Cost of living comparison
compared to
New York City vs. Salem Cost of Living Summary
New York City is 73.6% more expensive than Salem.
- Restaurants
-
pay 24.6% more in New York City
- Groceries
-
pay 35.5% more in New York City
- Transportation
-
pay 50.6% more in New York City
- Housing
-
pay 51.6% more in New York City
- Childcare
-
pay 3.2 times more in New York City
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 83.6% more in New York City
- Clothing
-
pay 48.8% more in New York City
New York City vs. Salem Cost Breakdown
If you lived in New York City instead of Salem, you would:
pay 24.6% more for restaurants
|
Salem
|
New York City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$18.00
|
$25.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$11.00
|
$13.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.66
|
$3.09
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.08
|
$2.61
|
|
Salem vs. New York City - Cost of restaurants
pay 35.5% more for groceries
|
Salem
|
New York City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$3.90
|
$4.75
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$7.87
|
$8.89
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.13
|
$6.05
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$5.00
|
$7.20
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$6.08
|
$7.07
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.00
|
$3.29
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.77
|
$1.08
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.75
|
$2.60
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.78
|
$2.68
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.30
|
$1.63
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.50
|
$1.78
|
|
Salem vs. New York City - Cost of groceries
pay 50.6% more for transportation
|
Salem
|
New York City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.82
|
$3.47
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$45.00
|
$132.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$32,740.34
|
$36,344.69
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$20.90
|
$22.39
|
|
Salem vs. New York City - Cost of transportation
pay 51.6% more for housing
|
Salem
|
New York City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$82.50
|
$67.59
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,592.86
|
$4,037.06
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,441.67
|
$2,496.67
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$154.85
|
$151.98
|
|
Salem vs. New York City - Cost of housing
pay 3.2 times more for childcare
|
Salem
|
New York City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,075.00
|
$3,154.10
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$16,500.00
|
$57,250.00
|
|
Salem vs. New York City - Cost of childcare
pay 83.6% more for entertainment and sports
|
Salem
|
New York City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$5.00
|
$8.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$4.67
|
$5.71
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$12.00
|
$19.00
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$46.00
|
$150.04
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$13.25
|
$20.00
|
|
Salem vs. New York City - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 48.8% more for clothing
|
Salem
|
New York City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$47.80
|
$67.80
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$47.25
|
$49.94
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$84.75
|
$115.58
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$80.00
|
$168.76
|
|
Salem vs. New York City - 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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