Cost of living comparison
Belgium is 8.5% cheaper than United States.
If you lived in Belgium instead of United States, you would:
pay 10.7% more for restaurants
|
United States
|
Belgium
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$18.59
|
$19.07
€18.16
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$10.47
|
$10.84
€10.32
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.50
|
$2.78
€2.64
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.96
|
$2.46
€2.34
|
|
pay 21.9% less for groceries
|
United States
|
Belgium
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$3.49
|
$2.28
€2.17
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$6.33
|
$6.70
€6.38
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$3.91
|
$4.44
€4.23
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$3.56
|
$3.43
€3.27
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$5.16
|
$4.78
€4.55
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.33
|
$1.11
€1.05
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.78
|
$0.89
€0.85
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.00
|
$1.07
€1.02
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.16
|
$1.16
€1.11
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.34
|
$0.83
€0.79
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.38
|
$0.73
€0.69
|
|
pay 23.6% more for transportation
|
United States
|
Belgium
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.61
|
$6.91
€6.58
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$65.15
|
$45.41
€43.24
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$31,583.67
|
$27,628.35
€26,307.71
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$17.81
|
$26.01
€24.77
|
|
pay 31.1% less for housing
|
United States
|
Belgium
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$67.50
|
$49.35
€46.99
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,655.99
|
$815.11
€776.14
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,423.40
|
$705.09
€671.39
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$148.34
|
$154.10
€146.74
|
|
pay 48.5% less for childcare
|
United States
|
Belgium
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,351.84
|
$557.50
€530.85
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$22,265.44
|
$13,740.85
€13,084.04
|
|
pay 19.4% less for entertainment and sports
|
United States
|
Belgium
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$5.78
|
$4.34
€4.13
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.04
|
$3.51
€3.34
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$9.68
|
$9.08
€8.65
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$50.84
|
$36.02
€34.30
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$13.30
|
$12.48
€11.88
|
|
pay 27.2% more for clothing
|
United States
|
Belgium
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$50.38
|
$92.82
€88.38
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$40.66
|
$43.31
€41.24
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$85.52
|
$90.40
€86.08
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$111.08
|
$125.11
€119.13
|
|
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