Cost of living comparison
compared to
Essen vs. Italy Cost of Living Summary
Essen is 20.3% more expensive than Italy overall.
Essen vs. Italy Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Essen instead of Italy, you would:
pay 24.6% more for restaurants
|
Italy
|
Essen
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$18.50
€16.06
|
$19.86
€17.24
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$11.64
€10.10
|
$12.85
€11.15
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.93
€2.54
|
$2.61
€2.27
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.36
€1.18
|
$2.61
€2.26
|
|
Italy vs. Essen - Cost of restaurants
pay 4.2% more for groceries
|
Italy
|
Essen
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$2.30
€1.99
|
$2.20
€1.91
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$8.02
€6.96
|
$7.54
€6.54
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$6.00
€5.21
|
$5.02
€4.36
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$3.93
€3.41
|
$3.80
€3.30
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$5.46
€4.74
|
$6.63
€5.76
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.07
€0.93
|
$1.49
€1.29
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.94
€0.81
|
$0.86
€0.74
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.17
€1.01
|
$1.04
€0.90
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.46
€1.27
|
$2.21
€1.92
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.86
€0.74
|
$0.76
€0.66
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.80
€0.70
|
$0.76
€0.66
|
|
Italy vs. Essen - Cost of groceries
pay 22.6% more for transportation
|
Italy
|
Essen
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$7.83
€6.80
|
$7.70
€6.68
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$44.40
€38.54
|
$67.74
€58.80
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$32,732.41
€28,412.33
|
$31,745.96
€27,556.06
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$21.32
€18.51
|
$30.37
€26.36
|
|
Italy vs. Essen - Cost of transportation
pay 26.7% more for housing
|
Italy
|
Essen
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$31.45
€27.30
|
$41.84
€36.32
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$740.98
€643.18
|
$734.67
€637.70
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$575.41
€499.46
|
$528.19
€458.48
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$164.94
€143.17
|
$301.44
€261.66
|
|
Italy vs. Essen - Cost of housing
pay 7.0% less for childcare
|
Italy
|
Essen
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$547.22
€475.00
|
$463.98
€402.75
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$9,750.16
€8,463.31
|
$9,857.25
€8,556.27
|
|
Italy vs. Essen - Cost of childcare
pay 41.4% more for entertainment and sports
|
Italy
|
Essen
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$5.73
€4.97
|
$5.72
€4.97
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$1.95
€1.69
|
$3.80
€3.29
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$6.86
€5.95
|
$9.58
€8.31
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$57.21
€49.66
|
$37.94
€32.93
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$10.59
€9.20
|
$17.51
€15.20
|
|
Italy vs. Essen - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 29.6% more for clothing
|
Italy
|
Essen
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$86.36
€74.96
|
$100.21
€86.99
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$39.95
€34.68
|
$73.78
€64.04
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$97.77
€84.86
|
$104.84
€91.00
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$128.92
€111.90
|
$142.45
€123.65
|
|
Italy vs. Essen - 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: April 2026
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