Cost of living comparison
compared to
Virgin Islands vs. Chicago Cost of Living Summary
Virgin Islands is 20.0% more expensive than Chicago.
- Restaurants
-
pay 5.2% more in Virgin Islands
- Groceries
-
pay 90.9% more in Virgin Islands
- Transportation
-
pay 63.8% more in Virgin Islands
- Housing
-
pay 19.2% more in Virgin Islands
- Childcare
-
pay 48.9% less in Virgin Islands
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 5.3% less in Virgin Islands
- Clothing
-
pay 15.1% more in Virgin Islands
The cost of groceries, transportation, housing, clothing, and restaurants in Virgin Islands are more expensive than in Chicago. Expenses including childcare and entertainment and sports are lower in Virgin Islands. Notably, groceries is significantly more expensive in Virgin Islands.
Virgin Islands vs. Chicago Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Virgin Islands instead of Chicago, you would:
pay 5.2% more for restaurants
|
Chicago
|
Virgin Islands
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$20.50
|
$25.50
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$12.00
|
$10.48
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.96
|
$3.10
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.33
|
$2.42
|
|
Chicago vs. Virgin Islands - Cost of restaurants
pay 90.9% more for groceries
|
Chicago
|
Virgin Islands
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$4.01
|
$6.43
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$7.05
|
$8.40
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.30
|
$9.85
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$5.02
|
$7.46
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$6.55
|
$11.78
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.31
|
$4.66
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.79
|
$2.67
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.85
|
$3.50
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.09
|
$4.69
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.16
|
$1.28
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.26
|
$2.53
|
|
Chicago vs. Virgin Islands - Cost of groceries
pay 63.8% more for transportation
|
Chicago
|
Virgin Islands
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.81
|
$5.28
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$75.00
|
$60.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$35,691.85
|
$45,000.00
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$14.43
|
$44.85
|
|
Chicago vs. Virgin Islands - Cost of transportation
pay 19.2% more for housing
|
Chicago
|
Virgin Islands
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$65.83
|
$98.46
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$2,418.00
|
$1,513.89
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,692.50
|
$1,216.50
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$141.41
|
$272.68
|
|
Chicago vs. Virgin Islands - Cost of housing
pay 48.9% less for childcare
|
Chicago
|
Virgin Islands
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$2,050.00
|
$1,287.50
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$39,114.29
|
$15,433.33
|
|
Chicago vs. Virgin Islands - Cost of childcare
pay 5.3% less for entertainment and sports
|
Chicago
|
Virgin Islands
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$7.00
|
$6.50
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.53
|
$6.93
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$17.00
|
$4.50
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$71.80
|
$118.33
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$18.00
|
$11.50
|
|
Chicago vs. Virgin Islands - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 15.1% more for clothing
|
Chicago
|
Virgin Islands
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$64.24
|
$71.67
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$49.62
|
$62.33
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$99.48
|
$146.25
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$146.50
|
$111.67
|
|
Chicago vs. Virgin Islands - 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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