Cost of living comparison
compared to
Chicago vs. Jersey Cost of Living Summary
Chicago is 2.1% more expensive than Jersey overall.
- Restaurants
-
pay 12.9% less in Chicago
- Groceries
-
pay 1.8% more in Chicago
- Transportation
-
pay 5.3% less in Chicago
- Housing
-
pay 2.7% less in Chicago
- Childcare
-
pay 63.5% more in Chicago
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 0.7% more in Chicago
- Clothing
-
pay 30.3% less in Chicago
The cost of childcare, groceries, and entertainment and sports in Chicago are more expensive than in Jersey. Expenses including clothing, restaurants, transportation, and housing are lower in Chicago.
Chicago vs. Jersey Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Chicago instead of Jersey, you would:
pay 12.9% less for restaurants
|
Jersey
|
Chicago
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$40.06
£30.25
|
$20.50
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$10.68
£8.07
|
$12.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$3.17
£2.39
|
$2.96
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.54
£1.92
|
$2.33
|
|
Jersey vs. Chicago - Cost of restaurants
pay 1.8% more for groceries
|
Jersey
|
Chicago
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$2.33
£1.76
|
$4.01
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$4.31
£3.25
|
$7.05
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$8.21
£6.20
|
$4.30
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$5.72
£4.32
|
$5.02
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$5.27
£3.98
|
$6.55
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.95
£1.47
|
$2.31
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.44
£1.09
|
$0.79
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.91
£1.44
|
$1.85
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.89
£1.43
|
$2.09
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.76
£1.33
|
$1.16
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.72
£1.30
|
$1.26
|
|
Jersey vs. Chicago - Cost of groceries
pay 5.3% less for transportation
|
Jersey
|
Chicago
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$8.09
£6.11
|
$3.81
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$66.77
£50.42
|
$75.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$22,034.64
£16,640.12
|
$35,691.85
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$25.19
£19.02
|
$14.43
|
|
Jersey vs. Chicago - Cost of transportation
pay 2.7% less for housing
|
Jersey
|
Chicago
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$74.56
£56.31
|
$65.83
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$2,014.28
£1,521.14
|
$2,418.00
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,629.23
£1,230.36
|
$1,692.50
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$183.82
£138.82
|
$141.41
|
|
Jersey vs. Chicago - Cost of housing
pay 63.5% more for childcare
|
Jersey
|
Chicago
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$2,136.69
£1,613.59
|
$2,050.00
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$16,915.48
£12,774.23
|
$39,114.29
|
|
Jersey vs. Chicago - Cost of childcare
pay 0.7% more for entertainment and sports
|
Jersey
|
Chicago
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$8.01
£6.05
|
$7.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$4.89
£3.69
|
$5.53
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$15.29
£11.55
|
$17.00
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$68.44
£51.69
|
$71.80
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$20.70
£15.63
|
$18.00
|
|
Jersey vs. Chicago - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 30.3% less for clothing
|
Jersey
|
Chicago
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$106.83
£80.68
|
$64.24
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$71.67
£54.12
|
$49.62
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$125.20
£94.55
|
$99.48
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$209.22
£158.00
|
$146.50
|
|
Jersey 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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