Cost of living comparison
compared to
Chicago vs. Colorado Cost of Living Summary
Chicago is 18.7% more expensive than Colorado.
- Restaurants
-
pay 3.4% more in Chicago
- Groceries
-
pay 5.1% more in Chicago
- Transportation
-
pay 1.8% more in Chicago
- Housing
-
pay 3.8% more in Chicago
- Childcare
-
pay 71.7% more in Chicago
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 28.2% more in Chicago
- Clothing
-
pay 16.8% more in Chicago
The cost of childcare, entertainment and sports, clothing, groceries, housing, and restaurants in Chicago are more expensive than in Colorado.
Chicago vs. Colorado Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Chicago instead of Colorado, you would:
pay 3.4% more for restaurants
|
Colorado
|
Chicago
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$20.33
|
$20.50
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$11.50
|
$12.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.78
|
$2.96
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.28
|
$2.33
|
|
Colorado vs. Chicago - Cost of restaurants
pay 5.1% more for groceries
|
Colorado
|
Chicago
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$3.51
|
$4.01
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$6.35
|
$7.05
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$3.88
|
$4.30
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.83
|
$5.02
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$5.70
|
$6.55
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.28
|
$2.31
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.70
|
$0.79
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.84
|
$1.85
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.18
|
$2.09
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.33
|
$1.16
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.23
|
$1.26
|
|
Colorado vs. Chicago - Cost of groceries
pay 1.8% more for transportation
|
Colorado
|
Chicago
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.09
|
$3.81
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$87.89
|
$75.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$33,264.77
|
$35,691.85
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$15.83
|
$14.43
|
|
Colorado vs. Chicago - Cost of transportation
pay 3.8% more for housing
|
Colorado
|
Chicago
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$71.31
|
$65.83
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,998.04
|
$2,418.00
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,754.04
|
$1,692.50
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$134.17
|
$141.41
|
|
Colorado vs. Chicago - Cost of housing
pay 71.7% more for childcare
|
Colorado
|
Chicago
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,452.57
|
$2,050.00
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$19,338.92
|
$39,114.29
|
|
Colorado vs. Chicago - Cost of childcare
pay 28.2% more for entertainment and sports
|
Colorado
|
Chicago
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$6.42
|
$7.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.34
|
$5.53
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$10.12
|
$17.00
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$53.97
|
$71.80
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$14.12
|
$18.00
|
|
Colorado vs. Chicago - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 16.8% more for clothing
|
Colorado
|
Chicago
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$57.93
|
$64.24
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$49.63
|
$49.62
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$88.36
|
$99.48
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$115.50
|
$146.50
|
|
Colorado vs. Chicago - 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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