Cost of living comparison
compared to
Chicago vs. Ireland Cost of Living Summary
Chicago is 48.1% more expensive than Ireland overall.
- Restaurants
-
pay 13.9% more in Chicago
- Groceries
-
pay 34.3% more in Chicago
- Transportation
-
pay 34.4% less in Chicago
- Housing
-
pay 23.3% more in Chicago
- Childcare
-
pay 3.7 times more in Chicago
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 14.1% more in Chicago
- Clothing
-
pay 11.9% more in Chicago
The cost of childcare, groceries, housing, entertainment and sports, restaurants, and clothing in Chicago are more expensive than in Ireland. Notably, childcare is significantly more expensive in Chicago.
Chicago vs. Ireland Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Chicago instead of Ireland, you would:
pay 13.9% more for restaurants
|
Ireland
|
Chicago
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$19.70
€16.92
|
$20.50
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$11.31
€9.72
|
$12.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.39
€2.05
|
$2.96
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.91
€1.64
|
$2.33
|
|
Ireland vs. Chicago - Cost of restaurants
pay 34.3% more for groceries
|
Ireland
|
Chicago
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$2.04
€1.75
|
$4.01
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$5.16
€4.43
|
$7.05
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$5.89
€5.06
|
$4.30
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.07
€3.49
|
$5.02
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$5.10
€4.38
|
$6.55
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.37
€1.18
|
$2.31
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.97
€0.84
|
$0.79
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.39
€1.20
|
$1.85
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.79
€1.54
|
$2.09
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.86
€0.74
|
$1.16
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.68
€0.59
|
$1.26
|
|
Ireland vs. Chicago - Cost of groceries
pay 34.4% less for transportation
|
Ireland
|
Chicago
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$7.75
€6.66
|
$3.81
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$121.81
€104.61
|
$75.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$41,319.33
€35,485.50
|
$35,691.85
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$22.20
€19.06
|
$14.43
|
|
Ireland vs. Chicago - Cost of transportation
pay 23.3% more for housing
|
Ireland
|
Chicago
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$51.47
€44.21
|
$65.83
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,543.12
€1,325.25
|
$2,418.00
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,305.59
€1,121.26
|
$1,692.50
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$178.90
€153.64
|
$141.41
|
|
Ireland vs. Chicago - Cost of housing
pay 3.7 times more for childcare
|
Ireland
|
Chicago
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,108.91
€952.35
|
$2,050.00
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$6,959.78
€5,977.13
|
$39,114.29
|
|
Ireland vs. Chicago - Cost of childcare
pay 14.1% more for entertainment and sports
|
Ireland
|
Chicago
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$6.63
€5.69
|
$7.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$4.32
€3.71
|
$5.53
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$19.16
€16.45
|
$17.00
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$63.57
€54.60
|
$71.80
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$13.32
€11.44
|
$18.00
|
|
Ireland vs. Chicago - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 11.9% more for clothing
|
Ireland
|
Chicago
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$89.93
€77.23
|
$64.24
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$41.06
€35.27
|
$49.62
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$96.01
€82.45
|
$99.48
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$96.40
€82.79
|
$146.50
|
|
Ireland vs. Chicago - 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
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