Cost of living comparison

compared to

South Dakota vs. Germany Cost of Living Summary

South Dakota is 6.9% cheaper than Germany overall.

Restaurants: pay 22.1% less in South Dakota
Groceries: pay 28.5% more in South Dakota
Transportation: pay 36.3% less in South Dakota
Housing: pay 4.5% more in South Dakota
Childcare: pay 4.5% less in South Dakota
Entertainment and Sports: pay 0.3% more in South Dakota
Clothing: pay 18.9% less in South Dakota

The cost of groceries, housing, and entertainment and sports in South Dakota are more expensive than in Germany. Expenses including transportation, restaurants, clothing, and childcare are lower in South Dakota.

South Dakota vs. Germany Cost Breakdown

If you lived in South Dakota instead of Germany, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 22.1% less for restaurants

	Germany	South Dakota
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$16.25 €13.96	$12.33	-24.1%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$11.88 €10.20	$10.19	-14.2%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$3.29 €2.82	$3.03	-7.7%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$2.93 €2.52	$1.69	-42.3%
Average			-22.1%

Germany vs. South Dakota - Cost of restaurants

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pay 28.5% more for groceries

	Germany	South Dakota
Bread 1 loaf	$2.25 €1.94	$3.01	+33.6%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$7.39 €6.34	$5.97	-19.2%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.79 €4.11	$3.68	-23.1%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.84 €3.30	$4.88	+27.3%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$6.58 €5.65	$4.68	-28.9%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.45 €1.25	$2.07	+42.8%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.82 €0.70	$0.89	+8.7%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.05 €0.90	$1.78	+69.4%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.20 €1.89	$2.21	+0.3%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.71 €0.61	$1.41	+98.9%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.72 €0.61	$1.46	+103.7%
Average			+28.5%

Germany vs. South Dakota - Cost of groceries

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pay 36.3% less for transportation

	Germany	South Dakota
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$7.59 €6.52	$3.00	-60.5%
Monthly public transit pass	$62.94 €54.06	$30.00	-52.3%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$31,651.13 €27,182.34	$35,568.55	+12.4%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$27.45 €23.57	$15.14	-44.8%
Average			-36.3%

Germany vs. South Dakota - Cost of transportation

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pay 4.5% more for housing

	Germany	South Dakota
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$48.64 €41.77	$49.40	+1.6%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$874.65 €751.16	$1,053.00	+20.4%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$695.68 €597.46	$974.82	+40.1%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$258.10 €221.66	$144.28	-44.1%
Average			+4.5%

Germany vs. South Dakota - Cost of housing

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pay 4.5% less for childcare

	Germany	South Dakota
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$497.10 €426.92	$715.00	+43.8%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$16,538.74 €14,203.66	$7,800.00	-52.8%
Average			-4.5%

Germany vs. South Dakota - Cost of childcare

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pay 0.3% more for entertainment and sports

	Germany	South Dakota
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$5.05 €4.34	$4.42	-12.6%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.95 €3.39	$4.69	+19.0%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$9.74 €8.37	$9.38	-3.8%
Monthly membership at local gym	$40.02 €34.37	$47.44	+18.5%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$14.41 €12.37	$11.56	-19.8%
Average			+0.3%

Germany vs. South Dakota - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 18.9% less for clothing

	Germany	South Dakota
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$91.81 €78.85	$47.89	-47.8%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$46.05 €39.55	$42.78	-7.1%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$102.53 €88.06	$89.39	-12.8%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$134.07 €115.14	$123.62	-7.8%
Average			-18.9%

Germany vs. South Dakota - Cost of clothing

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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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