Cost of living comparison
compared to
Illinois vs. Detroit Cost of Living Summary
Illinois is 8.1% more expensive than Detroit.
- Restaurants
-
pay 2.8% less in Illinois
- Groceries
-
pay 1.2% more in Illinois
- Transportation
-
pay 5.7% more in Illinois
- Housing
-
pay 3.6% more in Illinois
- Childcare
-
pay 32.2% more in Illinois
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 6.5% more in Illinois
- Clothing
-
pay 10.5% more in Illinois
The cost of childcare, clothing, entertainment and sports, transportation, housing, and groceries in Illinois are more expensive than in Detroit.
Illinois vs. Detroit Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Illinois instead of Detroit, you would:
pay 2.8% less for restaurants
|
Detroit
|
Illinois
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$20.00
|
$16.12
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$10.00
|
$10.72
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.59
|
$2.52
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.82
|
$1.88
|
|
Detroit vs. Illinois - Cost of restaurants
pay 1.2% more for groceries
|
Detroit
|
Illinois
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$3.38
|
$3.11
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$6.06
|
$6.06
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$3.58
|
$3.41
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$3.58
|
$3.89
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$5.25
|
$5.13
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.08
|
$2.38
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.55
|
$0.74
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.65
|
$2.20
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.80
|
$1.89
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.98
|
$1.05
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.13
|
$1.24
|
|
Detroit vs. Illinois - Cost of groceries
pay 5.7% more for transportation
|
Detroit
|
Illinois
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.40
|
$3.32
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$66.00
|
$69.58
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$35,699.74
|
$31,159.60
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$13.68
|
$18.08
|
|
Detroit vs. Illinois - Cost of transportation
pay 3.6% more for housing
|
Detroit
|
Illinois
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$52.14
|
$72.20
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,450.00
|
$1,332.19
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,058.17
|
$1,112.01
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$192.03
|
$151.79
|
|
Detroit vs. Illinois - Cost of housing
pay 32.2% more for childcare
|
Detroit
|
Illinois
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,294.79
|
$1,386.42
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$16,800.00
|
$26,426.10
|
|
Detroit vs. Illinois - Cost of childcare
pay 6.5% more for entertainment and sports
|
Detroit
|
Illinois
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$6.00
|
$5.38
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$4.86
|
$5.01
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$10.00
|
$10.78
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$43.00
|
$54.91
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$12.50
|
$13.02
|
|
Detroit vs. Illinois - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 10.5% more for clothing
|
Detroit
|
Illinois
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$59.08
|
$55.71
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$31.00
|
$43.50
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$97.00
|
$91.99
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$109.00
|
$122.66
|
|
Detroit vs. Illinois - 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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