Cost of living comparison
compared to
Chicago vs. Milan Cost of Living Summary
Chicago is 33.3% more expensive than Milan.
- Restaurants
-
pay 5.5% more in Chicago
- Groceries
-
pay 10.0% more in Chicago
- Transportation
-
pay 7.3% less in Chicago
- Housing
-
pay 44.9% more in Chicago
- Childcare
-
pay 2.4 times more in Chicago
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 66.6% more in Chicago
- Clothing
-
pay 22.4% less in Chicago
The cost of childcare, entertainment and sports, housing, groceries, and restaurants in Chicago are more expensive than in Milan. Expenses including clothing and transportation are lower in Chicago. Notably, childcare is significantly more expensive in Chicago.
Chicago vs. Milan Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Chicago instead of Milan, you would:
pay 5.5% more for restaurants
|
Milan
|
Chicago
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$23.36
€20.06
|
$20.50
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$12.96
€11.13
|
$12.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$3.32
€2.85
|
$2.96
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.53
€1.31
|
$2.33
|
|
Milan vs. Chicago - Cost of restaurants
pay 10.0% more for groceries
|
Milan
|
Chicago
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$2.86
€2.46
|
$4.01
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$9.79
€8.41
|
$7.05
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$6.72
€5.77
|
$4.30
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.83
€4.15
|
$5.02
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$6.05
€5.19
|
$6.55
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.26
€1.09
|
$2.31
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.07
€0.91
|
$0.79
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.54
€1.32
|
$1.85
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.81
€1.56
|
$2.09
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.15
€0.99
|
$1.16
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.98
€0.85
|
$1.26
|
|
Milan vs. Chicago - Cost of groceries
pay 7.3% less for transportation
|
Milan
|
Chicago
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$7.88
€6.77
|
$3.81
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$45.55
€39.12
|
$75.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$35,037.93
€30,090.96
|
$35,691.85
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$25.81
€22.17
|
$14.43
|
|
Milan vs. Chicago - Cost of transportation
pay 44.9% more for housing
|
Milan
|
Chicago
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$30.83
€26.47
|
$65.83
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,697.53
€1,457.86
|
$2,418.00
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,198.14
€1,028.97
|
$1,692.50
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$171.63
€147.39
|
$141.41
|
|
Milan vs. Chicago - Cost of housing
pay 2.4 times more for childcare
|
Milan
|
Chicago
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$875.21
€751.64
|
$2,050.00
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$16,491.19
€14,162.81
|
$39,114.29
|
|
Milan vs. Chicago - Cost of childcare
pay 66.6% more for entertainment and sports
|
Milan
|
Chicago
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$7.01
€6.02
|
$7.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$2.26
€1.94
|
$5.53
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$7.01
€6.02
|
$17.00
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$78.35
€67.29
|
$71.80
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$11.68
€10.03
|
$18.00
|
|
Milan vs. Chicago - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 22.4% less for clothing
|
Milan
|
Chicago
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$114.22
€98.10
|
$64.24
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$57.07
€49.01
|
$49.62
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$116.09
€99.70
|
$99.48
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$180.01
€154.60
|
$146.50
|
|
Milan vs. Chicago - Cost of clothing
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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