cost of Living Summary

Detroit is 7.9% cheaper than Pennsylvania.

Restaurants
pay 5.0% more in Detroit
Groceries
pay 17.3% less in Detroit
Transportation
pay 6.2% less in Detroit
Housing
pay 9.0% more in Detroit
Childcare
pay 32.7% less in Detroit
Entertainment and Sports
pay 3.6% less in Detroit
Clothing
pay 9.4% less in Detroit

The cost of housing and restaurants in Detroit are more expensive than in Pennsylvania. Expenses including childcare, groceries, clothing, transportation, and entertainment and sports are lower in Detroit.

Detroit vs. Pennsylvania Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Detroit instead of Pennsylvania, you would:

pay 5.0% more for restaurants

 
Pennsylvania
Detroit
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $19.53
 
$20.00
 
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$9.30
 
$10.00
 
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $2.27
 
$2.47
 

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pay 17.3% less for groceries

 
Pennsylvania
Detroit
Bread
1 loaf
$3.25
 
$2.75
 
Local cheese (8 oz) $7.37
 
$4.96
 
Milk (1 gallon) $4.35
 
$3.28
 

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pay 6.2% less for transportation

 
Pennsylvania
Detroit
Gasoline (1 gallon) $3.58
 
$3.49
 
Monthly public transit pass $66.58
 
$66.00
 
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $31,817.25
 
$35,699.74
 

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pay 9.0% more for housing

 
Pennsylvania
Detroit
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$62.16
 
$58.33
 
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $1,357.77
 
$1,483.17
 
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $1,179.21
 
$1,092.83
 

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pay 32.7% less for childcare

 
Pennsylvania
Detroit
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $1,481.93
 
$1,294.79
 
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $35,614.17
 
$16,800.00
 

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pay 3.6% less for entertainment and sports

 
Pennsylvania
Detroit
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $5.58
 
$6.00
 
Cappuccino in mid-range area $5.03
 
$4.87
 
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$11.13
 
$10.00
 

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pay 9.4% less for clothing

 
Pennsylvania
Detroit
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$53.27
 
$45.58
 
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$39.31
 
$32.50
 
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$83.69
 
$82.00
 

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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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