Cost of living comparison
compared to
Helena vs. Salem Cost of Living Summary
Helena is 11.8% more expensive than Salem.
Helena vs. Salem Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Helena instead of Salem, you would:
pay 15.9% more for restaurants
|
Salem
|
Helena
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$20.00
|
$21.50
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$12.00
|
$18.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.48
|
$2.22
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.06
|
$1.75
|
|
Salem vs. Helena - Cost of restaurants
pay 13.2% less for groceries
|
Salem
|
Helena
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$3.73
|
$3.78
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$7.34
|
$9.00
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.30
|
$3.96
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.91
|
$3.67
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$6.27
|
$4.08
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.20
|
$2.14
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.80
|
$0.81
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.75
|
$2.04
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.85
|
$1.84
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.37
|
$0.99
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.50
|
$0.68
|
|
Salem vs. Helena - Cost of groceries
pay 6.8% more for transportation
|
Salem
|
Helena
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.79
|
$3.77
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$45.00
|
$60.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$33,555.00
|
$35,850.00
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$20.90
|
$37.34
|
|
Salem vs. Helena - Cost of transportation
pay 20.1% more for housing
|
Salem
|
Helena
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$98.33
|
$91.74
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,531.25
|
$1,786.67
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,376.67
|
$1,533.33
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$166.88
|
$287.72
|
|
Salem vs. Helena - Cost of housing
pay 73.9% more for childcare
|
Salem
|
Helena
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,075.00
|
$1,937.00
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$16,500.00
|
$27,700.00
|
|
Salem vs. Helena - Cost of childcare
pay 2.6% less for entertainment and sports
|
Salem
|
Helena
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$5.00
|
$5.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$4.61
|
$5.12
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$13.25
|
$10.38
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$46.00
|
$52.50
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$15.00
|
$12.00
|
|
Salem vs. Helena - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 44.4% more for clothing
|
Salem
|
Helena
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$56.40
|
$64.75
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$46.80
|
$118.33
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$84.75
|
$82.25
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$80.00
|
$123.50
|
|
Salem vs. Helena - 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 October 2026). How we calculate this
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