Cost of living comparison

New Zealand

compared to

United States

Chicago vs. New Zealand Cost of Living Summary

Chicago is 52.5% more expensive than New Zealand overall.

Restaurants: pay 47.8% more in Chicago
Groceries: pay 36.9% more in Chicago
Transportation: pay 2.6% less in Chicago
Housing: pay 2.0 times more in Chicago
Childcare: pay 99.8% more in Chicago
Entertainment and Sports: pay 39.9% more in Chicago
Clothing: pay 22.1% more in Chicago

The cost of housing, childcare, restaurants, entertainment and sports, groceries, and clothing in Chicago are more expensive than in New Zealand. Notably, housing and childcare are significantly more expensive in Chicago.

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Chicago vs. New Zealand Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Chicago instead of New Zealand, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 47.8% more for restaurants

	New Zealand	Chicago
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$13.26 NZ$23.29	$21.25	+60.2%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$8.99 NZ$15.79	$13.00	+44.6%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.04 NZ$3.58	$2.66	+30.2%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.83 NZ$3.22	$2.30	+25.7%
Average			+47.8%

New Zealand vs. Chicago - Cost of restaurants

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pay 36.9% more for groceries

	New Zealand	Chicago
Bread 1 loaf	$1.73 NZ$3.03	$3.92	+127.3%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.78 NZ$6.64	$7.07	+86.9%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.47 NZ$11.37	$4.97	-23.2%
Eggs 1 dozen	$5.79 NZ$10.17	$4.78	-17.4%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.83 NZ$6.72	$6.65	+73.7%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.22 NZ$2.14	$2.39	+96.5%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.94 NZ$1.66	$0.89	-5.8%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.32 NZ$2.31	$1.87	+41.6%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.20 NZ$3.86	$2.21	+0.5%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.89 NZ$1.56	$1.24	+39.0%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.67 NZ$1.17	$1.23	+84.0%
Average			+36.9%

New Zealand vs. Chicago - Cost of groceries

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pay 2.6% less for transportation

	New Zealand	Chicago
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$6.34 NZ$11.13	$4.66	-26.4%
Monthly public transit pass	$83.43 NZ$146.48	$75.00	-10.1%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$24,108.51 NZ$42,329.05	$36,531.00	+51.5%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$17.20 NZ$30.19	$14.45	-16.0%
Average			-2.6%

New Zealand vs. Chicago - Cost of transportation

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pay 2.0 times more for housing

	New Zealand	Chicago
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$49.30 NZ$86.56	$61.13	+24.0%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$976.74 NZ$1,714.93	$2,400.00	+145.7%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$843.74 NZ$1,481.41	$1,679.31	+99.0%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$95.64 NZ$167.92	$147.87	+54.6%
Average			+103.6%

New Zealand vs. Chicago - Cost of housing

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pay 99.8% more for childcare

	New Zealand	Chicago
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$716.92 NZ$1,258.74	$1,536.88	+114.4%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$16,937.81 NZ$29,738.93	$31,537.78	+86.2%
Average			+99.8%

New Zealand vs. Chicago - Cost of childcare

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pay 39.9% more for entertainment and sports

	New Zealand	Chicago
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$5.70 NZ$10.00	$7.00	+22.9%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.26 NZ$5.72	$5.70	+74.7%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$22.75 NZ$39.94	$16.00	-29.7%
Monthly membership at local gym	$39.17 NZ$68.77	$53.47	+36.5%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$10.27 NZ$18.03	$18.00	+75.3%
Average			+39.9%

New Zealand vs. Chicago - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 22.1% more for clothing

	New Zealand	Chicago
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$63.30 NZ$111.14	$66.94	+5.7%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$33.63 NZ$59.04	$51.67	+53.7%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$91.48 NZ$160.61	$99.58	+8.9%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$114.46 NZ$200.97	$143.78	+25.6%
Average			+22.1%

New Zealand vs. Chicago - 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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