Cost of living comparison
compared to
Merced vs. Rome Cost of Living Summary
Merced is 54.8% more expensive than Rome.
- Restaurants
-
pay 21.5% more in Merced
- Groceries
-
pay 17.0% more in Merced
- Transportation
-
pay 4.1% more in Merced
- Housing
-
pay 42.6% more in Merced
- Childcare
-
pay 3.5 times more in Merced
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 53.3% more in Merced
- Clothing
-
pay 0.5% less in Merced
The cost of childcare, entertainment and sports, housing, restaurants, groceries, and transportation in Merced are more expensive than in Rome. Notably, childcare is significantly more expensive in Merced.
Merced vs. Rome Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Merced instead of Rome, you would:
pay 21.5% more for restaurants
|
Rome
|
Merced
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$17.52
€14.93
|
$20.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$11.68
€9.95
|
$12.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.50
€2.13
|
$3.00
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.34
€1.14
|
$2.00
|
|
Rome vs. Merced - Cost of restaurants
pay 17.0% more for groceries
|
Rome
|
Merced
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$2.21
€1.89
|
$2.76
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$9.54
€8.13
|
$5.51
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$7.12
€6.06
|
$4.53
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.62
€3.94
|
$5.40
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$5.53
€4.71
|
$6.98
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.21
€1.03
|
$2.63
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.04
€0.89
|
$1.18
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.08
€0.92
|
$0.68
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.44
€1.22
|
$2.00
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.85
€0.72
|
$0.95
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.98
€0.83
|
$1.50
|
|
Rome vs. Merced - Cost of groceries
pay 4.1% more for transportation
|
Rome
|
Merced
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$7.66
€6.53
|
$4.67
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$40.88
€34.83
|
$60.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$29,199.74
€24,878.35
|
$36,753.89
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$19.86
€16.92
|
$16.42
|
|
Rome vs. Merced - Cost of transportation
pay 42.6% more for housing
|
Rome
|
Merced
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$32.12
€27.36
|
$70.13
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,436.63
€1,224.02
|
$1,622.50
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$927.65
€790.37
|
$1,081.67
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$171.74
€146.33
|
$210.52
|
|
Rome vs. Merced - Cost of housing
pay 3.5 times more for childcare
|
Rome
|
Merced
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$568.18
€484.09
|
$1,866.67
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$10,951.36
€9,330.63
|
$39,800.00
|
|
Rome vs. Merced - Cost of childcare
pay 53.3% more for entertainment and sports
|
Rome
|
Merced
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$5.84
€4.98
|
$9.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$2.01
€1.72
|
$5.83
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$7.18
€6.12
|
$9.97
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$70.65
€60.19
|
$33.33
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$11.68
€9.95
|
$16.00
|
|
Rome vs. Merced - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 0.5% less for clothing
|
Rome
|
Merced
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$81.76
€69.66
|
$56.50
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$37.76
€32.18
|
$46.00
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$88.68
€75.56
|
$88.89
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$116.80
€99.51
|
$125.00
|
|
Rome vs. Merced - 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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