Dayton vs. Rome Cost of Living Summary

Dayton is 1.2% more expensive than Rome.

Restaurants
pay 10.3% less in Dayton
Groceries
pay 38.4% more in Dayton
Transportation
pay 16.6% less in Dayton
Housing
pay 4.0% more in Dayton
Childcare
pay 35.0% less in Dayton
Entertainment and Sports
pay 2.8% more in Dayton
Clothing
pay 11.8% less in Dayton

The cost of groceries, housing, and entertainment and sports in Dayton are more expensive than in Rome. Expenses including childcare, transportation, clothing, and restaurants are lower in Dayton.

Dayton vs. Rome Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Dayton instead of Rome, you would:

pay 10.3% less for restaurants

 
Rome
Dayton
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $16.80
€15.00
$14.50
 
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$11.20
€10.00
$10.00
 
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $2.96
€2.64
$2.26
 

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pay 38.4% more for groceries

 
Rome
Dayton
Bread
1 loaf
$2.22
€1.99
$2.75
 
Local cheese (8 oz) $7.42
€6.63
$6.79
 
Milk (1 gallon) $6.49
€5.79
$2.91
 

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pay 16.6% less for transportation

 
Rome
Dayton
Gasoline (1 gallon) $8.04
€7.18
$3.97
 
Monthly public transit pass $39.19
€34.99
$50.00
 
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $35,551.60
€31,743.92
$36,168.00
 

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pay 4.0% more for housing

 
Rome
Dayton
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$31.87
€28.45
$58.00
 
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $1,208.81
€1,079.34
$1,203.83
 
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $873.39
€779.85
$900.80
 

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pay 35.0% less for childcare

 
Rome
Dayton
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $487.21
€435.03
$533.33
 
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $16,862.20
€15,056.21
$6,500.00
 

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pay 2.8% more for entertainment and sports

 
Rome
Dayton
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $5.60
€5.00
$4.50
 
Cappuccino in mid-range area $2.07
€1.85
$4.16
 
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$7.28
€6.50
$10.79
 

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pay 11.8% less for clothing

 
Rome
Dayton
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$71.31
€63.67
$39.75
 
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$36.31
€32.42
$47.75
 
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$83.63
€74.67
$70.00
 

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We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated November 2026). How we calculate this

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