Cost of living comparison
compared to
Grand Forks vs. Ottawa Cost of Living Summary
Grand Forks is 7.5% more expensive than Ottawa.
- Restaurants
-
pay 33.9% more in Grand Forks
- Groceries
-
pay 14.3% more in Grand Forks
- Transportation
-
pay 41.2% less in Grand Forks
- Housing
-
pay 16.4% more in Grand Forks
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 14.2% more in Grand Forks
The cost of restaurants, housing, groceries, and entertainment and sports in Grand Forks are more expensive than in Ottawa.
Grand Forks vs. Ottawa Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Grand Forks instead of Ottawa, you would:
pay 33.9% more for restaurants
|
Ottawa
|
Grand Forks
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$17.99
CA$24.87
|
$21.50
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$11.01
CA$15.22
|
$9.45
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.00
CA$2.77
|
$2.75
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.56
CA$2.15
|
$3.00
|
|
Ottawa vs. Grand Forks - Cost of restaurants
pay 14.3% more for groceries
|
Ottawa
|
Grand Forks
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$2.73
CA$3.77
|
$3.52
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$5.85
CA$8.09
|
$12.13
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$8.65
CA$11.97
|
$4.24
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$3.52
CA$4.86
|
$3.59
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$5.74
CA$7.94
|
?? | |
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.91
CA$2.64
|
?? | |
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.60
CA$0.83
|
$0.92
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.63
CA$2.25
|
$2.00
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.67
CA$2.30
|
$1.45
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.11
CA$1.53
|
$1.00
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.46
CA$2.02
|
$1.29
|
|
Ottawa vs. Grand Forks - Cost of groceries
pay 41.2% less for transportation
|
Ottawa
|
Grand Forks
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.05
CA$5.60
|
$3.01
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$97.12
CA$134.31
|
$42.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$24,444.83
CA$33,803.54
|
?? | |
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$14.82
CA$20.49
|
?? | |
Ottawa vs. Grand Forks - Cost of transportation
pay 16.4% more for housing
|
Ottawa
|
Grand Forks
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$49.93
CA$69.04
|
$76.17
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,452.55
CA$2,008.67
|
$1,000.00
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,228.71
CA$1,699.13
|
$800.00
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$118.93
CA$164.46
|
$213.15
|
|
Ottawa vs. Grand Forks - Cost of housing
pay (unknown) more for childcare
|
Ottawa
|
Grand Forks
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$788.18
CA$1,089.93
|
?? | |
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$15,753.32
CA$21,784.48
|
?? |
Ottawa vs. Grand Forks - Cost of childcare
pay 14.2% more for entertainment and sports
|
Ottawa
|
Grand Forks
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$5.76
CA$7.96
|
$5.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$3.74
CA$5.18
|
$5.00
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$12.95
CA$17.91
|
$10.00
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$44.60
CA$61.68
|
$60.00
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$10.79
CA$14.92
|
$15.00
|
|
Ottawa vs. Grand Forks - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay (unknown) more for clothing
|
Ottawa
|
Grand Forks
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$52.82
CA$73.05
|
?? | |
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$38.91
CA$53.81
|
?? | |
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$87.10
CA$120.44
|
?? | |
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$92.91
CA$128.48
|
?? |
Ottawa vs. Grand Forks - 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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