Cost of living comparison

Switzerland

compared to

United States

New York City vs. Bern Cost of Living Summary

New York City is 1.3% cheaper than Bern.

Restaurants: pay 33.1% less in New York City
Groceries: pay 16.5% more in New York City
Transportation: pay 26.0% less in New York City
Housing: pay 32.6% more in New York City
Childcare: pay 16.2% more in New York City
Entertainment and Sports: pay 19.1% more in New York City
Clothing: pay 34.4% less in New York City

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

Planning a move to United States? Get up to 5 free, no-obligation quotes from vetted international movers. Get free quotes →

New York City vs. Bern Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 33.1% less for restaurants

	Bern	New York City
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$29.22 CHF24.21	$25.00	-14.5%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$18.77 CHF15.55	$13.00	-30.7%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$5.16 CHF4.28	$3.09	-40.2%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$4.93 CHF4.08	$2.61	-47.1%
Average			-33.1%

Bern vs. New York City - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 16.5% more for groceries

	Bern	New York City
Bread 1 loaf	$3.73 CHF3.09	$4.75	+27.4%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$14.58 CHF12.08	$8.89	-39.0%
Milk (1 gallon)	$8.60 CHF7.12	$6.05	-29.6%
Eggs 1 dozen	$7.49 CHF6.20	$7.20	-3.8%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$15.45 CHF12.80	$7.07	-54.3%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.72 CHF1.43	$3.29	+91.1%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.03 CHF0.86	$1.08	+4.0%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.44 CHF1.19	$2.60	+80.8%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$3.39 CHF2.81	$2.68	-21.0%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.04 CHF0.86	$1.63	+56.4%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.05 CHF0.87	$1.78	+69.5%
Average			+16.5%

Bern vs. New York City - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 26.0% less for transportation

	Bern	New York City
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$8.42 CHF6.98	$3.47	-58.8%
Monthly public transit pass	$100.10 CHF82.92	$132.00	+31.9%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$41,041.86 CHF33,997.52	$36,344.69	-11.4%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$65.19 CHF54.00	$22.39	-65.6%
Average			-26.0%

Bern vs. New York City - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 32.6% more for housing

	Bern	New York City
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$63.82 CHF52.86	$67.59	+5.9%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,948.71 CHF1,614.23	$4,037.06	+107.2%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,636.67 CHF1,355.75	$2,496.67	+52.5%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$234.53 CHF194.28	$151.98	-35.2%
Average			+32.6%

Bern vs. New York City - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 16.2% more for childcare

	Bern	New York City
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$3,420.16 CHF2,833.13	$3,154.10	-7.8%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$40,875.03 CHF33,859.32	$57,250.00	+40.1%
Average			+16.2%

Bern vs. New York City - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 19.1% more for entertainment and sports

	Bern	New York City
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$9.38 CHF7.77	$8.00	-14.8%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$6.19 CHF5.13	$5.71	-7.8%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$11.76 CHF9.74	$19.00	+61.5%
Monthly membership at local gym	$81.65 CHF67.63	$150.04	+83.8%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$27.53 CHF22.80	$20.00	-27.3%
Average			+19.1%

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

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 34.4% less for clothing

	Bern	New York City
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$155.91 CHF129.15	$67.80	-56.5%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$70.91 CHF58.74	$49.94	-29.6%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$167.05 CHF138.37	$115.58	-30.8%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$212.36 CHF175.91	$168.76	-20.5%
Average			-34.4%

Bern vs. New York City - Cost of clothing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

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: October 2026

Compare further: Bern vs. New York City

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in New York City?

Size Comparison · See true size

Bern is about 15 times smaller than New York City.

More cost comparisons

Bern vs.

Washington

Bern vs.

Warsaw

Bern vs.

Reykjavik

Bern vs.

London

Bern vs.

Bangkok

Bern vs.

Vienna

Bern vs.

Paris

Bern vs.

Beijing

Share this

Compare countries by overall cost of living

See the cost of living in Switzerland vs. United States. This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within Switzerland and United States.

Help us improve these prices

MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate. Learn more

Add prices for Bern

Add prices for New York City

Ask the Elsewhere Community

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about New York City or Bern. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.