Cost of living comparison
compared to
California vs. Illinois Cost of Living Summary
California is 17.9% more expensive than Illinois.
- Restaurants
-
pay 19.2% more in California
- Groceries
-
pay 20.4% more in California
- Transportation
-
pay 12.3% more in California
- Housing
-
pay 42.6% more in California
- Childcare
-
pay 16.3% more in California
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 17.6% more in California
- Clothing
-
pay 3.2% less in California
The cost of housing, groceries, restaurants, entertainment and sports, childcare, and transportation in California are more expensive than in Illinois.
California vs. Illinois Cost Breakdown
If you lived in California instead of Illinois, you would:
pay 19.2% more for restaurants
|
Illinois
|
California
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$16.12
|
$21.84
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$10.72
|
$12.33
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.52
|
$2.79
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.88
|
$2.17
|
|
Illinois vs. California - Cost of restaurants
pay 20.4% more for groceries
|
Illinois
|
California
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$3.11
|
$4.20
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$6.06
|
$6.77
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$3.41
|
$4.73
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$3.89
|
$5.14
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$5.13
|
$6.05
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.38
|
$2.30
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.74
|
$0.92
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.20
|
$1.91
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.89
|
$2.38
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.05
|
$1.50
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.24
|
$1.41
|
|
Illinois vs. California - Cost of groceries
pay 12.3% more for transportation
|
Illinois
|
California
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.32
|
$4.72
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$69.58
|
$63.04
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$31,159.60
|
$30,529.84
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$18.08
|
$21.43
|
|
Illinois vs. California - Cost of transportation
pay 42.6% more for housing
|
Illinois
|
California
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$72.20
|
$67.96
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,332.19
|
$2,385.40
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,112.01
|
$2,043.56
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$151.79
|
$171.94
|
|
Illinois vs. California - Cost of housing
pay 16.3% more for childcare
|
Illinois
|
California
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,386.42
|
$1,633.13
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$26,426.10
|
$30,339.97
|
|
Illinois vs. California - Cost of childcare
pay 17.6% more for entertainment and sports
|
Illinois
|
California
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$5.38
|
$7.31
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.01
|
$5.58
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$10.78
|
$10.92
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$54.91
|
$68.02
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$13.02
|
$14.99
|
|
Illinois vs. California - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 3.2% less for clothing
|
Illinois
|
California
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$55.71
|
$56.47
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$43.50
|
$40.47
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$91.99
|
$87.50
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$122.66
|
$119.94
|
|
Illinois vs. California - 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: November 2025
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