Cost of living comparison
compared to
East Lansing vs. Berlin Cost of Living Summary
East Lansing is 39.5% more expensive than Berlin.
- Restaurants
-
pay 29.3% less in East Lansing
- Groceries
-
pay 14.0% more in East Lansing
- Transportation
-
pay 32.9% less in East Lansing
- Housing
-
pay 15.4% less in East Lansing
- Childcare
-
pay 4.4 times more in East Lansing
- Clothing
-
pay 37.5% less in East Lansing
The cost of childcare and groceries in East Lansing are more expensive than in Berlin. Expenses including clothing, transportation, restaurants, housing, and entertainment and sports are lower in East Lansing. Notably, childcare is significantly more expensive in East Lansing.
East Lansing vs. Berlin Cost Breakdown
If you lived in East Lansing instead of Berlin, you would:
pay 29.3% less for restaurants
|
Berlin
|
East Lansing
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$17.52
€14.96
|
$13.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$13.55
€11.57
|
$10.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$3.49
€2.98
|
$2.57
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.98
€2.55
|
$1.82
|
|
Berlin vs. East Lansing - Cost of restaurants
pay 14.0% more for groceries
|
Berlin
|
East Lansing
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$2.25
€1.93
|
$3.31
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$7.10
€6.06
|
$6.06
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$5.13
€4.38
|
$3.57
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$3.88
€3.32
|
$2.50
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$5.52
€4.71
|
$5.25
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.54
€1.32
|
$2.08
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.94
€0.80
|
$0.55
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.20
€1.03
|
$2.65
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.76
€1.50
|
$2.25
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.91
€0.77
|
$0.98
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.78
€0.66
|
$1.13
|
|
Berlin vs. East Lansing - Cost of groceries
pay 32.9% less for transportation
|
Berlin
|
East Lansing
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$7.52
€6.42
|
$3.30
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$68.91
€58.84
|
$50.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$32,702.07
€27,923.05
|
$35,699.74
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$32.00
€27.32
|
$13.68
|
|
Berlin vs. East Lansing - Cost of transportation
pay 15.4% less for housing
|
Berlin
|
East Lansing
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$50.32
€42.97
|
$52.14
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,427.12
€1,218.57
|
$1,233.33
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,068.35
€912.22
|
$1,066.67
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$277.09
€236.60
|
$134.29
|
|
Berlin vs. East Lansing - Cost of housing
pay 4.4 times more for childcare
|
Berlin
|
East Lansing
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$184.92
€157.90
|
$1,294.79
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$9,579.95
€8,179.96
|
$16,800.00
|
|
Berlin vs. East Lansing - Cost of childcare
pay (unknown) more for entertainment and sports
|
Berlin
|
East Lansing
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$5.26
€4.49
|
$6.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$4.45
€3.80
|
$4.86
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$10.16
€8.68
|
$10.00
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$38.79
€33.12
|
$36.67
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$14.89
€12.71
|
$12.50
|
Berlin vs. East Lansing - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 37.5% less for clothing
|
Berlin
|
East Lansing
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$93.79
€80.09
|
$45.00
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$43.63
€37.26
|
$31.00
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$106.67
€91.08
|
$70.00
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$129.59
€110.65
|
$85.00
|
|
Berlin vs. East Lansing - 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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