Cost of living comparison
compared to
Chicago vs. Cook Islands Cost of Living Summary
Chicago is 5.7 times more expensive than Cook Islands overall.
- Restaurants
-
pay 31.1% more in Chicago
- Groceries
-
pay 20.3% more in Chicago
- Transportation
-
pay 83.7% more in Chicago
- Housing
-
pay 3.9 times more in Chicago
- Childcare
-
pay 28.2 times more in Chicago
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 90.1% more in Chicago
- Clothing
-
pay 52.9% more in Chicago
The cost of childcare, housing, entertainment and sports, transportation, clothing, and restaurants in Chicago are more expensive than in Cook Islands. Notably, childcare, housing, and entertainment and sports are significantly more expensive in Chicago.
Chicago vs. Cook Islands Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Chicago instead of Cook Islands, you would:
pay 31.1% more for restaurants
|
Cook Islands
|
Chicago
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$11.54
NZ$19.88
|
$20.50
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$7.93
NZ$13.67
|
$12.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.88
NZ$4.97
|
$2.96
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.50
NZ$4.31
|
$2.33
|
|
Cook Islands vs. Chicago - Cost of restaurants
pay 20.3% more for groceries
|
Cook Islands
|
Chicago
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$3.11
NZ$5.36
|
$4.01
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$4.98
NZ$8.57
|
$7.05
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$7.37
NZ$12.70
|
$4.30
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$5.57
NZ$9.59
|
$5.02
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$3.40
NZ$5.86
|
$6.55
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.30
NZ$2.24
|
$2.31
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.05
NZ$1.80
|
$0.79
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.56
NZ$2.69
|
$1.85
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.75
NZ$4.73
|
$2.09
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.05
NZ$1.80
|
$1.16
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.82
NZ$1.42
|
$1.26
|
|
Cook Islands vs. Chicago - Cost of groceries
pay 83.7% more for transportation
|
Cook Islands
|
Chicago
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$6.56
NZ$11.31
|
$3.81
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass | ?? |
$75.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$11,538.70
NZ$19,880.61
|
$35,691.85
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) | ?? |
$14.43
|
|
Cook Islands vs. Chicago - Cost of transportation
pay 3.9 times more for housing
|
Cook Islands
|
Chicago
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$105.96
NZ$182.57
|
$65.83
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$305.77
NZ$526.84
|
$2,418.00
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$305.77
NZ$526.84
|
$1,692.50
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$82.72
NZ$142.53
|
$141.41
|
|
Cook Islands vs. Chicago - Cost of housing
pay 28.2 times more for childcare
|
Cook Islands
|
Chicago
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly | ?? |
$2,050.00
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$1,384.64
NZ$2,385.67
|
$39,114.29
|
|
Cook Islands vs. Chicago - Cost of childcare
pay 90.1% more for entertainment and sports
|
Cook Islands
|
Chicago
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$5.99
NZ$10.31
|
$7.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$3.80
NZ$6.54
|
$5.53
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$14.42
NZ$24.85
|
$17.00
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$24.04
NZ$41.42
|
$71.80
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$6.63
NZ$11.43
|
$18.00
|
|
Cook Islands vs. Chicago - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 52.9% more for clothing
|
Cook Islands
|
Chicago
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$64.62
NZ$111.33
|
$64.24
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
?? |
$49.62
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
?? |
$99.48
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$70.96
NZ$122.26
|
$146.50
|
|
Cook Islands 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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