Cost of living comparison

compared to
Chicago vs. Honolulu Cost of Living Summary

Chicago is 1.0% more expensive than Honolulu.

Restaurants
pay 2.4% more in Chicago
Groceries
pay 31.7% less in Chicago
Transportation
pay 16.3% less in Chicago
Housing
pay 17.4% less in Chicago
Childcare
pay 57.1% more in Chicago
Entertainment and Sports
pay 11.2% more in Chicago
Clothing
pay 1.5% more in Chicago

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

Chicago vs. Honolulu Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Chicago instead of Honolulu, you would:

pay 2.4% more for restaurants

 
Honolulu
Chicago
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $20.00
 
$25.00
 
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$14.00
 
$11.34
 
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $3.01
 
$3.02
 

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pay 31.7% less for groceries

 
Honolulu
Chicago
Bread
1 loaf
$6.64
 
$4.19
 
Local cheese (8 oz) $11.54
 
$7.87
 
Milk (1 gallon) $7.62
 
$3.94
 

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pay 16.3% less for transportation

 
Honolulu
Chicago
Gasoline (1 gallon) $4.80
 
$4.16
 
Monthly public transit pass $80.00
 
$75.00
 
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $33,517.98
 
$31,965.00
 

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pay 17.4% less for housing

 
Honolulu
Chicago
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$68.57
 
$58.52
 
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $2,233.53
 
$2,360.96
 
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $1,853.57
 
$1,512.92
 

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pay 57.1% more for childcare

 
Honolulu
Chicago
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $1,375.00
 
$2,475.00
 
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $31,500.00
 
$42,300.00
 

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pay 11.2% more for entertainment and sports

 
Honolulu
Chicago
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $8.00
 
$7.50
 
Cappuccino in mid-range area $6.73
 
$5.30
 
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$12.00
 
$17.00
 

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pay 1.5% more for clothing

 
Honolulu
Chicago
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$57.86
 
$64.98
 
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$59.16
 
$51.67
 
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$111.43
 
$97.00
 

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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: March 2025
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