Cost of living comparison

compared to

Grand Rapids vs. Ottawa Cost of Living Summary

Grand Rapids is 11.7% more expensive than Ottawa.

Restaurants: pay 7.1% more in Grand Rapids
Groceries: pay 11.4% more in Grand Rapids
Transportation: pay 1.8% more in Grand Rapids
Housing: pay 9.5% more in Grand Rapids
Childcare: pay 26.9% more in Grand Rapids
Entertainment and Sports: pay 6.9% more in Grand Rapids
Clothing: pay 18.4% more in Grand Rapids

The cost of childcare, clothing, groceries, housing, restaurants, and entertainment and sports in Grand Rapids are more expensive than in Ottawa.

Grand Rapids vs. Ottawa Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Grand Rapids instead of Ottawa, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 7.1% more for restaurants

	Ottawa	Grand Rapids
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$17.99 CA$24.87	$18.49	+2.8%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$11.01 CA$15.22	$11.00	-0.1%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.00 CA$2.77	$2.70	+34.9%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.56 CA$2.15	$1.41	-9.3%
Average			+7.1%

Ottawa vs. Grand Rapids - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 11.4% more for groceries

	Ottawa	Grand Rapids
Bread 1 loaf	$2.73 CA$3.77	$3.13	+14.7%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.85 CA$8.09	$7.68	+31.2%
Milk (1 gallon)	$8.65 CA$11.97	$3.41	-60.6%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.52 CA$4.86	$3.46	-1.5%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$5.74 CA$7.94	$4.33	-24.5%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.91 CA$2.64	$2.23	+16.8%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.60 CA$0.83	$0.74	+23.3%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.63 CA$2.25	$2.53	+55.5%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.67 CA$2.30	$2.83	+69.6%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.11 CA$1.53	$0.97	-12.6%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.46 CA$2.02	$1.66	+13.8%
Average			+11.4%

Ottawa vs. Grand Rapids - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 1.8% more for transportation

	Ottawa	Grand Rapids
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.05 CA$5.60	$3.24	-20.0%
Monthly public transit pass	$97.12 CA$134.31	$47.00	-51.6%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$24,444.83 CA$33,803.54	$34,000.00	+39.1%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$14.82 CA$20.49	$20.70	+39.7%
Average			+1.8%

Ottawa vs. Grand Rapids - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 9.5% more for housing

	Ottawa	Grand Rapids
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$49.93 CA$69.04	$72.67	+45.5%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,452.55 CA$2,008.67	$1,691.67	+16.5%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,228.71 CA$1,699.13	$1,191.67	-3.0%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$118.93 CA$164.46	$93.79	-21.1%
Average			+9.5%

Ottawa vs. Grand Rapids - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 26.9% more for childcare

	Ottawa	Grand Rapids
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$788.18 CA$1,089.93	$950.00	+20.5%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$15,753.32 CA$21,784.48	$21,000.00	+33.3%
Average			+26.9%

Ottawa vs. Grand Rapids - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 6.9% more for entertainment and sports

	Ottawa	Grand Rapids
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$5.76 CA$7.96	$6.00	+4.2%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.74 CA$5.18	$4.88	+30.2%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$12.95 CA$17.91	$9.00	-30.5%
Monthly membership at local gym	$44.60 CA$61.68	$40.83	-8.5%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$10.79 CA$14.92	$15.00	+39.0%
Average			+6.9%

Ottawa vs. Grand Rapids - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 18.4% more for clothing

	Ottawa	Grand Rapids
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$52.82 CA$73.05	$58.91	+11.5%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$38.91 CA$53.81	$47.50	+22.1%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$87.10 CA$120.44	$87.02	-0.1%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$92.91 CA$128.48	$130.00	+39.9%
Average			+18.4%

Ottawa vs. Grand Rapids - Cost of clothing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

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

More cost comparisons

Ottawa vs.

Kiev

Ottawa vs.

Quito

Ottawa vs.

Ankara

Ottawa vs.

Algiers

Ottawa vs.

Hong Kong

Ottawa vs.

Lima

Ottawa vs.

Canberra

Ottawa vs.

Prague

Share this

Compare countries by overall cost of living

See the cost of living in Canada vs. United States. This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within Canada and United States.

Help us improve these prices

MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate. Learn more

Add prices for Ottawa

Add prices for Grand Rapids

ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Grand Rapids or Ottawa. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.