Cost of living comparison
compared to
Detroit vs. Rotterdam Cost of Living Summary
Detroit is 16.4% cheaper than Rotterdam.
Detroit vs. Rotterdam Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Detroit instead of Rotterdam, you would:
pay 13.8% less for restaurants
|
Rotterdam
|
Detroit
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$20.72
€18.50
|
$18.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$13.44
€12.00
|
$13.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$3.86
€3.45
|
$3.17
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$3.42
€3.05
|
$1.98
|
|
Rotterdam vs. Detroit - Cost of restaurants
pay 15.2% more for groceries
|
Rotterdam
|
Detroit
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$2.37
€2.12
|
$3.53
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$6.02
€5.37
|
$6.78
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$5.52
€4.93
|
$3.84
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$5.35
€4.78
|
$3.90
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$6.10
€5.45
|
$5.14
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.52
€1.36
|
$2.27
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.16
€1.04
|
$0.71
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.18
€1.05
|
$2.05
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.55
€1.39
|
$2.17
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.78
€0.70
|
$1.15
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.68
€0.61
|
$1.39
|
|
Rotterdam vs. Detroit - Cost of groceries
pay 32.2% less for transportation
|
Rotterdam
|
Detroit
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$9.75
€8.71
|
$4.22
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$110.85
€98.98
|
$120.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$41,419.02
€36,982.92
|
$36,033.00
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$31.97
€28.54
|
$15.40
|
|
Rotterdam vs. Detroit - Cost of transportation
pay 28.9% less for housing
|
Rotterdam
|
Detroit
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$54.94
€49.05
|
$68.92
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,961.78
€1,751.66
|
$1,520.00
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,523.86
€1,360.65
|
$922.33
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$229.16
€204.62
|
$164.69
|
|
Rotterdam vs. Detroit - Cost of housing
pay 13.5% more for childcare
|
Rotterdam
|
Detroit
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$2,681.14
€2,393.99
|
$1,368.37
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$12,697.80
€11,337.83
|
$32,070.71
|
|
Rotterdam vs. Detroit - Cost of childcare
pay 10.9% less for entertainment and sports
|
Rotterdam
|
Detroit
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$7.05
€6.30
|
$8.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$4.38
€3.91
|
$5.61
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$14.56
€13.00
|
$10.40
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$48.58
€43.38
|
$34.00
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$15.68
€14.00
|
$12.00
|
|
Rotterdam vs. Detroit - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 16.3% less for clothing
|
Rotterdam
|
Detroit
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$93.71
€83.68
|
$59.09
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$39.14
€34.94
|
$41.44
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$109.92
€98.15
|
$96.30
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$141.23
€126.11
|
$118.63
|
|
Rotterdam vs. Detroit - Cost of clothing
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
Change currency:
Compare further: Rotterdam vs. Detroit
Compare countries by overall cost of living
See the
cost of living in Netherlands vs. United States.
This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within Netherlands and United States.
Help us improve these prices
MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate.
Learn more
Ask the Elsewhere Community
Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Detroit or Rotterdam. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.