Cost of living comparison
compared to
Rapid City vs. Ottawa Cost of Living Summary
Rapid City is 3.0% more expensive than Ottawa.
- Restaurants
-
pay 16.6% more in Rapid City
- Groceries
-
pay 2.4% more in Rapid City
- Transportation
-
pay 14.9% less in Rapid City
- Housing
-
pay 2.9% less in Rapid City
- Childcare
-
pay 11.2% less in Rapid City
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 1.3% more in Rapid City
- Clothing
-
pay 29.4% more in Rapid City
The cost of clothing, restaurants, groceries, and entertainment and sports in Rapid City are more expensive than in Ottawa. Expenses including transportation, childcare, and housing are lower in Rapid City.
Rapid City vs. Ottawa Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Rapid City instead of Ottawa, you would:
pay 16.6% more for restaurants
|
Ottawa
|
Rapid City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$17.99
CA$24.87
|
$15.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$11.01
CA$15.22
|
$10.43
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.00
CA$2.77
|
$3.63
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.56
CA$2.15
|
$1.66
|
|
Ottawa vs. Rapid City - Cost of restaurants
pay 2.4% more for groceries
|
Ottawa
|
Rapid City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$2.73
CA$3.77
|
$2.97
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$5.85
CA$8.09
|
$6.61
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$8.65
CA$11.97
|
$3.96
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$3.52
CA$4.86
|
$4.38
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$5.74
CA$7.94
|
$4.31
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.91
CA$2.64
|
$2.22
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.60
CA$0.83
|
$0.70
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.63
CA$2.25
|
$1.76
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.67
CA$2.30
|
$1.79
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.11
CA$1.53
|
$1.26
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.46
CA$2.02
|
$1.43
|
|
Ottawa vs. Rapid City - Cost of groceries
pay 14.9% less for transportation
|
Ottawa
|
Rapid City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.05
CA$5.60
|
$3.08
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$97.12
CA$134.31
|
$30.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$24,444.83
CA$33,803.54
|
$35,500.00
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$14.82
CA$20.49
|
$13.07
|
|
Ottawa vs. Rapid City - Cost of transportation
pay 2.9% less for housing
|
Ottawa
|
Rapid City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$49.93
CA$69.04
|
$57.00
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,452.55
CA$2,008.67
|
$1,030.00
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,228.71
CA$1,699.13
|
$1,138.80
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$118.93
CA$164.46
|
$131.52
|
|
Ottawa vs. Rapid City - Cost of housing
pay 11.2% less for childcare
|
Ottawa
|
Rapid City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$788.18
CA$1,089.93
|
$700.00
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$15,753.32
CA$21,784.48
|
?? | |
Ottawa vs. Rapid City - Cost of childcare
pay 1.3% more for entertainment and sports
|
Ottawa
|
Rapid City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$5.76
CA$7.96
|
$3.75
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$3.74
CA$5.18
|
$5.33
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$12.95
CA$17.91
|
$9.50
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$44.60
CA$61.68
|
$51.00
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$10.79
CA$14.92
|
$12.00
|
|
Ottawa vs. Rapid City - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 29.4% more for clothing
|
Ottawa
|
Rapid City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$52.82
CA$73.05
|
$61.67
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$38.91
CA$53.81
|
$75.00
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$87.10
CA$120.44
|
$78.33
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$92.91
CA$128.48
|
$110.00
|
|
Ottawa vs. Rapid City - 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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