Cost of living comparison
compared to
West Virginia vs. Illinois Cost of Living Summary
West Virginia is 11.6% cheaper than Illinois.
- Restaurants
-
pay 3.9% less in West Virginia
- Groceries
-
pay 0.1% more in West Virginia
- Transportation
-
pay 9.3% less in West Virginia
- Housing
-
pay 18.1% less in West Virginia
- Childcare
-
pay 15.6% less in West Virginia
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 17.5% less in West Virginia
- Clothing
-
pay 14.7% less in West Virginia
West Virginia vs. Illinois Cost Breakdown
If you lived in West Virginia instead of Illinois, you would:
pay 3.9% less for restaurants
|
Illinois
|
West Virginia
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$16.90
|
$16.33
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$10.89
|
$10.12
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.49
|
$2.54
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.93
|
$1.92
|
|
Illinois vs. West Virginia - Cost of restaurants
pay 0.1% more for groceries
|
Illinois
|
West Virginia
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$3.10
|
$2.58
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$6.14
|
$4.87
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$3.46
|
$3.03
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$3.85
|
$3.36
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$5.41
|
$6.70
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.35
|
$2.16
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.76
|
$0.75
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.10
|
$1.98
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.00
|
$2.29
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.07
|
$1.44
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.25
|
$1.52
|
|
Illinois vs. West Virginia - Cost of groceries
pay 9.3% less for transportation
|
Illinois
|
West Virginia
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.94
|
$3.54
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$72.27
|
$58.75
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$33,124.22
|
$30,056.00
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$16.42
|
$20.22
|
|
Illinois vs. West Virginia - Cost of transportation
pay 18.1% less for housing
|
Illinois
|
West Virginia
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$71.42
|
$62.40
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,397.04
|
$1,057.15
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,090.29
|
$810.03
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$164.01
|
$210.74
|
|
Illinois vs. West Virginia - Cost of housing
pay 15.6% less for childcare
|
Illinois
|
West Virginia
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,217.84
|
$992.44
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$25,292.64
|
$22,084.33
|
|
Illinois vs. West Virginia - Cost of childcare
pay 17.5% less for entertainment and sports
|
Illinois
|
West Virginia
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$5.30
|
$5.58
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.19
|
$4.07
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$11.30
|
$8.60
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$52.78
|
$31.48
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$13.24
|
$13.38
|
|
Illinois vs. West Virginia - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 14.7% less for clothing
|
Illinois
|
West Virginia
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$57.56
|
$44.42
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$41.90
|
$39.78
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$91.76
|
$72.50
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$112.64
|
$103.12
|
|
Illinois vs. West Virginia - Cost of clothing
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
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