Cost of living comparison

compared to

New York City vs. London Cost of Living Summary

New York City is 20.2% more expensive than London.

Restaurants: pay 11.4% more in New York City
Groceries: pay 73.9% more in New York City
Transportation: pay 32.4% less in New York City
Housing: pay 13.7% more in New York City
Childcare: pay 64.0% more in New York City
Entertainment and Sports: pay 23.2% more in New York City
Clothing: pay 12.2% less in New York City

The cost of groceries, childcare, entertainment and sports, housing, and restaurants in New York City are more expensive than in London. Expenses including transportation and clothing are lower in New York City.

New York City vs. London Cost Breakdown

If you lived in New York City instead of London, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 11.4% more for restaurants

	London	New York City
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$26.73 £20.18	$25.00	-6.5%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$11.02 £8.33	$13.00	+17.9%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$3.12 £2.36	$3.09	-1.1%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.93 £1.45	$2.61	+35.3%
Average			+11.4%

London vs. New York City - Cost of restaurants

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pay 73.9% more for groceries

	London	New York City
Bread 1 loaf	$2.16 £1.63	$4.75	+120.1%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.54 £4.18	$8.89	+60.5%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.58 £4.97	$6.05	-8.0%
Eggs 1 dozen	$5.02 £3.79	$7.20	+43.5%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.95 £2.98	$7.07	+78.9%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.53 £1.15	$3.29	+115.8%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.83 £0.63	$1.08	+28.8%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.44 £1.09	$2.60	+80.9%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.64 £1.24	$2.68	+63.5%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.76 £0.57	$1.63	+114.8%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.83 £0.63	$1.78	+114.0%
Average			+73.9%

London vs. New York City - Cost of groceries

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pay 32.4% less for transportation

	London	New York City
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$7.12 £5.38	$3.47	-51.3%
Monthly public transit pass	$240.54 £181.65	$132.00	-45.1%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$37,798.76 £28,544.87	$36,344.69	-3.8%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$31.75 £23.98	$22.39	-29.5%
Average			-32.4%

London vs. New York City - Cost of transportation

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pay 13.7% more for housing

	London	New York City
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$42.83 £32.34	$67.59	+57.8%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$3,083.09 £2,328.29	$4,037.06	+30.9%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$2,340.14 £1,767.22	$2,496.67	+6.7%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$255.85 £193.21	$151.98	-40.6%
Average			+13.7%

London vs. New York City - Cost of housing

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pay 64.0% more for childcare

	London	New York City
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$2,480.84 £1,873.48	$3,154.10	+27.1%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$28,512.27 £21,531.90	$57,250.00	+100.8%
Average			+64.0%

London vs. New York City - Cost of childcare

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pay 23.2% more for entertainment and sports

	London	New York City
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$8.69 £6.56	$8.00	-7.9%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$5.21 £3.93	$5.71	+9.7%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$22.72 £17.16	$19.00	-16.4%
Monthly membership at local gym	$64.95 £49.05	$150.04	+131.0%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$20.05 £15.14	$20.00	-0.2%
Average			+23.2%

London vs. New York City - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 12.2% less for clothing

	London	New York City
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$116.11 £87.68	$67.80	-41.6%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$52.02 £39.29	$49.94	-4.0%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$125.96 £95.13	$115.58	-8.2%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$160.88 £121.49	$168.76	+4.9%
Average			-12.2%

London vs. New York City - 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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