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Cost of Living in Chicago
Summary about cost of living in Chicago:
- Four-person family monthly costs: 3,515.50$ without rent (using our estimator).
- A single person monthly costs: 966.93$ without rent.
- Cost of living rank 45th out of 441 cities in the world.
- Chicago has a cost of living index of 77.56.
| Restaurants | [ Edit ] | Range |
|---|---|---|
| Meal, Inexpensive Restaurant | 15.00 $ | |
| Meal for 2 People, Mid-range Restaurant, Three-course | 65.00 $ | |
| McMeal at McDonalds (or Equivalent Combo Meal) | 7.00 $ | |
| Domestic Beer (1 pint draught) | 5.00 $ | |
| Imported Beer (12 oz small bottle) | 6.50 $ | |
| Cappuccino (regular) | 4.17 $ | |
| Coke/Pepsi (12 oz small bottle) | 1.79 $ | |
| Water (12 oz small bottle) | 1.59 $ | |
| Markets | [ Edit ] | |
| Milk (regular), (1 gallon) | 2.82 $ | |
| Loaf of Fresh White Bread (1 lb) | 2.36 $ | |
| Rice (white), (1 lb) | 1.83 $ | |
| Eggs (regular) (12) | 2.10 $ | |
| Local Cheese (1 lb) | 5.40 $ | |
| Chicken Breasts (Boneless, Skinless), (1 lb) | 4.50 $ | |
| Beef Round (1 lb) (or Equivalent Back Leg Red Meat) | 5.53 $ | |
| Apples (1 lb) | 2.11 $ | |
| Banana (1 lb) | 0.84 $ | |
| Oranges (1 lb) | 1.85 $ | |
| Tomato (1 lb) | 1.45 $ | |
| Potato (1 lb) | 0.92 $ | |
| Onion (1 lb) | 0.96 $ | |
| Lettuce (1 head) | 1.42 $ | |
| Water (1.5 liter bottle) | 2.03 $ | |
| Bottle of Wine (Mid-Range) | 12.00 $ | |
| Domestic Beer (0.5 liter bottle) | 1.73 $ | |
| Imported Beer (12 oz small bottle) | 2.30 $ | |
| Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro) | 13.00 $ | |
| Transportation | [ Edit ] | |
| One-way Ticket (Local Transport) | 2.50 $ | |
| Monthly Pass (Regular Price) | 105.00 $ | |
| Taxi Start (Normal Tariff) | 3.25 $ | |
| Taxi 1 mile (Normal Tariff) | 2.25 $ | |
| Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff) | 24.00 $ | |
| Gasoline (1 gallon) | 3.24 $ | |
| Volkswagen Golf 1.4 90 KW Trendline (Or Equivalent New Car) | 20,850.00 $ | |
| Toyota Corolla 1.6l 97kW Comfort (Or Equivalent New Car) | 19,921.77 $ | |
| Utilities (Monthly) | [ Edit ] | |
| Basic (Electricity, Heating, Cooling, Water, Garbage) for 915 sq ft Apartment | 121.58 $ | |
| 1 min. of Prepaid Mobile Tariff Local (No Discounts or Plans) | 0.11 $ | |
| Internet (60 Mbps or More, Unlimited Data, Cable/ADSL) | 59.84 $ | |
| Sports And Leisure | [ Edit ] | |
| Fitness Club, Monthly Fee for 1 Adult | 49.36 $ | |
| Tennis Court Rent (1 Hour on Weekend) | 24.33 $ | |
| Cinema, International Release, 1 Seat | 12.00 $ | |
| Childcare | [ Edit ] | |
| Preschool (or Kindergarten), Full Day, Private, Monthly for 1 Child | 1,038.52 $ | |
| International Primary School, Yearly for 1 Child | 16,440.00 $ | |
| Clothing And Shoes | [ Edit ] | |
| 1 Pair of Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar) | 50.68 $ | |
| 1 Summer Dress in a Chain Store (Zara, H&M, ...) | 36.83 $ | |
| 1 Pair of Nike Running Shoes (Mid-Range) | 78.20 $ | |
| 1 Pair of Men Leather Business Shoes | 112.61 $ | |
| Rent Per Month | [ Edit ] | |
| Apartment (1 bedroom) in City Centre | 1,727.70 $ | |
| Apartment (1 bedroom) Outside of Centre | 1,114.14 $ | |
| Apartment (3 bedrooms) in City Centre | 3,246.14 $ | |
| Apartment (3 bedrooms) Outside of Centre | 1,983.52 $ | |
| Buy Apartment Price | [ Edit ] | |
| Price per Square Feet to Buy Apartment in City Centre | 338.32 $ | |
| Price per Square Feet to Buy Apartment Outside of Centre | 182.30 $ | |
| Salaries And Financing | [ Edit ] | |
| Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax) | 3,918.34 $ | |
| Mortgage Interest Rate in Percentages (%), Yearly, for 20 Years Fixed-Rate | 4.27 |
Prices in Chicago, Illinois
These data are based on 2745 entries in the past 18 months from 414 different contributors.
Last update: February 2019
Last update: February 2019
Sources and References:
No sources and references provided yet.
No sources and references provided yet.
This page in other languages:
DeutschLebenshaltungskosten in Chicago
ItalianoCosto della Vita a Chicago
FrançaisCoût de la Vie à Chicago
EspañolCosto de Vida en Chicago
14 Comments so far
Minimum wage in Chicago is 13$ not 8$. Also, average income of 3800$ monthly after tax is REAL. Because it's not MEDIAN income! People you need to make difference between average and median! Median income is income that most of workers have and for Chicago it's most likely 2500$/mo after tax. Average income is 3800$ because of billionares and those who make 100k+. Average income is calculated like this: totalize income of all Chicago citizens and divide with population number. Here's example: I make 50k, my sister makes 100k, average salary would be 75k, so she has more and lives rich while I'm living worse 25k than average salary! Median income is more likely representative for wealth. Median income would be this: Person A makes 50k, Person B 50k, Person C 50k, Person D 100k. Median income would be 50k because thats amount that most have, while average income would be 62k which would be a total lie for most of them except person D. I hope I've helped you understand the Average wage stated above. My suggestion to admins, add median salary too.
Anyone saying Chicago is expensive is comparing it to small town Midwest.
what or why is go on in world ? why all are so high ? people have dreams so do I don't all of you want hurt your dreams ?
I knew I cant afford a house how about condo high rise condos? because I think I may feel secure living in high rise so no one can broke in I mean with high system !
wonder if only rich or maybe famous only can afford are they huh sorry if I offened all of you
First apartment: Junior 1 bedroom on the border Old Town/Gold Coast neighborhoods (specifically LaSalle and Division). I paid $1050 a month with ALL utilities included. Tiny kitchen. Tiny bathroom. Doorman, close to train CTA train station and 156 bus, Jewel Osco and Starbucks down the street. Awesome night life in one of the best neighborhoods in the city. Great neighborhood for a young person in their twenties. Absolutely no hope for parking (I didn't have a car at the time). There was a parking garage that rented spots for $250 a month, so there was that I guess. In building laundry ($1.75 a load). High rise, 13 stories. Amazing rooftop view of the city. Cat friendly.
Second apartment: 4 bedroom 2 bathroom on Near West Side (Taylor and Western) for $1600, I shared it with two other people. Free laundry and a free parking spot. Pay electric and gas. Decent neighborhood, but would not recommend walking south of Roosevelt or west of Western at night. Baccis pizza, bakery, and a dive bar on Taylor. Good walk to CTA stop (would not recommend walking it at night) and access to 157 and 12 bus. For a college student at UIC/Rush this would be ideal. Although, I will say the fourth bedroom was essentially a closet, hence why there was only three of us there. We kept it as an extra storage room/litter box room for my cats. Massive living room. Cat friendly. Mostly family/college student neighborhood.
Third apartment: 1 bedroom 1.5 bathroom in Wrigleyville/Boystown/Lakeview (Cornelia and Halsted) for $1400 (I share this apartment with my boyfriend). Pay electric and gas. Two story apartment, first floor is living room, half bathroom, and kitchen, take the spiral staircase downstairs to bedroom and full bathroom. Close to grocery store, coffee place 800 feet away, awesome neighborhood (does get quite loud at night). Close to CTA stop and 8 bus. I do have permit parking ($120 per year including city sticker) and can find street parking within at least four blocks at all times UNLESS there is a cubs game, in which it will take you a while. Good sized apartment for two people, seems like way too much for a single person (there are five closets in total). Cat and dog friendly.