Cost of living comparison

compared to

United States vs. Lausanne Cost of Living Summary

United States is 32.4% cheaper than Lausanne.

Restaurants: pay 49.5% less in United States
Groceries: pay 12.1% less in United States
Transportation: pay 41.9% less in United States
Housing: pay 8.8% less in United States
Childcare: pay 41.8% less in United States
Entertainment and Sports: pay 28.3% less in United States
Clothing: pay 44.4% less in United States

Expenses including restaurants, clothing, transportation, childcare, entertainment and sports, and groceries are lower in United States.

United States vs. Lausanne Cost Breakdown

If you lived in United States instead of Lausanne, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 49.5% less for restaurants

	Lausanne	United States
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$35.05 CHF28.18	$19.45	-44.5%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$19.97 CHF16.05	$11.12	-44.3%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$5.27 CHF4.24	$2.56	-51.5%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$4.72 CHF3.79	$2.00	-57.5%
Average			-49.5%

Lausanne vs. United States - Cost of restaurants

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pay 12.1% less for groceries

	Lausanne	United States
Bread 1 loaf	$4.29 CHF3.45	$3.56	-17.0%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$13.29 CHF10.68	$6.50	-51.1%
Milk (1 gallon)	$8.56 CHF6.88	$3.97	-53.6%
Eggs 1 dozen	$7.28 CHF5.85	$4.27	-41.3%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$13.31 CHF10.70	$5.41	-59.4%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.66 CHF1.34	$2.37	+42.6%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.98 CHF0.79	$0.78	-20.0%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.30 CHF1.04	$2.04	+57.1%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$3.13 CHF2.51	$2.21	-29.3%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.21 CHF0.97	$1.34	+11.4%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.08 CHF0.87	$1.38	+28.0%
Average			-12.1%

Lausanne vs. United States - Cost of groceries

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pay 41.9% less for transportation

	Lausanne	United States
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$8.45 CHF6.79	$3.41	-59.6%
Monthly public transit pass	$97.65 CHF78.50	$65.85	-32.6%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$41,061.59 CHF33,010.52	$32,336.38	-21.2%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$38.31 CHF30.80	$17.61	-54.0%
Average			-41.9%

Lausanne vs. United States - Cost of transportation

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pay 8.8% less for housing

	Lausanne	United States
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$56.65 CHF45.54	$68.97	+21.8%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,899.72 CHF1,527.24	$1,664.59	-12.4%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,547.78 CHF1,244.30	$1,416.15	-8.5%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$235.21 CHF189.09	$150.19	-36.1%
Average			-8.8%

Lausanne vs. United States - Cost of housing

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pay 41.8% less for childcare

	Lausanne	United States
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$2,816.73 CHF2,264.44	$1,387.27	-50.7%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$34,551.83 CHF27,777.15	$23,196.46	-32.9%
Average			-41.8%

Lausanne vs. United States - Cost of childcare

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pay 28.3% less for entertainment and sports

	Lausanne	United States
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$10.02 CHF8.05	$5.84	-41.7%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$6.01 CHF4.83	$5.15	-14.2%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$11.27 CHF9.06	$9.90	-12.1%
Monthly membership at local gym	$71.46 CHF57.45	$51.45	-28.0%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$25.04 CHF20.13	$13.64	-45.5%
Average			-28.3%

Lausanne vs. United States - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 44.4% less for clothing

	Lausanne	United States
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$110.17 CHF88.56	$51.08	-53.6%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$70.72 CHF56.85	$41.81	-40.9%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$153.20 CHF123.16	$87.56	-42.8%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$187.78 CHF150.96	$112.04	-40.3%
Average			-44.4%

Lausanne vs. United States - Cost of clothing

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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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