Cost of living comparison
compared to
United States vs. Italy Cost of Living Summary
United States is 43.9% more expensive than Italy overall.
- Restaurants
- pay 8.8% more in United States
- Groceries
- pay 33.6% more in United States
- Transportation
- pay 6.7% less in United States
- Housing
- pay 95.3% more in United States
- Childcare
- pay 2.5 times more in United States
- Entertainment and Sports
- pay 45.7% more in United States
- Clothing
- pay 14.9% less in United States
United States vs. Italy Cost Breakdown
If you lived in United States instead of Italy, you would:
pay 8.8% more for restaurants
Italy | United States | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant | $18.50 €16.24 | $19.45 | |
| Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar | $11.64 €10.22 | $11.12 | |
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) | $2.93 €2.57 | $2.56 | |
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) | $1.36 €1.20 | $2.00 | |
Italy vs. United States - Cost of restaurants
pay 33.6% more for groceries
Italy | United States | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Bread 1 loaf | $2.30 €2.02 | $3.56 | |
| Local cheese (8 oz) | $8.02 €7.04 | $6.50 | |
| Milk (1 gallon) | $6.00 €5.27 | $3.97 | |
| Eggs 1 dozen | $3.93 €3.45 | $4.27 | |
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) | $5.46 €4.79 | $5.41 | |
| Apples (1 lb) | $1.07 €0.94 | $2.37 | |
| Bananas (1 lb) | $0.94 €0.82 | $0.78 | |
| Oranges (1 lb) | $1.17 €1.02 | $2.04 | |
| Tomatoes (1 lb) | $1.46 €1.28 | $2.21 | |
| Potatoes (1 lb) | $0.86 €0.75 | $1.34 | |
| Onions (1 lb) | $0.80 €0.70 | $1.38 | |
Italy vs. United States - Cost of groceries
pay 6.7% less for transportation
Italy | United States | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) | $7.83 €6.87 | $3.41 | |
| Monthly public transit pass | $44.40 €38.98 | $65.85 | |
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) | $32,732.41 €28,739.13 | $32,336.38 | |
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) | $21.32 €18.72 | $17.61 | |
Italy vs. United States - Cost of transportation
pay 95.3% more for housing
Italy | United States | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl | $31.45 €27.62 | $68.97 | |
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area | $740.98 €650.58 | $1,664.59 | |
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center | $575.41 €505.21 | $1,416.15 | |
| Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating | $164.94 €144.82 | $150.19 | |
Italy vs. United States - Cost of housing
pay 2.5 times more for childcare
Italy | United States | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly | $547.22 €480.46 | $1,387.27 | |
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters | $9,750.16 €8,560.66 | $23,196.46 | |
Italy vs. United States - Cost of childcare
pay 45.7% more for entertainment and sports
Italy | United States | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) | $5.73 €5.03 | $5.84 | |
| Cappuccino in mid-range area | $1.95 €1.71 | $5.15 | |
| Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar | $6.86 €6.02 | $9.90 | |
| Monthly membership at local gym | $57.21 €50.23 | $51.45 | |
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema | $10.59 €9.30 | $13.64 | |
Italy vs. United States - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 14.9% less for clothing
Italy | United States | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Regular jeans Levi's brand | $86.36 €75.82 | $51.08 | |
| Regular dress from H&M or similar store | $39.95 €35.08 | $41.81 | |
| Running shoes Nike or Adidas | $97.77 €85.84 | $87.56 | |
| Men's business shoes (leather) | $128.92 €113.19 | $112.04 | |
Italy vs. United States - 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: June 2026
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