Cost of living comparison
compared to
Chicago vs. Dublin Cost of Living Summary
Chicago is 5.4% cheaper than Dublin.
Chicago vs. Dublin Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Chicago instead of Dublin, you would:
pay 6.0% less for restaurants
|
Dublin
|
Chicago
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$23.51
€20.93
|
$21.25
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$13.44
€11.96
|
$13.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.92
€2.60
|
$2.66
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.20
€1.96
|
$2.30
|
|
Dublin vs. Chicago - Cost of restaurants
pay 25.3% more for groceries
|
Dublin
|
Chicago
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$2.46
€2.19
|
$3.92
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$5.02
€4.47
|
$7.07
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$6.21
€5.52
|
$4.97
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.99
€4.44
|
$4.78
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$5.78
€5.15
|
$6.65
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.26
€1.12
|
$2.39
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.02
€0.90
|
$0.89
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.24
€1.11
|
$1.87
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.38
€2.11
|
$2.21
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.86
€0.76
|
$1.24
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.68
€0.61
|
$1.23
|
|
Dublin vs. Chicago - Cost of groceries
pay 27.2% less for transportation
|
Dublin
|
Chicago
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$8.04
€7.15
|
$4.66
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$107.49
€95.67
|
$75.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$39,000.39
€34,711.75
|
$36,531.00
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$17.24
€15.35
|
$14.45
|
|
Dublin vs. Chicago - Cost of transportation
pay 15.5% less for housing
|
Dublin
|
Chicago
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$52.20
€46.46
|
$61.13
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$2,465.66
€2,194.52
|
$2,400.00
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$2,216.84
€1,973.07
|
$1,679.31
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$212.35
€189.00
|
$147.87
|
|
Dublin vs. Chicago - Cost of housing
pay 63.3% more for childcare
|
Dublin
|
Chicago
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,272.35
€1,132.44
|
$1,536.88
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$14,285.84
€12,714.91
|
$31,537.78
|
|
Dublin vs. Chicago - Cost of childcare
pay 5.0% less for entertainment and sports
|
Dublin
|
Chicago
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$7.84
€6.98
|
$7.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$4.91
€4.37
|
$5.70
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$21.27
€18.94
|
$16.00
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$69.28
€61.66
|
$53.47
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$15.68
€13.95
|
$18.00
|
|
Dublin vs. Chicago - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 11.3% less for clothing
|
Dublin
|
Chicago
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$107.67
€95.83
|
$66.94
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$50.46
€44.91
|
$51.67
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$113.09
€100.66
|
$99.58
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$130.45
€116.10
|
$143.78
|
|
Dublin vs. Chicago - Cost of clothing
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
Change currency:
Compare further: Dublin vs. Chicago
Compare countries by overall cost of living
See the
cost of living in Ireland vs. United States.
This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within Ireland and United States.
Help us improve these prices
MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate.
Learn more
Ask the Elsewhere Community
Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Chicago or Dublin. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.