Cost of living comparison

compared to

Philadelphia vs. Michigan Cost of Living Summary

Philadelphia is 39.2% more expensive than Michigan.

Restaurants
pay 19.6% more in Philadelphia
Groceries
pay 28.3% more in Philadelphia
Transportation
pay 27.3% more in Philadelphia
Housing
pay 33.2% more in Philadelphia
Childcare
pay 2.1 times more in Philadelphia
Entertainment and Sports
pay 30.6% more in Philadelphia
Clothing
pay 27.2% more in Philadelphia

The cost of childcare, housing, entertainment and sports, groceries, transportation, and clothing in Philadelphia are more expensive than in Michigan. Notably, childcare is significantly more expensive in Philadelphia.

Philadelphia vs. Michigan Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Philadelphia instead of Michigan, you would:

pay 19.6% more for restaurants

 
Michigan
Philadelphia
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $17.26
 
$20.00
 
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$10.06
 
$13.00
 
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $2.43
 
$2.79
 

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pay 28.3% more for groceries

 
Michigan
Philadelphia
Bread
1 loaf
$3.02
 
$4.25
 
Local cheese (8 oz) $5.45
 
$7.30
 
Milk (1 gallon) $3.20
 
$5.27
 

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pay 27.3% more for transportation

 
Michigan
Philadelphia
Gasoline (1 gallon) $3.28
 
$3.24
 
Monthly public transit pass $46.54
 
$96.50
 
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $33,599.47
 
$36,373.32
 

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pay 33.2% more for housing

 
Michigan
Philadelphia
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$61.76
 
$76.39
 
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $1,257.26
 
$1,831.00
 
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $1,053.74
 
$1,313.60
 

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pay 2.1 times more for childcare

 
Michigan
Philadelphia
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $1,153.90
 
$2,026.67
 
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $17,706.02
 
$42,560.00
 

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pay 30.6% more for entertainment and sports

 
Michigan
Philadelphia
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $4.77
 
$6.00
 
Cappuccino in mid-range area $4.65
 
$5.06
 
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$9.12
 
$13.00
 

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pay 27.2% more for clothing

 
Michigan
Philadelphia
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$48.69
 
$51.00
 
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$32.31
 
$44.86
 
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$83.56
 
$95.31
 

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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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