Cost of living comparison
compared to
Chicago vs. Helena Cost of Living Summary
Chicago is 11.7% more expensive than Helena.
Chicago vs. Helena Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Chicago instead of Helena, you would:
pay 9.9% more for restaurants
|
Helena
|
Chicago
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$22.00
|
$20.50
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$15.00
|
$12.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.22
|
$2.96
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.75
|
$2.33
|
|
Helena vs. Chicago - Cost of restaurants
pay 6.3% more for groceries
|
Helena
|
Chicago
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$3.78
|
$4.01
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$15.52
|
$7.05
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.38
|
$4.30
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.23
|
$5.02
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$4.24
|
$6.55
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.18
|
$2.31
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.81
|
$0.79
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.04
|
$1.85
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.48
|
$2.09
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.99
|
$1.16
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.84
|
$1.26
|
|
Helena vs. Chicago - Cost of groceries
pay 5.2% less for transportation
|
Helena
|
Chicago
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.29
|
$3.81
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$60.00
|
$75.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$35,850.00
|
$35,691.85
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$37.34
|
$14.43
|
|
Helena vs. Chicago - Cost of transportation
pay 5.7% less for housing
|
Helena
|
Chicago
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$91.66
|
$65.83
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,699.17
|
$2,418.00
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,483.33
|
$1,692.50
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$287.72
|
$141.41
|
|
Helena vs. Chicago - Cost of housing
pay 39.8% more for childcare
|
Helena
|
Chicago
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,895.00
|
$2,050.00
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$22,833.33
|
$39,114.29
|
|
Helena vs. Chicago - Cost of childcare
pay 41.4% more for entertainment and sports
|
Helena
|
Chicago
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$5.00
|
$7.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.12
|
$5.53
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$10.26
|
$17.00
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$52.50
|
$71.80
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$11.50
|
$18.00
|
|
Helena vs. Chicago - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 4.9% less for clothing
|
Helena
|
Chicago
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$64.75
|
$64.24
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$118.33
|
$49.62
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$82.25
|
$99.48
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$123.50
|
$146.50
|
|
Helena 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: October 2026
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