Cost of living comparison
compared to
Denmark vs. Chicago Cost of Living Summary
Denmark is 1.6% cheaper than Chicago.
- Restaurants
-
pay 20.9% more in Denmark
- Groceries
-
pay 2.6% more in Denmark
- Transportation
-
pay 63.2% more in Denmark
- Housing
-
pay 34.0% less in Denmark
- Childcare
-
pay 75.0% less in Denmark
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 10.4% less in Denmark
- Clothing
-
pay 21.4% more in Denmark
The cost of transportation, clothing, restaurants, and groceries in Denmark are more expensive than in Chicago. Expenses including childcare, housing, and entertainment and sports are lower in Denmark.
Denmark vs. Chicago Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Denmark instead of Chicago, you would:
pay 20.9% more for restaurants
|
Chicago
|
Denmark
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$20.50
|
$23.17
DKK149.21
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$12.00
|
$13.90
DKK89.51
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.96
|
$3.84
DKK24.71
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.33
|
$2.91
DKK18.76
|
|
Chicago vs. Denmark - Cost of restaurants
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pay 2.6% more for groceries
|
Chicago
|
Denmark
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$4.01
|
$3.26
DKK21.01
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$7.05
|
$6.90
DKK44.44
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.30
|
$7.91
DKK50.96
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$5.02
|
$4.82
DKK31.06
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$6.55
|
$5.27
DKK33.92
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.31
|
$1.44
DKK9.27
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.79
|
$1.47
DKK9.47
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.85
|
$1.57
DKK10.10
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.09
|
$2.17
DKK13.99
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.16
|
$0.96
DKK6.20
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.26
|
$0.87
DKK5.59
|
|
Chicago vs. Denmark - Cost of groceries
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pay 63.2% more for transportation
|
Chicago
|
Denmark
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.81
|
$8.41
DKK54.14
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$75.00
|
$89.74
DKK577.90
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$35,691.85
|
$48,140.44
DKK310,024.41
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$14.43
|
$25.64
DKK165.10
|
|
Chicago vs. Denmark - Cost of transportation
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pay 34.0% less for housing
|
Chicago
|
Denmark
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$65.83
|
$40.30
DKK259.55
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$2,418.00
|
$1,064.91
DKK6,858.02
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,692.50
|
$842.32
DKK5,424.55
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$141.41
|
$154.40
DKK994.32
|
|
Chicago vs. Denmark - Cost of housing
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pay 75.0% less for childcare
|
Chicago
|
Denmark
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$2,050.00
|
$547.90
DKK3,528.45
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$39,114.29
|
$9,128.43
DKK58,787.10
|
|
Chicago vs. Denmark - Cost of childcare
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pay 10.4% less for entertainment and sports
|
Chicago
|
Denmark
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$7.00
|
$8.18
DKK52.66
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.53
|
$6.19
DKK39.88
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$17.00
|
$9.59
DKK61.77
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$71.80
|
$43.64
DKK281.04
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$18.00
|
$18.32
DKK117.97
|
|
Chicago vs. Denmark - Cost of entertainment and sports
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pay 21.4% more for clothing
|
Chicago
|
Denmark
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$64.24
|
$103.92
DKK669.24
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$49.62
|
$42.34
DKK272.64
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$99.48
|
$120.57
DKK776.46
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$146.50
|
$172.17
DKK1,108.77
|
|
Chicago vs. Denmark - Cost of clothing
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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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