Cost of living comparison

compared to
Chicago vs. Texas Cost of Living Summary

Chicago is 36.4% more expensive than Texas.

Restaurants
pay 28.9% more in Chicago
Groceries
pay 20.7% more in Chicago
Transportation
pay 8.6% more in Chicago
Housing
pay 13.2% more in Chicago
Childcare
pay 2.1 times more in Chicago
Entertainment and Sports
pay 49.8% more in Chicago
Clothing
pay 23.2% more in Chicago

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

Chicago vs. Texas Cost Breakdown

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

pay 28.9% more for restaurants

 
Texas
Chicago
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $17.27
 
$25.00
 
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$9.75
 
$11.34
 
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $2.43
 
$3.02
 

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pay 20.7% more for groceries

 
Texas
Chicago
Bread
1 loaf
$3.09
 
$4.19
 
Local cheese (8 oz) $6.03
 
$7.87
 
Milk (1 gallon) $3.67
 
$3.94
 

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pay 8.6% more for transportation

 
Texas
Chicago
Gasoline (1 gallon) $2.93
 
$4.16
 
Monthly public transit pass $63.02
 
$75.00
 
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $32,552.44
 
$31,965.00
 

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pay 13.2% more for housing

 
Texas
Chicago
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$72.55
 
$58.52
 
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $1,374.92
 
$2,360.96
 
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $1,217.13
 
$1,512.92
 

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pay 2.1 times more for childcare

 
Texas
Chicago
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $1,230.53
 
$2,475.00
 
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $19,254.84
 
$42,300.00
 

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pay 49.8% more for entertainment and sports

 
Texas
Chicago
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $5.20
 
$7.50
 
Cappuccino in mid-range area $5.04
 
$5.30
 
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$8.80
 
$17.00
 

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pay 23.2% more for clothing

 
Texas
Chicago
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$51.31
 
$64.98
 
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$38.62
 
$51.67
 
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$87.49
 
$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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