Cost of living comparison
compared to
Chicago vs. Rotterdam Cost of Living Summary
Chicago is 9.2% more expensive than Rotterdam.
Chicago vs. Rotterdam Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Chicago instead of Rotterdam, you would:
pay 17.8% less for restaurants
|
Rotterdam
|
Chicago
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$23.36
€20.75
|
$20.50
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$14.02
€12.45
|
$12.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$3.77
€3.35
|
$2.96
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$3.02
€2.68
|
$2.33
|
|
Rotterdam vs. Chicago - Cost of restaurants
pay 24.4% more for groceries
|
Rotterdam
|
Chicago
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$2.42
€2.15
|
$4.01
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$7.09
€6.29
|
$7.05
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$5.08
€4.51
|
$4.30
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$5.29
€4.69
|
$5.02
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$6.52
€5.79
|
$6.55
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.21
€1.07
|
$2.31
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.15
€1.02
|
$0.79
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$0.97
€0.86
|
$1.85
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.88
€1.67
|
$2.09
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.95
€0.85
|
$1.16
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.91
€0.80
|
$1.26
|
|
Rotterdam vs. Chicago - Cost of groceries
pay 31.4% less for transportation
|
Rotterdam
|
Chicago
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$8.68
€7.71
|
$3.81
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$77.09
€68.48
|
$75.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$39,711.65
€35,277.29
|
$35,691.85
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$33.35
€29.62
|
$14.43
|
|
Rotterdam vs. Chicago - Cost of transportation
pay 7.8% more for housing
|
Rotterdam
|
Chicago
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$56.68
€50.35
|
$65.83
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,764.83
€1,567.76
|
$2,418.00
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,483.58
€1,317.92
|
$1,692.50
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$221.76
€197.00
|
$141.41
|
|
Rotterdam vs. Chicago - Cost of housing
pay 88.0% more for childcare
|
Rotterdam
|
Chicago
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$2,105.72
€1,870.59
|
$2,050.00
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$14,039.24
€12,471.56
|
$39,114.29
|
|
Rotterdam vs. Chicago - Cost of childcare
pay 14.7% more for entertainment and sports
|
Rotterdam
|
Chicago
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$8.18
€7.26
|
$7.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$4.58
€4.07
|
$5.53
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$14.02
€12.45
|
$17.00
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$50.17
€44.57
|
$71.80
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$17.52
€15.56
|
$18.00
|
|
Rotterdam vs. Chicago - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 21.2% less for clothing
|
Rotterdam
|
Chicago
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$101.88
€90.51
|
$64.24
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$50.37
€44.75
|
$49.62
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$131.62
€116.93
|
$99.48
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$187.61
€166.66
|
$146.50
|
|
Rotterdam 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: October 2026
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