Cost of living comparison

compared to

New York City vs. Amsterdam Cost of Living Summary

New York City is 24.1% more expensive than Amsterdam.

Restaurants: pay 12.8% less in New York City
Groceries: pay 55.7% more in New York City
Transportation: pay 24.3% less in New York City
Housing: pay 19.2% more in New York City
Childcare: pay 96.9% more in New York City
Entertainment and Sports: pay 43.5% more in New York City
Clothing: pay 9.6% less in New York City

The cost of childcare, groceries, entertainment and sports, and housing in New York City are more expensive than in Amsterdam. Expenses including transportation, restaurants, and clothing are lower in New York City. Notably, childcare is significantly more expensive in New York City.

New York City vs. Amsterdam Cost Breakdown

If you lived in New York City instead of Amsterdam, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 12.8% less for restaurants

	Amsterdam	New York City
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$23.36 €20.31	$25.00	+7.0%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$16.35 €14.22	$13.00	-20.5%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$3.72 €3.24	$3.09	-17.1%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$3.28 €2.86	$2.61	-20.6%
Average			-12.8%

Amsterdam vs. New York City - Cost of restaurants

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pay 55.7% more for groceries

	Amsterdam	New York City
Bread 1 loaf	$2.71 €2.36	$4.75	+75.2%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$7.72 €6.71	$8.89	+15.2%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.24 €5.43	$6.05	-3.0%
Eggs 1 dozen	$5.27 €4.58	$7.20	+36.6%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$6.35 €5.52	$7.07	+11.2%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.42 €1.23	$3.29	+132.1%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.18 €1.03	$1.08	-8.8%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.04 €0.90	$2.60	+149.9%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.09 €1.82	$2.68	+28.3%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.94 €0.82	$1.63	+73.1%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.88 €0.76	$1.78	+102.4%
Average			+55.7%

Amsterdam vs. New York City - Cost of groceries

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pay 24.3% less for transportation

	Amsterdam	New York City
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$8.77 €7.63	$3.47	-60.5%
Monthly public transit pass	$116.79 €101.56	$132.00	+13.0%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$44,381.38 €38,591.03	$36,344.69	-18.1%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$32.69 €28.43	$22.39	-31.5%
Average			-24.3%

Amsterdam vs. New York City - Cost of transportation

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pay 19.2% more for housing

	Amsterdam	New York City
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$52.20 €45.39	$67.59	+29.5%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$2,488.65 €2,163.96	$4,037.06	+62.2%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$2,040.62 €1,774.38	$2,496.67	+22.3%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$241.43 €209.93	$151.98	-37.0%
Average			+19.2%

Amsterdam vs. New York City - Cost of housing

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pay 96.9% more for childcare

	Amsterdam	New York City
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$2,924.24 €2,542.72	$3,154.10	+7.9%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$20,029.43 €17,416.23	$57,250.00	+185.8%
Average			+96.9%

Amsterdam vs. New York City - Cost of childcare

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pay 43.5% more for entertainment and sports

	Amsterdam	New York City
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$7.59 €6.60	$8.00	+5.4%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$5.05 €4.39	$5.71	+13.2%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$14.60 €12.69	$19.00	+30.1%
Monthly membership at local gym	$58.91 €51.22	$150.04	+154.7%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$17.52 €15.23	$20.00	+14.2%
Average			+43.5%

Amsterdam vs. New York City - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 9.6% less for clothing

	Amsterdam	New York City
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$98.80 €85.91	$67.80	-31.4%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$53.66 €46.66	$49.94	-6.9%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$127.18 €110.59	$115.58	-9.1%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$154.92 €134.71	$168.76	+8.9%
Average			-9.6%

Amsterdam vs. New York City - Cost of clothing

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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: April 2026

Compare further: Amsterdam vs. New York City

Size Comparison · See true size

Amsterdam is about 4.7 times smaller than New York City.

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