Amsterdam vs. Illinois Cost of Living Summary

Amsterdam is 38.8% more expensive than Illinois.

Restaurants
pay 38.6% more in Amsterdam
Groceries
pay 3.1% less in Amsterdam
Transportation
pay 76.0% more in Amsterdam
Housing
pay 67.4% more in Amsterdam
Childcare
pay 25.2% more in Amsterdam
Entertainment and Sports
pay 17.3% more in Amsterdam
Clothing
pay 19.3% more in Amsterdam

The cost of transportation, housing, restaurants, childcare, clothing, and entertainment and sports in Amsterdam are more expensive than in Illinois. Notably, transportation is significantly more expensive in Amsterdam.

Amsterdam vs. Illinois Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Amsterdam instead of Illinois, you would:

pay 38.6% more for restaurants

 
Illinois
Amsterdam
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $16.90
 
$22.39
€19.99
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$10.89
 
$15.09
€13.47
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $2.49
 
$3.82
€3.41

Improve prices ·

pay 3.1% less for groceries

 
Illinois
Amsterdam
Bread
1 loaf
$3.10
 
$2.32
€2.07
Local cheese (8 oz) $6.14
 
$8.37
€7.47
Milk (1 gallon) $3.46
 
$5.83
€5.20

Improve prices ·

pay 76.0% more for transportation

 
Illinois
Amsterdam
Gasoline (1 gallon) $3.94
 
$9.77
€8.72
Monthly public transit pass $72.27
 
$114.21
€101.94
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $33,124.22
 
$41,419.02
€36,968.05

Improve prices ·

pay 67.4% more for housing

 
Illinois
Amsterdam
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$71.42
 
$53.22
€47.50
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $1,397.04
 
$2,615.70
€2,334.61
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $1,090.29
 
$1,951.54
€1,741.82

Improve prices ·

pay 25.2% more for childcare

 
Illinois
Amsterdam
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $1,217.84
 
$2,791.00
€2,491.08
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $25,292.64
 
$17,310.49
€15,450.27

Improve prices ·

pay 17.3% more for entertainment and sports

 
Illinois
Amsterdam
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $5.30
 
$7.61
€6.80
Cappuccino in mid-range area $5.19
 
$4.55
€4.06
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$11.30
 
$14.56
€12.99

Improve prices ·

pay 19.3% more for clothing

 
Illinois
Amsterdam
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$57.56
 
$93.98
€83.88
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$41.90
 
$40.96
€36.56
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$91.76
 
$99.66
€88.95

Improve prices ·

We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated October 2026). How we calculate this

Share this

Compare countries by overall cost of living

See the cost of living in United States vs. Netherlands. This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within United States and Netherlands.

Help us improve these prices

MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate. Learn more

Ask the Elsewhere Community

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Amsterdam or Illinois. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.