Cost of living comparison
compared to
Essen vs. Athens Cost of Living Summary
Essen is 30.6% more expensive than Athens.
- Restaurants
-
pay 90.2% more in Essen
- Groceries
-
pay 28.2% more in Essen
- Transportation
-
pay 53.9% more in Essen
- Housing
-
pay 24.2% more in Essen
- Childcare
-
pay 16.5% less in Essen
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 17.6% more in Essen
- Clothing
-
pay 16.6% more in Essen
The cost of restaurants, transportation, groceries, housing, entertainment and sports, and clothing in Essen are more expensive than in Athens. Notably, restaurants is significantly more expensive in Essen.
Essen vs. Athens Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Essen instead of Athens, you would:
pay 90.2% more for restaurants
|
Athens
|
Essen
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$17.52
€15.05
|
$19.86
€17.05
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$10.51
€9.03
|
$12.85
€11.03
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.48
€2.13
|
$2.61
€2.24
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$0.62
€0.53
|
$2.61
€2.24
|
|
Athens vs. Essen - Cost of restaurants
pay 28.2% more for groceries
|
Athens
|
Essen
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.39
€1.19
|
$2.20
€1.89
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$7.54
€6.47
|
$7.54
€6.47
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$7.20
€6.18
|
$5.02
€4.31
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.70
€4.04
|
$3.80
€3.27
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$4.85
€4.16
|
$6.63
€5.70
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.03
€0.88
|
$1.49
€1.28
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.97
€0.83
|
$0.86
€0.74
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$0.71
€0.61
|
$1.04
€0.90
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.07
€0.92
|
$2.21
€1.90
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.67
€0.57
|
$0.76
€0.65
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.57
€0.49
|
$0.76
€0.66
|
|
Athens vs. Essen - Cost of groceries
pay 53.9% more for transportation
|
Athens
|
Essen
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$7.94
€6.82
|
$7.70
€6.61
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$35.04
€30.09
|
$67.74
€58.18
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$29,198.27
€25,075.80
|
$31,745.96
€27,263.78
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$14.02
€12.04
|
$30.37
€26.08
|
|
Athens vs. Essen - Cost of transportation
pay 24.2% more for housing
|
Athens
|
Essen
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$34.45
€29.59
|
$41.84
€35.94
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$685.67
€588.86
|
$734.67
€630.94
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$609.10
€523.10
|
$528.19
€453.62
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$165.77
€142.37
|
$301.44
€258.88
|
|
Athens vs. Essen - Cost of housing
pay 16.5% less for childcare
|
Athens
|
Essen
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$566.82
€486.79
|
$463.98
€398.47
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$11,581.98
€9,946.73
|
$9,857.25
€8,465.51
|
|
Athens vs. Essen - Cost of childcare
pay 17.6% more for entertainment and sports
|
Athens
|
Essen
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$5.84
€5.02
|
$5.72
€4.92
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$4.12
€3.54
|
$3.80
€3.26
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$5.84
€5.02
|
$9.58
€8.23
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$56.30
€48.35
|
$37.94
€32.58
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$10.51
€9.03
|
$17.51
€15.04
|
|
Athens vs. Essen - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 16.6% more for clothing
|
Athens
|
Essen
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$101.47
€87.15
|
$100.21
€86.06
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$47.68
€40.95
|
$73.78
€63.36
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$105.26
€90.40
|
$104.84
€90.04
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$125.94
€108.16
|
$142.45
€122.34
|
|
Athens vs. Essen - Cost of clothing
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: December 2025
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