Cost of living comparison
compared to
United States vs. Germany Cost of Living Summary
United States is 21.8% more expensive than Germany overall.
- Restaurants
-
pay 10.2% less in United States
- Groceries
-
pay 32.6% more in United States
- Transportation
-
pay 21.0% less in United States
- Housing
-
pay 48.5% more in United States
- Childcare
-
pay 2.1 times more in United States
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 14.2% more in United States
- Clothing
-
pay 21.1% less in United States
The cost of childcare, housing, groceries, and entertainment and sports in United States are more expensive than in Germany. Expenses including clothing, transportation, and restaurants are lower in United States. Notably, childcare is significantly more expensive in United States.
United States vs. Germany Cost Breakdown
If you lived in United States instead of Germany, you would:
pay 10.2% less for restaurants
|
Germany
|
United States
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$16.25
€14.01
|
$19.45
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$11.88
€10.24
|
$11.12
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$3.29
€2.84
|
$2.56
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.93
€2.53
|
$2.00
|
|
Germany vs. United States - Cost of restaurants
pay 32.6% more for groceries
|
Germany
|
United States
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$2.25
€1.94
|
$3.56
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$7.39
€6.37
|
$6.50
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.79
€4.13
|
$3.97
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$3.84
€3.31
|
$4.27
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$6.58
€5.67
|
$5.41
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.45
€1.25
|
$2.37
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.82
€0.71
|
$0.78
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.05
€0.91
|
$2.04
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.20
€1.90
|
$2.21
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.71
€0.61
|
$1.34
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.72
€0.62
|
$1.38
|
|
Germany vs. United States - Cost of groceries
pay 21.0% less for transportation
|
Germany
|
United States
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$7.59
€6.55
|
$3.41
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$62.94
€54.28
|
$65.85
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$31,651.13
€27,293.63
|
$32,336.38
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$27.45
€23.67
|
$17.61
|
|
Germany vs. United States - Cost of transportation
pay 48.5% more for housing
|
Germany
|
United States
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$48.64
€41.94
|
$68.97
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$874.65
€754.23
|
$1,664.59
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$695.68
€599.90
|
$1,416.15
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$258.10
€222.57
|
$150.19
|
|
Germany vs. United States - Cost of housing
pay 2.1 times more for childcare
|
Germany
|
United States
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$497.10
€428.67
|
$1,387.27
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$16,538.74
€14,261.81
|
$23,196.46
|
|
Germany vs. United States - Cost of childcare
pay 14.2% more for entertainment and sports
|
Germany
|
United States
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$5.05
€4.36
|
$5.84
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$3.95
€3.40
|
$5.15
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$9.74
€8.40
|
$9.90
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$40.02
€34.51
|
$51.45
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$14.41
€12.42
|
$13.64
|
|
Germany vs. United States - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 21.1% less for clothing
|
Germany
|
United States
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$91.81
€79.17
|
$51.08
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$46.05
€39.71
|
$41.81
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$102.53
€88.42
|
$87.56
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$134.07
€115.61
|
$112.04
|
|
Germany vs. United States - 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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