Cost of living comparison
compared to
Traverse City vs. Ottawa Cost of Living Summary
Traverse City is 4.4% more expensive than Ottawa.
- Restaurants
-
pay 12.9% more in Traverse City
- Groceries
-
pay 4.2% more in Traverse City
- Transportation
-
pay 14.1% less in Traverse City
- Housing
-
pay 20.4% more in Traverse City
- Childcare
-
pay 0.7% more in Traverse City
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 10.3% less in Traverse City
- Clothing
-
pay 17.3% more in Traverse City
The cost of housing, clothing, restaurants, groceries, and childcare in Traverse City are more expensive than in Ottawa. Expenses including transportation and entertainment and sports are lower in Traverse City.
Traverse City vs. Ottawa Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Traverse City instead of Ottawa, you would:
pay 12.9% more for restaurants
|
Ottawa
|
Traverse City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$17.99
CA$24.81
|
$20.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$11.01
CA$15.18
|
$10.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.00
CA$2.76
|
$2.25
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.56
CA$2.15
|
$2.14
|
|
Ottawa vs. Traverse City - Cost of restaurants
pay 4.2% more for groceries
|
Ottawa
|
Traverse City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$2.73
CA$3.76
|
$2.94
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$5.85
CA$8.07
|
$4.64
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$8.65
CA$11.94
|
$2.83
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$3.52
CA$4.85
|
$2.61
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$5.74
CA$7.92
|
$5.07
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.91
CA$2.63
|
$2.74
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.60
CA$0.83
|
$0.72
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.63
CA$2.25
|
$1.75
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.67
CA$2.30
|
$3.08
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.11
CA$1.53
|
$1.21
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.46
CA$2.01
|
$1.45
|
|
Ottawa vs. Traverse City - Cost of groceries
pay 14.1% less for transportation
|
Ottawa
|
Traverse City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.05
CA$5.59
|
$3.27
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$97.12
CA$133.97
|
$30.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$24,444.83
CA$33,717.98
|
$35,699.74
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$14.82
CA$20.44
|
?? | |
Ottawa vs. Traverse City - Cost of transportation
pay 20.4% more for housing
|
Ottawa
|
Traverse City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$49.93
CA$68.87
|
$67.50
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,452.55
CA$2,003.58
|
$1,983.33
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,228.71
CA$1,694.82
|
$1,418.00
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$118.93
CA$164.04
|
$112.10
|
|
Ottawa vs. Traverse City - Cost of housing
pay 0.7% more for childcare
|
Ottawa
|
Traverse City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$788.18
CA$1,087.17
|
$1,030.00
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$15,753.32
CA$21,729.34
|
$11,136.00
|
|
Ottawa vs. Traverse City - Cost of childcare
pay 10.3% less for entertainment and sports
|
Ottawa
|
Traverse City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$5.76
CA$7.94
|
$3.75
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$3.74
CA$5.16
|
$4.00
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$12.95
CA$17.86
|
$6.00
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$44.60
CA$61.52
|
$63.33
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$10.79
CA$14.89
|
$9.50
|
|
Ottawa vs. Traverse City - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 17.3% more for clothing
|
Ottawa
|
Traverse City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$52.82
CA$72.86
|
$74.33
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$38.91
CA$53.68
|
$41.67
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$87.10
CA$120.14
|
$111.67
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$92.91
CA$128.15
|
$86.67
|
|
Ottawa vs. Traverse 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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