Cost of living comparison
compared to
United States vs. Netherlands Cost of Living Summary
United States is 0.9% more expensive than Netherlands overall.
- Restaurants
-
pay 22.1% less in United States
- Groceries
-
pay 31.0% more in United States
- Transportation
-
pay 35.9% less in United States
- Housing
-
pay 11.3% more in United States
- Childcare
-
pay 45.8% more in United States
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 2.3% less in United States
- Clothing
-
pay 21.7% less in United States
The cost of childcare, groceries, and housing in United States are more expensive than in Netherlands. Expenses including transportation, restaurants, clothing, and entertainment and sports are lower in United States.
United States vs. Netherlands Cost Breakdown
If you lived in United States instead of Netherlands, you would:
pay 22.1% less for restaurants
|
Netherlands
|
United States
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$21.66
€18.68
|
$19.45
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$13.94
€12.02
|
$11.12
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$3.53
€3.05
|
$2.56
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.87
€2.48
|
$2.00
|
|
Netherlands vs. United States - Cost of restaurants
pay 31.0% more for groceries
|
Netherlands
|
United States
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$2.15
€1.86
|
$3.56
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$6.70
€5.78
|
$6.50
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.86
€4.19
|
$3.97
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.76
€4.10
|
$4.27
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$7.31
€6.30
|
$5.41
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.05
€0.91
|
$2.37
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.13
€0.98
|
$0.78
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$0.90
€0.77
|
$2.04
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.84
€1.59
|
$2.21
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.95
€0.82
|
$1.34
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.92
€0.80
|
$1.38
|
|
Netherlands vs. United States - Cost of groceries
pay 35.9% less for transportation
|
Netherlands
|
United States
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$8.56
€7.38
|
$3.41
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$101.86
€87.83
|
$65.85
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$36,970.03
€31,880.25
|
$32,336.38
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$27.44
€23.66
|
$17.61
|
|
Netherlands vs. United States - Cost of transportation
pay 11.3% more for housing
|
Netherlands
|
United States
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$49.26
€42.48
|
$68.97
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,462.13
€1,260.83
|
$1,664.59
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,216.44
€1,048.97
|
$1,416.15
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$199.59
€172.11
|
$150.19
|
|
Netherlands vs. United States - Cost of housing
pay 45.8% more for childcare
|
Netherlands
|
United States
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,911.60
€1,648.43
|
$1,387.27
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$10,591.36
€9,133.21
|
$23,196.46
|
|
Netherlands vs. United States - Cost of childcare
pay 2.3% less for entertainment and sports
|
Netherlands
|
United States
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$6.49
€5.60
|
$5.84
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$4.17
€3.60
|
$5.15
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$13.74
€11.84
|
$9.90
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$43.55
€37.55
|
$51.45
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$16.09
€13.87
|
$13.64
|
|
Netherlands vs. United States - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 21.7% less for clothing
|
Netherlands
|
United States
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$94.61
€81.59
|
$51.08
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$45.24
€39.01
|
$41.81
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$104.29
€89.93
|
$87.56
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$135.17
€116.56
|
$112.04
|
|
Netherlands vs. United States - 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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