Cost of living comparison
compared to
Amsterdam vs. Chicago Cost of Living Summary
Amsterdam is 20.0% more expensive than Chicago.
- Restaurants
-
pay 29.3% more in Amsterdam
- Groceries
-
pay 5.3% less in Amsterdam
- Transportation
-
pay 84.2% more in Amsterdam
- Housing
-
pay 18.4% more in Amsterdam
- Childcare
-
pay 3.1% less in Amsterdam
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 7.0% less in Amsterdam
- Clothing
-
pay 23.8% more in Amsterdam
The cost of transportation, restaurants, clothing, and housing in Amsterdam are more expensive than in Chicago. Expenses including entertainment and sports, groceries, and childcare are lower in Amsterdam. Notably, transportation is significantly more expensive in Amsterdam.
Amsterdam vs. Chicago Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Amsterdam instead of Chicago, you would:
pay 29.3% more for restaurants
|
Chicago
|
Amsterdam
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$20.50
|
$23.36
€20.14
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$12.00
|
$16.35
€14.10
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.96
|
$3.72
€3.21
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.33
|
$3.28
€2.83
|
|
Chicago vs. Amsterdam - Cost of restaurants
pay 5.3% less for groceries
|
Chicago
|
Amsterdam
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$4.01
|
$2.71
€2.34
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$7.05
|
$7.72
€6.65
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.30
|
$6.24
€5.38
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$5.02
|
$5.27
€4.55
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$6.55
|
$6.35
€5.48
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.31
|
$1.42
€1.22
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.79
|
$1.18
€1.02
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.85
|
$1.04
€0.90
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.09
|
$2.09
€1.80
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.16
|
$0.94
€0.81
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.26
|
$0.88
€0.76
|
|
Chicago vs. Amsterdam - Cost of groceries
pay 84.2% more for transportation
|
Chicago
|
Amsterdam
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.81
|
$8.77
€7.57
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$75.00
|
$116.79
€100.71
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$35,691.85
|
$44,381.38
€38,271.26
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$14.43
|
$32.69
€28.19
|
|
Chicago vs. Amsterdam - Cost of transportation
pay 18.4% more for housing
|
Chicago
|
Amsterdam
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$65.83
|
$52.20
€45.01
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$2,418.00
|
$2,488.65
€2,146.03
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,692.50
|
$2,040.62
€1,759.68
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$141.41
|
$241.43
€208.19
|
|
Chicago vs. Amsterdam - Cost of housing
pay 3.1% less for childcare
|
Chicago
|
Amsterdam
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$2,050.00
|
$2,924.24
€2,521.66
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$39,114.29
|
$20,029.43
€17,271.92
|
|
Chicago vs. Amsterdam - Cost of childcare
pay 7.0% less for entertainment and sports
|
Chicago
|
Amsterdam
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$7.00
|
$7.59
€6.55
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.53
|
$5.05
€4.35
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$17.00
|
$14.60
€12.59
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$71.80
|
$58.91
€50.80
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$18.00
|
$17.52
€15.11
|
|
Chicago vs. Amsterdam - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 23.8% more for clothing
|
Chicago
|
Amsterdam
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$64.24
|
$98.80
€85.20
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$49.62
|
$53.66
€46.27
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$99.48
|
$127.18
€109.67
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$146.50
|
$154.92
€133.59
|
|
Chicago vs. Amsterdam - 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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