Cost of living comparison

compared to

Lake Forest vs. Rome Cost of Living Summary

Lake Forest is 36.3% more expensive than Rome.

Restaurants: pay 33.6% more in Lake Forest
Groceries: pay 40.5% more in Lake Forest
Transportation: pay 14.2% less in Lake Forest
Housing: pay 46.1% more in Lake Forest
Childcare: pay 97.8% more in Lake Forest
Entertainment and Sports: pay 54.1% more in Lake Forest
Clothing: pay 3.7% less in Lake Forest

The cost of childcare, entertainment and sports, housing, groceries, and restaurants in Lake Forest are more expensive than in Rome. Expenses including transportation and clothing are lower in Lake Forest. Notably, childcare is significantly more expensive in Lake Forest.

Lake Forest vs. Rome Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Lake Forest instead of Rome, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 33.6% more for restaurants

	Rome	Lake Forest
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$17.52 €14.93	$25.00	+42.7%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$11.68 €9.95	$11.50	-1.5%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.50 €2.13	$2.67	+6.5%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.34 €1.14	$2.50	+86.7%
Average			+33.6%

Rome vs. Lake Forest - Cost of restaurants

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pay 40.5% more for groceries

	Rome	Lake Forest
Bread 1 loaf	$2.21 €1.89	$3.80	+71.7%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$9.54 €8.13	$6.22	-34.8%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.12 €6.06	$4.59	-35.5%
Eggs 1 dozen	$4.62 €3.94	$3.75	-18.9%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$5.53 €4.71	$9.15	+65.5%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.21 €1.03	$2.90	+139.4%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.04 €0.89	$0.66	-36.8%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.08 €0.92	$1.75	+62.8%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.44 €1.22	$2.68	+86.2%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.85 €0.72	$1.75	+106.0%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.98 €0.83	$1.36	+39.4%
Average			+40.5%

Rome vs. Lake Forest - Cost of groceries

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pay 14.2% less for transportation

	Rome	Lake Forest
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$7.66 €6.53	$4.76	-37.9%
Monthly public transit pass	$40.88 €34.83	??
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$29,199.74 €24,878.35	$28,500.00	-2.4%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$19.86 €16.92	$19.41	-2.2%
Average			-14.2%

Rome vs. Lake Forest - Cost of transportation

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pay 46.1% more for housing

	Rome	Lake Forest
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$32.12 €27.36	$75.00	+133.5%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,436.63 €1,224.02	$1,433.33	-0.2%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$927.65 €790.37	$1,500.00	+61.7%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$171.74 €146.33	$153.80	-10.4%
Average			+46.1%

Rome vs. Lake Forest - Cost of housing

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pay 97.8% more for childcare

	Rome	Lake Forest
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$568.18 €484.09	$1,211.00	+113.1%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$10,951.36 €9,330.63	$20,000.00	+82.6%
Average			+97.8%

Rome vs. Lake Forest - Cost of childcare

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pay 54.1% more for entertainment and sports

	Rome	Lake Forest
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$5.84 €4.98	$9.00	+54.1%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.01 €1.72	$5.75	+185.4%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$7.18 €6.12	$9.63	+34.1%
Monthly membership at local gym	$70.65 €60.19	$50.00	-29.2%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$11.68 €9.95	$14.75	+26.3%
Average			+54.1%

Rome vs. Lake Forest - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 3.7% less for clothing

	Rome	Lake Forest
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$81.76 €69.66	$55.00	-32.7%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$37.76 €32.18	$40.75	+7.9%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$88.68 €75.56	$80.00	-9.8%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$116.80 €99.51	$140.00	+19.9%
Average			-3.7%

Rome vs. Lake Forest - Cost of clothing

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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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