Cost of living comparison
compared to
Chicago vs. Queens Cost of Living Summary
Chicago is 17.5% more expensive than Queens.
- Restaurants
-
pay 30.2% more in Chicago
- Groceries
-
pay 6.3% less in Chicago
- Transportation
-
pay 13.8% less in Chicago
- Housing
-
pay 9.8% more in Chicago
- Childcare
-
pay 80.8% more in Chicago
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 14.1% more in Chicago
- Clothing
-
pay 7.8% more in Chicago
The cost of childcare, restaurants, entertainment and sports, housing, and clothing in Chicago are more expensive than in Queens. Expenses including transportation and groceries are lower in Chicago. Notably, childcare is significantly more expensive in Chicago.
Chicago vs. Queens Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Chicago instead of Queens, you would:
pay 30.2% more for restaurants
|
Queens
|
Chicago
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$18.00
|
$20.50
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$12.00
|
$12.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.28
|
$2.96
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.58
|
$2.33
|
|
Queens vs. Chicago - Cost of restaurants
pay 6.3% less for groceries
|
Queens
|
Chicago
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$4.05
|
$4.01
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$8.73
|
$7.05
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.83
|
$4.30
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$7.06
|
$5.02
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$4.66
|
$6.55
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.75
|
$2.31
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.29
|
$0.79
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.94
|
$1.85
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.76
|
$2.09
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.39
|
$1.16
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.18
|
$1.26
|
|
Queens vs. Chicago - Cost of groceries
pay 13.8% less for transportation
|
Queens
|
Chicago
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.30
|
$3.81
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$132.00
|
$75.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$36,344.69
|
$35,691.85
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$19.40
|
$14.43
|
|
Queens vs. Chicago - Cost of transportation
pay 9.8% more for housing
|
Queens
|
Chicago
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$58.33
|
$65.83
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$2,276.67
|
$2,418.00
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$2,025.00
|
$1,692.50
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$103.54
|
$141.41
|
|
Queens vs. Chicago - Cost of housing
pay 80.8% more for childcare
|
Queens
|
Chicago
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,750.00
|
$2,050.00
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$16,000.00
|
$39,114.29
|
|
Queens vs. Chicago - Cost of childcare
pay 14.1% more for entertainment and sports
|
Queens
|
Chicago
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$7.00
|
$7.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.91
|
$5.53
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$17.50
|
$17.00
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$45.00
|
$71.80
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$17.00
|
$18.00
|
|
Queens vs. Chicago - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 7.8% more for clothing
|
Queens
|
Chicago
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$50.00
|
$64.24
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$63.33
|
$49.62
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$86.67
|
$99.48
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$133.75
|
$146.50
|
|
Queens vs. Chicago - 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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