Cost of living comparison
Chicago is 10.3% cheaper than San Francisco.
If you lived in Chicago instead of San Francisco, you would:
pay 4.1% more for restaurants
|
San Francisco
|
Chicago
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$25.00
|
$25.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$12.00
|
$11.34
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.83
|
$3.02
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.20
|
$2.44
|
|
pay 26.5% less for groceries
|
San Francisco
|
Chicago
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$4.86
|
$4.19
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$11.38
|
$7.87
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$5.98
|
$3.94
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$5.32
|
$3.75
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$6.49
|
$6.63
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$3.26
|
$2.44
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.47
|
$0.90
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.54
|
$2.19
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$3.74
|
$2.27
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$2.01
|
$1.16
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.86
|
$1.37
|
|
pay 21.6% less for transportation
|
San Francisco
|
Chicago
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$5.27
|
$4.16
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$98.00
|
$75.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$36,753.89
|
$31,965.00
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$20.31
|
$14.43
|
|
pay 28.5% less for housing
|
San Francisco
|
Chicago
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$65.19
|
$58.52
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$3,110.17
|
$2,360.96
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$2,750.00
|
$1,512.92
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$194.16
|
$126.63
|
|
pay 0.6% less for childcare
|
San Francisco
|
Chicago
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$2,829.63
|
$2,475.00
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$38,000.00
|
$42,300.00
|
|
pay 5.3% less for entertainment and sports
|
San Francisco
|
Chicago
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$8.00
|
$7.50
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.64
|
$5.30
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$14.00
|
$17.00
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$94.53
|
$72.00
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$17.00
|
$15.00
|
|
pay 6.0% more for clothing
|
San Francisco
|
Chicago
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$61.43
|
$64.98
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$45.08
|
$51.67
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$104.32
|
$97.00
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$131.92
|
$146.00
|
|
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