Cost of living comparison

Denmark

compared to

United States

Chicago vs. Copenhagen Cost of Living Summary

Chicago is 2.1% cheaper than Copenhagen.

Restaurants: pay 11.4% less in Chicago
Groceries: pay 7.1% less in Chicago
Transportation: pay 36.8% less in Chicago
Housing: pay 18.3% more in Chicago
Childcare: pay 2.4 times more in Chicago
Entertainment and Sports: pay 10.6% less in Chicago
Clothing: pay 24.1% less in Chicago

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

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Chicago vs. Copenhagen Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 11.4% less for restaurants

	Copenhagen	Chicago
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$20.97 DKK139.50	$21.25	+1.3%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$13.48 DKK89.68	$13.00	-3.6%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$5.10 DKK33.90	$2.66	-47.8%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$3.77 DKK25.04	$2.30	-38.9%
Average			-11.4%

Copenhagen vs. Chicago - Cost of restaurants

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pay 7.1% less for groceries

	Copenhagen	Chicago
Bread 1 loaf	$4.77 DKK31.74	$3.92	-17.8%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$8.64 DKK57.47	$7.07	-18.2%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.89 DKK52.48	$4.97	-37.0%
Eggs 1 dozen	$5.89 DKK39.19	$4.78	-18.8%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$6.31 DKK41.95	$6.65	+5.4%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.52 DKK10.13	$2.39	+56.9%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.39 DKK9.22	$0.89	-35.8%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.96 DKK13.02	$1.87	-4.7%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.59 DKK17.20	$2.21	-14.6%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.07 DKK7.10	$1.24	+15.9%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.95 DKK6.33	$1.23	+28.8%
Average			-7.1%

Copenhagen vs. Chicago - Cost of groceries

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pay 36.8% less for transportation

	Copenhagen	Chicago
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$9.58 DKK63.75	$4.66	-51.3%
Monthly public transit pass	$104.86 DKK697.48	$75.00	-28.5%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$50,184.55 DKK334K	$36,531.00	-27.2%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$19.03 DKK126.54	$14.45	-24.0%
Average			-36.8%

Copenhagen vs. Chicago - Cost of transportation

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pay 18.3% more for housing

	Copenhagen	Chicago
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$37.42 DKK248.91	$61.13	+63.4%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,981.79 DKK13,181.29	$2,400.00	+21.1%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,454.31 DKK9,672.90	$1,679.31	+15.5%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$138.83 DKK923.39	$147.87	+6.5%
Average			+18.3%

Copenhagen vs. Chicago - Cost of housing

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pay 2.4 times more for childcare

	Copenhagen	Chicago
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$977.91 DKK6,504.25	$1,536.88	+57.2%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$8,580.66 DKK57,071.67	$31,537.78	+267.5%
Average			+140.3%

Copenhagen vs. Chicago - Cost of childcare

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pay 10.6% less for entertainment and sports

	Copenhagen	Chicago
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$8.99 DKK59.78	$7.00	-22.1%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$6.97 DKK46.39	$5.70	-18.3%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$9.44 DKK62.77	$16.00	+69.5%
Monthly membership at local gym	$64.00 DKK425.70	$53.47	-16.5%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$20.22 DKK134.51	$18.00	-11.0%
Average			-10.6%

Copenhagen vs. Chicago - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 24.1% less for clothing

	Copenhagen	Chicago
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$108.66 DKK722.72	$66.94	-38.4%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$53.68 DKK357.04	$51.67	-3.8%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$128.48 DKK854.58	$99.58	-22.5%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$199.12 DKK1,324.38	$143.78	-27.8%
Average			-24.1%

Copenhagen vs. Chicago - Cost of clothing

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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 October 2026). How we calculate this

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Size Comparison · See true size

Copenhagen is about 7 times smaller than Chicago.

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