Cost of living comparison

United Kingdom

compared to

United States

Grand Rapids vs. Manchester Cost of Living Summary

Grand Rapids is 5.6% cheaper than Manchester.

Restaurants: pay 0.3% more in Grand Rapids
Groceries: pay 46.8% more in Grand Rapids
Transportation: pay 36.6% less in Grand Rapids
Housing: pay 14.7% less in Grand Rapids
Childcare: pay 12.6% less in Grand Rapids
Entertainment and Sports: pay 15.3% less in Grand Rapids
Clothing: pay 14.7% more in Grand Rapids

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

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Grand Rapids vs. Manchester Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Grand Rapids instead of Manchester, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 0.3% more for restaurants

	Manchester	Grand Rapids
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$19.82 £14.82	$19.97	+0.7%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$10.57 £7.90	$10.00	-5.4%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.48 £1.85	$2.85	+15.1%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.63 £1.22	$1.71	+4.9%
Average			+0.3%

Manchester vs. Grand Rapids - Cost of restaurants

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pay 46.8% more for groceries

	Manchester	Grand Rapids
Bread 1 loaf	$1.90 £1.42	$3.69	+94.0%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.79 £3.58	$7.68	+60.4%
Milk (1 gallon)	$5.55 £4.15	$3.07	-44.6%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.92 £2.93	$4.40	+12.2%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$4.01 £3.00	$6.27	+56.4%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.41 £1.05	$2.23	+58.1%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.70 £0.52	$0.74	+6.1%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.34 £1.00	$2.53	+88.5%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.54 £1.15	$2.83	+83.6%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.69 £0.52	$0.97	+40.0%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.60 £0.45	$1.66	+177.6%
Average			+46.8%

Manchester vs. Grand Rapids - Cost of groceries

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pay 36.6% less for transportation

	Manchester	Grand Rapids
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$7.90 £5.90	$4.07	-48.4%
Monthly public transit pass	$105.71 £79.04	$47.00	-55.5%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$38,182.92 £28,549.06	$36,033.00	-5.6%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$21.62 £16.16	$20.70	-4.2%
Average			-36.6%

Manchester vs. Grand Rapids - Cost of transportation

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pay 14.7% less for housing

	Manchester	Grand Rapids
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$39.77 £29.74	$72.14	+81.4%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,811.56 £1,354.49	$1,655.80	-8.6%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,245.87 £931.53	$1,082.17	-13.1%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$189.36 £141.59	$99.50	-47.5%
Average			-14.7%

Manchester vs. Grand Rapids - Cost of housing

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pay 12.6% less for childcare

	Manchester	Grand Rapids
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,258.34 £940.85	$909.29	-27.7%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$19,850.79 £14,842.28	$21,000.00	+5.8%
Average			-12.6%

Manchester vs. Grand Rapids - Cost of childcare

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pay 15.3% less for entertainment and sports

	Manchester	Grand Rapids
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$7.93 £5.93	$6.00	-24.3%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$4.76 £3.56	$4.50	-5.4%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$23.46 £17.54	$10.75	-54.2%
Monthly membership at local gym	$55.71 £41.66	$50.00	-10.3%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$13.18 £9.86	$13.50	+2.4%
Average			-15.3%

Manchester vs. Grand Rapids - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 14.7% more for clothing

	Manchester	Grand Rapids
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$83.63 £62.53	$65.00	-22.3%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$41.98 £31.39	$78.33	+86.6%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$92.54 £69.19	$98.75	+6.7%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$104.29 £77.97	$116.67	+11.9%
Average			+14.7%

Manchester vs. Grand Rapids - Cost of clothing

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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 October 2026). How we calculate this

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