Cost of living comparison

compared to

Champaign vs. Athens Cost of Living Summary

Champaign is 19.3% more expensive than Athens.

Restaurants
pay 0.1% less in Champaign
Groceries
pay 19.2% more in Champaign
Transportation
pay 23.3% less in Champaign
Housing
pay 65.6% more in Champaign
Childcare
pay 64.5% more in Champaign
Entertainment and Sports
pay 8.9% less in Champaign
Clothing
pay 16.7% less in Champaign

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

Champaign vs. Athens Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Champaign instead of Athens, you would:

pay 0.1% less for restaurants

 
Athens
Champaign
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $16.80
€15.07
$15.00
 
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$11.20
€10.05
$10.00
 
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $2.82
€2.53
$2.20
 

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pay 19.2% more for groceries

 
Athens
Champaign
Bread
1 loaf
$1.43
€1.28
$3.12
 
Local cheese (8 oz) $7.56
€6.78
$6.06
 
Milk (1 gallon) $7.14
€6.40
$3.06
 

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pay 23.3% less for transportation

 
Athens
Champaign
Gasoline (1 gallon) $8.72
€7.82
$4.31
 
Monthly public transit pass $30.23
€27.12
$20.00
 
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $27,970.99
€25,094.18
$35,000.00
 

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pay 65.6% more for housing

 
Athens
Champaign
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$30.36
€27.24
$68.00
 
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $742.36
€666.01
$1,475.50
 
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $655.59
€588.16
$1,005.00
 

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pay 64.5% more for childcare

 
Athens
Champaign
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $573.57
€514.58
$1,000.00
 
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $12,885.92
€11,560.60
$20,000.00
 

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pay 8.9% less for entertainment and sports

 
Athens
Champaign
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $5.60
€5.02
$5.50
 
Cappuccino in mid-range area $4.11
€3.69
$4.81
 
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$5.60
€5.02
$10.16
 

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pay 16.7% less for clothing

 
Athens
Champaign
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$91.55
€82.14
$48.67
 
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$40.01
€35.89
??
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$104.08
€93.38
$116.67
 

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We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated November 2026). How we calculate this

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