Cost of Living Comparison Between San Diego, CA and Chicago, IL 

Indices DifferenceInfo
Cost of Living in Chicago, IL is 4.9% lower than in San Diego, CA (excluding rent)
Cost of Living Including Rent in Chicago, IL is 11.2% lower than in San Diego, CA
Rent Prices in Chicago, IL are 20.3% lower than in San Diego, CA
Restaurant Prices in Chicago, IL are 0.6% higher than in San Diego, CA
Groceries Prices in Chicago, IL are 5.2% higher than in San Diego, CA
Local Purchasing Power in Chicago, IL is 12.7% higher than in San Diego, CA
Currency: Sticky Currency      Switch to metric measurement units
Restaurants
San Diego, CA Edit Chicago, IL Edit Difference
Meal, Inexpensive Restaurant 21.00 $ 25.00 $      +19.0 %
Meal for 2 People, Mid-range Restaurant, Three-course 100.00 $ 100.00 $      0.0 %
McMeal at McDonalds (or Equivalent Combo Meal) 15.00 $ 12.00 $      -20.0 %
Domestic Beer (1 pint draught) 8.00 $ 7.00 $      -12.5 %
Imported Beer (12 oz small bottle) 9.00 $ 8.12 $      -9.7 %
Cappuccino (regular) 5.90 $ 5.62 $      -4.8 %
Coke/Pepsi (12 oz small bottle) 2.99 $ 2.99 $      +0.3 %
Water (12 oz small bottle) 2.50 $ 2.42 $      -3.1 %
Markets
San Diego, CA Edit Chicago, IL Edit
Milk (regular), (1 gallon) 4.65 $ 3.88 $      -16.6 %
Loaf of Fresh White Bread (1 lb) 4.08 $ 3.73 $      -8.8 %
Rice (white), (1 lb) 2.09 $ 2.47 $      +18.6 %
Eggs (regular) (12) 5.26 $ 4.59 $      -12.7 %
Local Cheese (1 lb) 6.23 $ 6.63 $      +6.4 %
Chicken Fillets (1 lb) 5.75 $ 6.84 $      +19.0 %
Beef Round (1 lb) (or Equivalent Back Leg Red Meat) 8.38 $ 8.33 $      -0.6 %
Apples (1 lb) 2.15 $ 2.37 $      +9.9 %
Banana (1 lb) 0.77 $ 0.82 $      +6.7 %
Oranges (1 lb) 1.81 $ 1.91 $      +5.8 %
Tomato (1 lb) 2.15 $ 1.98 $      -7.9 %
Potato (1 lb) 1.37 $ 1.10 $      -19.6 %
Onion (1 lb) 1.10 $ 1.22 $      +11.3 %
Lettuce (1 head) 2.21 $ 2.43 $      +10.1 %
Water (1.5 liter bottle) 2.43 $ 2.59 $      +6.7 %
Bottle of Wine (Mid-Range) 15.00 $ 15.00 $      0.0 %
Domestic Beer (0.5 liter bottle) 1.79 $ 2.42 $      +35.1 %
Imported Beer (12 oz small bottle) 2.50 $ 3.70 $      +48.0 %
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro) 12.00 $ 15.00 $      +25.0 %
Transportation
San Diego, CA Edit Chicago, IL Edit
One-way Ticket (Local Transport) 2.50 $ 2.50 $      0.0 %
Monthly Pass (Regular Price) 72.00 $ 75.00 $      +4.2 %
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff) 3.00 $ 3.25 $      +8.3 %
Taxi 1 mile (Normal Tariff) 3.30 $ 2.25 $      -31.8 %
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff) 28.00 $ 25.00 $      -10.7 %
Gasoline (1 gallon) 4.91 $ 4.02 $      -18.2 %
Volkswagen Golf 1.4 90 KW Trendline (Or Equivalent New Car) 30,982.50 $ 31,965.00 $      +3.2 %
Toyota Corolla Sedan 1.6l 97kW Comfort (Or Equivalent New Car) 27,059.25 $ 26,515.51 $      -2.0 %
Utilities (Monthly)
San Diego, CA Edit Chicago, IL Edit
Basic (Electricity, Heating, Cooling, Water, Garbage) for 915 sq ft Apartment 277.55 $ 191.66 $      -30.9 %
Mobile Phone Monthly Plan with Calls and 10GB+ Data 66.79 $ 61.90 $      -7.3 %
Internet (60 Mbps or More, Unlimited Data, Cable/ADSL) 77.72 $ 65.19 $      -16.1 %
Sports And Leisure
San Diego, CA Edit Chicago, IL Edit
Fitness Club, Monthly Fee for 1 Adult 65.68 $ 76.70 $      +16.8 %
Tennis Court Rent (1 Hour on Weekend) 25.00 $ 13.12 $      -47.5 %
Cinema, International Release, 1 Seat 16.00 $ 15.00 $      -6.2 %
Childcare
San Diego, CA Edit Chicago, IL Edit
Preschool (or Kindergarten), Full Day, Private, Monthly for 1 Child 1,741.67 $ 2,056.25 $      +18.1 %
International Primary School, Yearly for 1 Child 28,750.00 $ 39,114.29 $      +36.0 %
Clothing And Shoes
San Diego, CA Edit Chicago, IL Edit
1 Pair of Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar) 58.81 $ 60.68 $      +3.2 %
1 Summer Dress in a Chain Store (Zara, H&M, ...) 56.30 $ 51.15 $      -9.1 %
1 Pair of Nike Running Shoes (Mid-Range) 99.91 $ 94.52 $      -5.4 %
1 Pair of Men Leather Business Shoes 115.71 $ 150.59 $      +30.1 %
Rent Per Month
San Diego, CA Edit Chicago, IL Edit
Apartment (1 bedroom) in City Centre 2,703.93 $ 2,319.57 $      -14.2 %
Apartment (1 bedroom) Outside of Centre 2,354.13 $ 1,533.50 $      -34.9 %
Apartment (3 bedrooms) in City Centre 4,913.96 $ 4,554.55 $      -7.3 %
Apartment (3 bedrooms) Outside of Centre 4,050.00 $ 2,770.45 $      -31.6 %
Buy Apartment Price
San Diego, CA Edit Chicago, IL Edit
Price per Square Feet to Buy Apartment in City Centre 846.65 $ 315.84 $      -62.7 %
Price per Square Feet to Buy Apartment Outside of Centre 644.63 $ 245.25 $      -62.0 %
Salaries And Financing
San Diego, CA Edit Chicago, IL Edit
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax) 5,291.79 $ 5,293.39 $      +0.0 %
Mortgage Interest Rate in Percentages (%), Yearly, for 20 Years Fixed-Rate 6.42 6.60      +2.8 %
Last update: May 2025May 2025
Contributors in the past 12 months:149247