Cost of living comparison

compared to

New York City vs. Cologne Cost of Living Summary

New York City is 76.5% more expensive than Cologne.

Restaurants: pay 12.3% more in New York City
Groceries: pay 75.1% more in New York City
Transportation: pay 11.9% more in New York City
Housing: pay 94.2% more in New York City
Childcare: pay 3.5 times more in New York City
Entertainment and Sports: pay 93.0% more in New York City
Clothing: pay 0.6% more in New York City

The cost of childcare, housing, entertainment and sports, groceries, restaurants, and transportation in New York City are more expensive than in Cologne. Notably, childcare, housing, and entertainment and sports are significantly more expensive in New York City.

New York City vs. Cologne Cost Breakdown

If you lived in New York City instead of Cologne, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 12.3% more for restaurants

	Cologne	New York City
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$16.35 €14.04	$25.00	+52.9%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$11.68 €10.03	$13.00	+11.3%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$3.30 €2.83	$3.09	-6.4%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$2.85 €2.45	$2.61	-8.7%
Average			+12.3%

Cologne vs. New York City - Cost of restaurants

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pay 75.1% more for groceries

	Cologne	New York City
Bread 1 loaf	$2.33 €2.00	$4.75	+104.2%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$7.48 €6.42	$8.89	+18.9%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.88 €4.19	$6.05	+24.1%
Eggs 1 dozen	$4.13 €3.55	$7.20	+74.3%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$7.34 €6.30	$7.07	-3.7%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.45 €1.24	$3.29	+127.5%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.84 €0.72	$1.08	+28.0%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.03 €0.88	$2.60	+153.2%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.20 €1.89	$2.68	+22.1%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.72 €0.61	$1.63	+127.6%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.71 €0.61	$1.78	+150.2%
Average			+75.1%

Cologne vs. New York City - Cost of groceries

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pay 11.9% more for transportation

	Cologne	New York City
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$7.54 €6.47	$3.47	-54.0%
Monthly public transit pass	$67.74 €58.18	$132.00	+94.9%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$31,745.96 €27,263.78	$36,344.69	+14.5%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$24.29 €20.86	$22.39	-7.8%
Average			+11.9%

Cologne vs. New York City - Cost of transportation

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pay 94.2% more for housing

	Cologne	New York City
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$45.41 €38.99	$67.59	+48.8%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,253.64 €1,076.64	$4,037.06	+222.0%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$973.32 €835.90	$2,496.67	+156.5%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$305.60 €262.45	$151.98	-50.3%
Average			+94.2%

Cologne vs. New York City - Cost of housing

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pay 3.5 times more for childcare

	Cologne	New York City
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$782.55 €672.07	$3,154.10	+303.1%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$19,466.49 €16,718.04	$57,250.00	+194.1%
Average			+248.6%

Cologne vs. New York City - Cost of childcare

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pay 93.0% more for entertainment and sports

	Cologne	New York City
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$5.26 €4.51	$8.00	+52.2%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$4.43 €3.81	$5.71	+28.9%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$9.58 €8.23	$19.00	+98.4%
Monthly membership at local gym	$43.80 €37.62	$150.04	+242.6%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$14.02 €12.04	$20.00	+42.7%
Average			+93.0%

Cologne vs. New York City - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 0.6% more for clothing

	Cologne	New York City
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$98.11 €84.26	$67.80	-30.9%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$43.80 €37.61	$49.94	+14.0%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$109.99 €94.46	$115.58	+5.1%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$147.95 €127.06	$168.76	+14.1%
Average			+0.6%

Cologne vs. New York City - 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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