Cost of living comparison

compared to

Jersey City vs. Ottawa Cost of Living Summary

Jersey City is 43.2% more expensive than Ottawa.

Restaurants
pay 11.6% more in Jersey City
Groceries
pay 27.9% more in Jersey City
Transportation
pay 18.1% more in Jersey City
Housing
pay 62.6% more in Jersey City
Childcare
pay 2.2 times more in Jersey City
Entertainment and Sports
pay 33.3% more in Jersey City
Clothing
pay 31.1% more in Jersey City

The cost of childcare, housing, entertainment and sports, clothing, groceries, and transportation in Jersey City are more expensive than in Ottawa. Notably, childcare is significantly more expensive in Jersey City.

Jersey City vs. Ottawa Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Jersey City instead of Ottawa, you would:

pay 11.6% more for restaurants

 
Ottawa
Jersey City
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $17.99
CA$24.87
$18.00
 
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$11.01
CA$15.22
$13.00
 
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $2.00
CA$2.77
$2.28
 

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pay 27.9% more for groceries

 
Ottawa
Jersey City
Bread
1 loaf
$2.73
CA$3.77
$4.05
 
Local cheese (8 oz) $5.85
CA$8.09
$8.73
 
Milk (1 gallon) $8.65
CA$11.97
$4.83
 

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pay 18.1% more for transportation

 
Ottawa
Jersey City
Gasoline (1 gallon) $4.05
CA$5.60
$3.30
 
Monthly public transit pass $97.12
CA$134.31
$110.00
 
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $24,444.83
CA$33,803.54
$35,911.24
 

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pay 62.6% more for housing

 
Ottawa
Jersey City
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$49.93
CA$69.04
$63.75
 
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $1,452.55
CA$2,008.67
$3,437.50
 
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $1,228.71
CA$1,699.13
$2,442.86
 

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pay 2.2 times more for childcare

 
Ottawa
Jersey City
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $788.18
CA$1,089.93
$2,250.00
 
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $15,753.32
CA$21,784.48
$23,666.67
 

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pay 33.3% more for entertainment and sports

 
Ottawa
Jersey City
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $5.76
CA$7.96
$7.00
 
Cappuccino in mid-range area $3.74
CA$5.18
$5.50
 
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$12.95
CA$17.91
$11.98
 

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pay 31.1% more for clothing

 
Ottawa
Jersey City
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$52.82
CA$73.05
$67.90
 
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$38.91
CA$53.81
$63.33
 
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$87.10
CA$120.44
$77.50
 

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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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