Cost of living comparison
compared to
Chicago vs. Lancaster Cost of Living Summary
Chicago is 18.4% more expensive than Lancaster.
Chicago vs. Lancaster Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Chicago instead of Lancaster, you would:
pay 3.5% more for restaurants
|
Lancaster
|
Chicago
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$22.00
|
$21.25
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$12.00
|
$13.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.40
|
$2.66
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.04
|
$2.30
|
|
Lancaster vs. Chicago - Cost of restaurants
pay 6.0% more for groceries
|
Lancaster
|
Chicago
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$2.78
|
$3.92
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$6.98
|
$7.07
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.29
|
$4.97
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.62
|
$4.78
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$4.19
|
$6.65
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$4.49
|
$2.39
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.67
|
$0.89
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.26
|
$1.87
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.33
|
$2.21
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.99
|
$1.24
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.22
|
$1.23
|
|
Lancaster vs. Chicago - Cost of groceries
pay 16.2% more for transportation
|
Lancaster
|
Chicago
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.77
|
$4.66
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$42.00
|
$75.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$36,446.00
|
$36,531.00
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$29.00
|
$14.45
|
|
Lancaster vs. Chicago - Cost of transportation
pay 35.4% more for housing
|
Lancaster
|
Chicago
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$77.80
|
$61.13
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,387.50
|
$2,400.00
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,160.00
|
$1,679.31
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$208.83
|
$147.87
|
|
Lancaster vs. Chicago - Cost of housing
pay 13.9% more for childcare
|
Lancaster
|
Chicago
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$575.00
|
$1,536.88
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$65,000.00
|
$31,537.78
|
|
Lancaster vs. Chicago - Cost of childcare
pay 12.9% more for entertainment and sports
|
Lancaster
|
Chicago
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$6.00
|
$7.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.25
|
$5.70
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$11.86
|
$16.00
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$47.50
|
$53.47
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$17.00
|
$18.00
|
|
Lancaster vs. Chicago - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 13.6% more for clothing
|
Lancaster
|
Chicago
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$60.00
|
$66.94
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$50.00
|
$51.67
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$95.00
|
$99.58
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$104.50
|
$143.78
|
|
Lancaster vs. Chicago - 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: Lancaster vs. Chicago
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 Chicago or Lancaster. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.