Cost of living comparison

compared to

Surrey vs. Chicago Cost of Living Summary

Surrey is 9.1% cheaper than Chicago.

Restaurants
pay 13.4% less in Surrey
Groceries
pay 35.6% less in Surrey
Transportation
pay 28.4% more in Surrey
Housing
pay 2.9% less in Surrey
Childcare
pay 12.6% more in Surrey
Entertainment and Sports
pay 8.6% less in Surrey
Clothing
pay 23.4% less in Surrey

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

Surrey vs. Chicago Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Surrey instead of Chicago, you would:

pay 13.4% less for restaurants

 
Chicago
Surrey
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $21.25
 
$23.13
£17.26
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$13.00
 
$9.25
£6.90
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $2.66
 
$2.26
£1.69

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pay 35.6% less for groceries

 
Chicago
Surrey
Bread
1 loaf
$3.92
 
$2.07
£1.55
Local cheese (8 oz) $7.07
 
$4.18
£3.12
Milk (1 gallon) $4.97
 
$4.88
£3.64

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pay 28.4% more for transportation

 
Chicago
Surrey
Gasoline (1 gallon) $4.66
 
$7.14
£5.33
Monthly public transit pass $75.00
 
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New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $36,531.00
 
$38,182.92
£28,501.11

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pay 2.9% less for housing

 
Chicago
Surrey
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$61.13
 
$35.02
£26.14
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $2,400.00
 
$1,894.06
£1,413.79
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $1,679.31
 
$1,883.05
£1,405.57

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pay 12.6% more for childcare

 
Chicago
Surrey
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $1,536.88
 
$2,114.30
£1,578.19
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $31,537.78
 
$29,071.61
£21,700.10

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pay 8.6% less for entertainment and sports

 
Chicago
Surrey
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $7.00
 
$6.61
£4.93
Cappuccino in mid-range area $5.70
 
$4.79
£3.58
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$16.00
 
$22.96
£17.14

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pay 23.4% less for clothing

 
Chicago
Surrey
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$66.94
 
$52.86
£39.45
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$51.67
 
$39.64
£29.59
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$99.58
 
$88.10
£65.76

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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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