Cost of living comparison
compared to
Berlin vs. Des Plaines Cost of Living Summary
Berlin is 2.0% cheaper than Des Plaines.
- Restaurants
-
pay 21.4% more in Berlin
- Groceries
-
pay 10.3% less in Berlin
- Transportation
-
pay 61.7% more in Berlin
- Housing
-
pay 3.9% more in Berlin
- Childcare
-
pay 74.8% less in Berlin
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 27.6% less in Berlin
- Clothing
-
pay 12.0% more in Berlin
The cost of transportation, restaurants, clothing, and housing in Berlin are more expensive than in Des Plaines. Expenses including childcare, entertainment and sports, and groceries are lower in Berlin.
Berlin vs. Des Plaines Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Berlin instead of Des Plaines, you would:
pay 21.4% more for restaurants
|
Des Plaines
|
Berlin
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$15.50
|
$17.52
€15.11
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$12.00
|
$13.55
€11.68
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.75
|
$3.49
€3.01
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.25
|
$2.98
€2.57
|
|
Des Plaines vs. Berlin - Cost of restaurants
pay 10.3% less for groceries
|
Des Plaines
|
Berlin
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$3.90
|
$2.25
€1.94
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$7.05
|
$7.10
€6.12
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$3.49
|
$5.13
€4.42
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.13
|
$3.88
€3.35
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$5.56
|
$5.52
€4.76
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.02
|
$1.54
€1.33
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.77
|
$0.94
€0.81
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.85
|
$1.20
€1.04
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.09
|
$1.76
€1.52
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.16
|
$0.91
€0.78
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.26
|
$0.78
€0.67
|
|
Des Plaines vs. Berlin - Cost of groceries
pay 61.7% more for transportation
|
Des Plaines
|
Berlin
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.46
|
$7.52
€6.49
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$60.00
|
$68.91
€59.42
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$29,500.00
|
$32,702.07
€28,199.88
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$15.68
|
$32.00
€27.60
|
|
Des Plaines vs. Berlin - Cost of transportation
pay 3.9% more for housing
|
Des Plaines
|
Berlin
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$72.85
|
$50.32
€43.39
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,700.00
|
$1,427.12
€1,230.65
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,600.00
|
$1,068.35
€921.27
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$141.41
|
$277.09
€238.94
|
|
Des Plaines vs. Berlin - Cost of housing
pay 74.8% less for childcare
|
Des Plaines
|
Berlin
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,628.82
|
$184.92
€159.46
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$24,601.00
|
$9,579.95
€8,261.05
|
|
Des Plaines vs. Berlin - Cost of childcare
pay 27.6% less for entertainment and sports
|
Des Plaines
|
Berlin
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$6.50
|
$5.26
€4.53
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.53
|
$4.45
€3.84
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$14.50
|
$10.16
€8.76
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$124.50
|
$38.79
€33.45
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$15.00
|
$14.89
€12.84
|
|
Des Plaines vs. Berlin - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 12.0% more for clothing
|
Des Plaines
|
Berlin
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$64.24
|
$93.79
€80.88
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$48.33
|
$43.63
€37.63
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$99.48
|
$106.67
€91.99
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$124.00
|
$129.59
€111.75
|
|
Des Plaines vs. Berlin - 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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