Cost of living comparison
compared to
Rome vs. East Lansing Cost of Living Summary
Rome is 6.8% more expensive than East Lansing.
- Restaurants
-
pay 5.6% more in Rome
- Groceries
-
pay 12.8% more in Rome
- Transportation
-
pay 35.2% more in Rome
- Housing
-
pay 1.8% less in Rome
- Childcare
-
pay 45.5% less in Rome
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 0.7% less in Rome
- Clothing
-
pay 41.9% more in Rome
The cost of clothing, transportation, groceries, and restaurants in Rome are more expensive than in East Lansing. Expenses including childcare, housing, and entertainment and sports are lower in Rome.
Rome vs. East Lansing Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Rome instead of East Lansing, you would:
pay 5.6% more for restaurants
|
East Lansing
|
Rome
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$13.00
|
$17.52
€14.96
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$10.00
|
$11.68
€9.97
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.57
|
$2.50
€2.14
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.82
|
$1.34
€1.14
|
|
East Lansing vs. Rome - Cost of restaurants
pay 12.8% more for groceries
|
East Lansing
|
Rome
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$3.31
|
$2.21
€1.89
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$6.06
|
$9.54
€8.14
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$3.57
|
$7.12
€6.08
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$2.50
|
$4.62
€3.95
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$5.25
|
$5.53
€4.72
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.08
|
$1.21
€1.03
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.55
|
$1.04
€0.89
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.65
|
$1.08
€0.92
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.25
|
$1.44
€1.23
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.98
|
$0.85
€0.73
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.13
|
$0.98
€0.84
|
|
East Lansing vs. Rome - Cost of groceries
pay 35.2% more for transportation
|
East Lansing
|
Rome
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.30
|
$7.66
€6.54
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$50.00
|
$40.88
€34.91
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$35,699.74
|
$29,199.74
€24,932.55
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$13.68
|
$19.86
€16.95
|
|
East Lansing vs. Rome - Cost of transportation
pay 1.8% less for housing
|
East Lansing
|
Rome
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$52.14
|
$32.12
€27.42
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,233.33
|
$1,436.63
€1,226.68
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,066.67
|
$927.65
€792.09
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$134.29
|
$171.74
€146.64
|
|
East Lansing vs. Rome - Cost of housing
pay 45.5% less for childcare
|
East Lansing
|
Rome
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,294.79
|
$568.18
€485.15
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$16,800.00
|
$10,951.36
€9,350.95
|
|
East Lansing vs. Rome - Cost of childcare
pay 0.7% less for entertainment and sports
|
East Lansing
|
Rome
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$6.00
|
$5.84
€4.99
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$4.86
|
$2.01
€1.72
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$10.00
|
$7.18
€6.13
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$36.67
|
$70.65
€60.32
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$12.50
|
$11.68
€9.97
|
|
East Lansing vs. Rome - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 41.9% more for clothing
|
East Lansing
|
Rome
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$45.00
|
$81.76
€69.81
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$31.00
|
$37.76
€32.25
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$70.00
|
$88.68
€75.72
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$85.00
|
$116.80
€99.73
|
|
East Lansing vs. Rome - 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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