Cost of living comparison
compared to
San Jose vs. Chicago Cost of Living Summary
San Jose is 14.3% more expensive than Chicago.
- Restaurants
-
pay 10.2% more in San Jose
- Groceries
-
pay 39.5% more in San Jose
- Transportation
-
pay 19.4% more in San Jose
- Housing
-
pay 35.8% more in San Jose
- Childcare
-
pay 3.6% less in San Jose
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 9.8% more in San Jose
- Clothing
-
pay 11.2% less in San Jose
The cost of groceries, housing, transportation, restaurants, and entertainment and sports in San Jose are more expensive than in Chicago. Expenses including clothing and childcare are lower in San Jose.
San Jose vs. Chicago Cost Breakdown
If you lived in San Jose instead of Chicago, you would:
pay 10.2% more for restaurants
|
Chicago
|
San Jose
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$20.50
|
$20.50
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$12.00
|
$12.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.96
|
$3.42
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.33
|
$2.44
|
|
Chicago vs. San Jose - Cost of restaurants
pay 39.5% more for groceries
|
Chicago
|
San Jose
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$4.01
|
$5.00
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$7.05
|
$11.39
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.30
|
$5.64
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$5.02
|
$5.40
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$6.55
|
$6.98
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.31
|
$2.95
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.79
|
$1.18
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.85
|
$2.62
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.09
|
$3.01
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.16
|
$1.94
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.26
|
$2.19
|
|
Chicago vs. San Jose - Cost of groceries
pay 19.4% more for transportation
|
Chicago
|
San Jose
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.81
|
$4.84
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$75.00
|
$90.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$35,691.85
|
$36,753.89
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$14.43
|
$18.41
|
|
Chicago vs. San Jose - Cost of transportation
pay 35.8% more for housing
|
Chicago
|
San Jose
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$65.83
|
$70.13
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$2,418.00
|
$2,916.67
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,692.50
|
$2,700.00
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$141.41
|
$221.60
|
|
Chicago vs. San Jose - Cost of housing
pay 3.6% less for childcare
|
Chicago
|
San Jose
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$2,050.00
|
$1,866.67
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$39,114.29
|
$39,800.00
|
|
Chicago vs. San Jose - Cost of childcare
pay 9.8% more for entertainment and sports
|
Chicago
|
San Jose
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$7.00
|
$9.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.53
|
$5.83
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$17.00
|
$11.50
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$71.80
|
$113.89
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$18.00
|
$16.00
|
|
Chicago vs. San Jose - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 11.2% less for clothing
|
Chicago
|
San Jose
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$64.24
|
$56.50
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$49.62
|
$46.00
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$99.48
|
$88.89
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$146.50
|
$125.00
|
|
Chicago vs. San Jose - 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
Change currency:
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
ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY
Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about San Jose or Chicago. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.