Cost of living comparison
compared to
New York vs. Illinois Cost of Living Summary
New York is 12.1% more expensive than Illinois.
- Restaurants
-
pay 8.1% more in New York
- Groceries
-
pay 19.4% more in New York
- Transportation
-
pay 18.7% more in New York
- Housing
-
pay 16.1% more in New York
- Childcare
-
pay 11.8% more in New York
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 16.3% more in New York
- Clothing
-
pay 5.8% less in New York
The cost of groceries, transportation, entertainment and sports, housing, childcare, and restaurants in New York are more expensive than in Illinois.
New York vs. Illinois Cost Breakdown
If you lived in New York instead of Illinois, you would:
pay 8.1% more for restaurants
|
Illinois
|
New York
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$16.12
|
$20.39
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$10.72
|
$11.80
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.52
|
$2.45
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.88
|
$1.86
|
|
Illinois vs. New York - Cost of restaurants
pay 19.4% more for groceries
|
Illinois
|
New York
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$3.11
|
$3.78
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$6.06
|
$7.84
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$3.41
|
$4.25
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$3.89
|
$4.76
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$5.13
|
$5.49
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.38
|
$2.39
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.74
|
$0.88
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.20
|
$2.16
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.89
|
$2.38
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.05
|
$1.43
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.24
|
$1.63
|
|
Illinois vs. New York - Cost of groceries
pay 18.7% more for transportation
|
Illinois
|
New York
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.32
|
$3.32
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$69.58
|
$95.86
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$31,159.60
|
$33,821.80
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$18.08
|
$19.88
|
|
Illinois vs. New York - Cost of transportation
pay 16.1% more for housing
|
Illinois
|
New York
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$72.20
|
$65.63
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,332.19
|
$1,876.02
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,112.01
|
$1,567.68
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$151.79
|
$139.14
|
|
Illinois vs. New York - Cost of housing
pay 11.8% more for childcare
|
Illinois
|
New York
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,386.42
|
$1,788.00
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$26,426.10
|
$24,966.76
|
|
Illinois vs. New York - Cost of childcare
pay 16.3% more for entertainment and sports
|
Illinois
|
New York
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$5.38
|
$6.28
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.01
|
$5.14
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$10.78
|
$14.22
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$54.91
|
$63.27
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$13.02
|
$14.99
|
|
Illinois vs. New York - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 5.8% less for clothing
|
Illinois
|
New York
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$55.71
|
$49.49
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$43.50
|
$44.18
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$91.99
|
$85.00
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$122.66
|
$115.57
|
|
Illinois vs. New York - 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
Change currency:
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 New York or Illinois. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.