Cost of living comparison

 United States
compared to
 United Kingdom
United Kingdom vs. United States Cost of Living Summary

United Kingdom is 1.3% more expensive than United States overall.

Restaurants
pay 10.4% less in United Kingdom
Groceries
pay 26.9% less in United Kingdom
Transportation
pay 38.3% more in United Kingdom
Housing
pay 10.1% less in United Kingdom
Childcare
pay 2.8% less in United Kingdom
Entertainment and Sports
pay 9.1% more in United Kingdom
Clothing
pay 11.8% more in United Kingdom

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

United Kingdom vs. United States Cost Breakdown

If you lived in United Kingdom instead of United States, you would:

pay 10.4% less for restaurants

 
United States
United Kingdom
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $18.59
 
$18.70
£14.48
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$10.47
 
$9.25
£7.17
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $2.50
 
$2.23
£1.73

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pay 26.9% less for groceries

 
United States
United Kingdom
Bread
1 loaf
$3.49
 
$1.53
£1.18
Local cheese (8 oz) $6.33
 
$4.35
£3.37
Milk (1 gallon) $3.91
 
$5.92
£4.59

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pay 38.3% more for transportation

 
United States
United Kingdom
Gasoline (1 gallon) $3.61
 
$7.07
£5.48
Monthly public transit pass $65.15
 
$98.23
£76.08
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $31,583.67
 
$34,832.80
£26,978.10

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pay 10.1% less for housing

 
United States
United Kingdom
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$67.50
 
$39.40
£30.52
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $1,655.99
 
$1,243.58
£963.16
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $1,423.40
 
$1,020.84
£790.64

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pay 2.8% less for childcare

 
United States
United Kingdom
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $1,351.84
 
$1,497.56
£1,159.87
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $22,265.44
 
$18,629.32
£14,428.47

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pay 9.1% more for entertainment and sports

 
United States
United Kingdom
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $5.78
 
$5.63
£4.36
Cappuccino in mid-range area $5.04
 
$4.12
£3.19
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$9.68
 
$17.47
£13.53

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pay 11.8% more for clothing

 
United States
United Kingdom
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$50.38
 
$78.43
£60.74
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$40.66
 
$40.13
£31.08
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$85.52
 
$90.36
£69.98

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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: March 2025
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