Cost of living comparison
compared to
Rochester vs. Johnson City Cost of Living Summary
Rochester is 13.7% more expensive than Johnson City.
Rochester vs. Johnson City Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Rochester instead of Johnson City, you would:
pay 23.8% more for restaurants
|
Johnson City
|
Rochester
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$14.00
|
$20.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$10.00
|
$11.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.90
|
$2.83
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.00
|
$2.50
|
|
Johnson City vs. Rochester - Cost of restaurants
pay 9.5% less for groceries
|
Johnson City
|
Rochester
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$3.86
|
$2.95
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$3.67
|
$4.77
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$3.80
|
$3.38
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$3.19
|
$3.74
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$6.23
|
$5.51
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$3.53
|
$2.42
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.80
|
$0.68
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.81
|
$2.00
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.62
|
$1.70
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.56
|
$1.00
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.96
|
$1.67
|
|
Johnson City vs. Rochester - Cost of groceries
pay 4.5% more for transportation
|
Johnson City
|
Rochester
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.24
|
$3.41
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$37.50
|
$42.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$32,000.00
|
$35,908.50
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$17.18
|
$11.94
|
|
Johnson City vs. Rochester - Cost of transportation
pay 31.8% more for housing
|
Johnson City
|
Rochester
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$62.50
|
$44.00
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,100.00
|
$1,643.75
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$919.80
|
$1,300.00
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$132.80
|
$128.01
|
|
Johnson City vs. Rochester - Cost of housing
pay 3.9% less for childcare
|
Johnson City
|
Rochester
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,208.33
|
$1,369.17
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$14,500.00
|
$11,812.00
|
|
Johnson City vs. Rochester - Cost of childcare
pay 12.0% more for entertainment and sports
|
Johnson City
|
Rochester
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$5.00
|
$5.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.17
|
$6.00
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$7.95
|
$8.89
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$46.66
|
$53.33
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$12.00
|
$14.00
|
|
Johnson City vs. Rochester - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 26.8% more for clothing
|
Johnson City
|
Rochester
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$37.50
|
$63.33
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$31.25
|
$62.50
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$85.80
|
$73.33
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$95.00
|
$85.00
|
|
Johnson City vs. Rochester - 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
Change currency:
Compare further: Johnson City vs. Rochester
Help us improve these prices
MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate.
Learn more
Ask the Elsewhere Community
Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Rochester or Johnson City. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.