Cost of living comparison
compared to
Long Island vs. East Lansing Cost of Living Summary
Long Island is 35.3% more expensive than East Lansing.
- Restaurants
-
pay 11.6% more in Long Island
- Groceries
-
pay 23.8% less in Long Island
- Transportation
-
pay 26.7% more in Long Island
- Housing
-
pay 96.0% more in Long Island
- Childcare
-
pay 2.7 times more in Long Island
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 14.4% more in Long Island
- Clothing
-
pay 22.3% more in Long Island
Long Island vs. East Lansing Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Long Island instead of East Lansing, you would:
pay 11.6% more for restaurants
|
East Lansing
|
Long Island
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$16.50
|
$25.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$12.00
|
$11.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.51
|
$2.18
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.17
|
$1.56
|
|
East Lansing vs. Long Island - Cost of restaurants
pay 23.8% less for groceries
|
East Lansing
|
Long Island
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$2.95
|
$4.28
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$5.51
|
$3.64
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$3.06
|
$4.92
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$2.79
|
$5.17
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$7.75
|
$5.37
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.45
|
$1.90
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.70
|
$0.56
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$3.00
|
$0.95
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.62
|
$2.81
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$2.60
|
$0.50
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$2.54
|
$1.00
|
|
East Lansing vs. Long Island - Cost of groceries
pay 26.7% more for transportation
|
East Lansing
|
Long Island
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.74
|
$4.13
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$50.00
|
$129.50
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$34,000.00
|
$36,651.00
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$34.85
|
$19.40
|
|
East Lansing vs. Long Island - Cost of transportation
pay 96.0% more for housing
|
East Lansing
|
Long Island
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$63.33
|
$53.33
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,207.50
|
$2,766.67
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,045.75
|
$2,440.00
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$134.29
|
$144.44
|
|
East Lansing vs. Long Island - Cost of housing
pay 2.7 times more for childcare
|
East Lansing
|
Long Island
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$648.50
|
$2,250.00
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$11,136.00
|
$23,666.67
|
|
East Lansing vs. Long Island - Cost of childcare
pay 14.4% more for entertainment and sports
|
East Lansing
|
Long Island
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$5.00
|
$8.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.40
|
$5.12
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$9.52
|
$11.41
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$36.67
|
$31.75
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$11.00
|
$14.50
|
|
East Lansing vs. Long Island - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 22.3% more for clothing
|
East Lansing
|
Long Island
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$55.00
|
$40.00
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$37.50
|
$57.50
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$70.00
|
$76.25
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$85.00
|
$156.67
|
|
East Lansing vs. Long Island - 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 November 2026). How we calculate this
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