Cost of living comparison
compared to
Seattle vs. Chicago Cost of Living Summary
Seattle is 11.8% more expensive than Chicago.
- Restaurants
-
pay 13.7% more in Seattle
- Groceries
-
pay 35.8% more in Seattle
- Transportation
-
pay 16.4% more in Seattle
- Housing
-
pay 17.5% more in Seattle
- Childcare
-
pay 8.0% less in Seattle
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 0.7% more in Seattle
- Clothing
-
pay 6.8% more in Seattle
The cost of groceries, housing, transportation, restaurants, clothing, and entertainment and sports in Seattle are more expensive than in Chicago.
Seattle vs. Chicago Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Seattle instead of Chicago, you would:
pay 13.7% more for restaurants
|
Chicago
|
Seattle
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$20.50
|
$25.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$12.00
|
$15.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.96
|
$3.00
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.33
|
$2.47
|
|
Chicago vs. Seattle - Cost of restaurants
pay 35.8% more for groceries
|
Chicago
|
Seattle
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$4.01
|
$5.23
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$7.05
|
$11.39
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.30
|
$5.40
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$5.02
|
$7.32
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$6.55
|
$7.35
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.31
|
$2.87
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.79
|
$1.26
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.85
|
$2.43
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.09
|
$3.18
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.16
|
$1.47
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.26
|
$1.57
|
|
Chicago vs. Seattle - Cost of groceries
pay 16.4% more for transportation
|
Chicago
|
Seattle
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.81
|
$4.55
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$75.00
|
$99.50
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$35,691.85
|
$36,656.56
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$14.43
|
$16.02
|
|
Chicago vs. Seattle - Cost of transportation
pay 17.5% more for housing
|
Chicago
|
Seattle
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$65.83
|
$78.37
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$2,418.00
|
$2,333.68
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,692.50
|
$1,900.00
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$141.41
|
$200.99
|
|
Chicago vs. Seattle - Cost of housing
pay 8.0% less for childcare
|
Chicago
|
Seattle
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$2,050.00
|
$2,200.00
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$39,114.29
|
$30,000.00
|
|
Chicago vs. Seattle - Cost of childcare
pay 0.7% more for entertainment and sports
|
Chicago
|
Seattle
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$7.00
|
$7.75
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.53
|
$6.04
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$17.00
|
$12.75
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$71.80
|
$85.87
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$18.00
|
$16.00
|
|
Chicago vs. Seattle - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 6.8% more for clothing
|
Chicago
|
Seattle
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$64.24
|
$69.52
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$49.62
|
$54.68
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$99.48
|
$116.24
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$146.50
|
$135.08
|
|
Chicago vs. Seattle - 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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