Dayton vs. Madrid Cost of Living Summary

Dayton is 6.2% cheaper than Madrid.

Restaurants
pay 17.6% less in Dayton
Groceries
pay 39.4% more in Dayton
Transportation
pay 8.2% less in Dayton
Housing
pay 14.9% less in Dayton
Childcare
pay 46.1% less in Dayton
Entertainment and Sports
pay 9.6% more in Dayton
Clothing
pay 22.9% less in Dayton

The cost of groceries and entertainment and sports in Dayton are more expensive than in Madrid. Expenses including childcare, clothing, restaurants, housing, and transportation are lower in Dayton.

Dayton vs. Madrid Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Dayton instead of Madrid, you would:

pay 17.6% less for restaurants

 
Madrid
Dayton
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $17.92
€16.00
$14.50
 
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$11.20
€10.00
$10.00
 
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $3.30
€2.95
$2.26
 

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pay 39.4% more for groceries

 
Madrid
Dayton
Bread
1 loaf
$1.57
€1.40
$2.75
 
Local cheese (8 oz) $8.35
€7.46
$6.79
 
Milk (1 gallon) $5.25
€4.69
$2.91
 

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pay 8.2% less for transportation

 
Madrid
Dayton
Gasoline (1 gallon) $6.88
€6.14
$3.97
 
Monthly public transit pass $36.95
€32.99
$50.00
 
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $35,271.67
€31,493.97
$36,168.00
 

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pay 14.9% less for housing

 
Madrid
Dayton
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$34.86
€31.13
$58.00
 
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $1,491.38
€1,331.65
$1,203.83
 
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $1,193.86
€1,066.00
$900.80
 

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pay 46.1% less for childcare

 
Madrid
Dayton
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $668.48
€596.89
$533.33
 
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $17,859.91
€15,947.06
$6,500.00
 

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pay 9.6% more for entertainment and sports

 
Madrid
Dayton
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $3.92
€3.50
$4.50
 
Cappuccino in mid-range area $3.07
€2.74
$4.16
 
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$6.72
€6.00
$10.79
 

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pay 22.9% less for clothing

 
Madrid
Dayton
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$86.50
€77.24
$39.75
 
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$42.98
€38.38
$47.75
 
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$108.99
€97.31
$70.00
 

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We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated November 2026). How we calculate this

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