Cost of living comparison

compared to

Amherst vs. Carlow Cost of Living Summary

Amherst is 1.8% more expensive than Carlow.

Restaurants
pay 16.6% less in Amherst
Groceries
pay 25.8% more in Amherst
Transportation
pay 32.5% less in Amherst
Housing
pay 13.2% more in Amherst
Childcare
pay 48.2% more in Amherst
Entertainment and Sports
pay 3.9% less in Amherst
Clothing
pay 13.9% less in Amherst

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

Amherst vs. Carlow Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Amherst instead of Carlow, you would:

pay 16.6% less for restaurants

 
Carlow
Amherst
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $21.27
€19.00
$20.00
 
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$13.44
€12.00
$9.00
 
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $2.72
€2.42
$2.65
 

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pay 25.8% more for groceries

 
Carlow
Amherst
Bread
1 loaf
$1.98
€1.77
$3.27
 
Local cheese (8 oz) $6.71
€5.99
$8.27
 
Milk (1 gallon) $6.08
€5.43
$3.94
 

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pay 32.5% less for transportation

 
Carlow
Amherst
Gasoline (1 gallon) $7.64
€6.82
$3.64
 
Monthly public transit pass ?? $28.00
 
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $39,000.39
€34,823.33
$36,344.34
 

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pay 13.2% more for housing

 
Carlow
Amherst
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$50.95
€45.49
$89.37
 
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $1,427.66
€1,274.76
$1,825.00
 
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $1,273.70
€1,137.28
$1,333.33
 

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pay 48.2% more for childcare

 
Carlow
Amherst
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $1,007.76
€899.83
$1,493.75
 
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters ?? $17,000.00
 

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pay 3.9% less for entertainment and sports

 
Carlow
Amherst
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $7.28
€6.50
$6.00
 
Cappuccino in mid-range area $4.56
€4.07
$4.75
 
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$18.48
€16.50
$10.50
 

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pay 13.9% less for clothing

 
Carlow
Amherst
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$83.61
€74.65
$45.00
 
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$48.18
€43.02
$39.77
 
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$93.31
€83.32
$90.00
 

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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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