Cost of living comparison
compared to
Chicago vs. Finland Cost of Living Summary
Chicago is 84.8% more expensive than Finland overall.
- Restaurants
-
pay 13.8% more in Chicago
- Groceries
-
pay 46.2% more in Chicago
- Transportation
-
pay 18.0% less in Chicago
- Housing
-
pay 2.4 times more in Chicago
- Childcare
-
pay 4.8 times more in Chicago
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 22.1% more in Chicago
- Clothing
-
pay 2.5% more in Chicago
The cost of childcare, housing, groceries, entertainment and sports, restaurants, and clothing in Chicago are more expensive than in Finland. Notably, childcare and housing are significantly more expensive in Chicago.
Chicago vs. Finland Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Chicago instead of Finland, you would:
pay 13.8% more for restaurants
|
Finland
|
Chicago
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$15.68
€13.52
|
$20.50
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$11.56
€9.97
|
$12.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.65
€2.29
|
$2.96
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.14
€1.84
|
$2.33
|
|
Finland vs. Chicago - Cost of restaurants
pay 46.2% more for groceries
|
Finland
|
Chicago
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$2.47
€2.13
|
$4.01
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$4.19
€3.62
|
$7.05
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.85
€4.18
|
$4.30
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$3.24
€2.80
|
$5.02
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$6.13
€5.28
|
$6.55
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.13
€0.98
|
$2.31
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.94
€0.81
|
$0.79
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.05
€0.90
|
$1.85
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.90
€1.64
|
$2.09
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.58
€0.50
|
$1.16
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.83
€0.71
|
$1.26
|
|
Finland vs. Chicago - Cost of groceries
pay 18.0% less for transportation
|
Finland
|
Chicago
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$7.96
€6.86
|
$3.81
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$69.84
€60.23
|
$75.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$34,910.15
€30,103.97
|
$35,691.85
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$20.49
€17.67
|
$14.43
|
|
Finland vs. Chicago - Cost of transportation
pay 2.4 times more for housing
|
Finland
|
Chicago
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$23.03
€19.86
|
$65.83
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$801.83
€691.44
|
$2,418.00
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$658.48
€567.82
|
$1,692.50
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$112.00
€96.58
|
$141.41
|
|
Finland vs. Chicago - Cost of housing
pay 4.8 times more for childcare
|
Finland
|
Chicago
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$333.41
€287.51
|
$2,050.00
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$11,057.05
€9,534.79
|
$39,114.29
|
|
Finland vs. Chicago - Cost of childcare
pay 22.1% more for entertainment and sports
|
Finland
|
Chicago
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$7.87
€6.79
|
$7.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$4.79
€4.13
|
$5.53
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$12.15
€10.48
|
$17.00
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$44.75
€38.59
|
$71.80
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$16.99
€14.65
|
$18.00
|
|
Finland vs. Chicago - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 2.5% more for clothing
|
Finland
|
Chicago
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$93.32
€80.47
|
$64.24
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$37.73
€32.54
|
$49.62
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$96.29
€83.04
|
$99.48
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$137.67
€118.71
|
$146.50
|
|
Finland vs. Chicago - 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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