Cost of living comparison
compared to
Rome vs. Salem Cost of Living Summary
Rome is 6.6% cheaper than Salem.
- Restaurants
-
pay 9.6% less in Rome
- Groceries
-
pay 8.8% less in Rome
- Transportation
-
pay 18.9% more in Rome
- Housing
-
pay 23.9% less in Rome
- Childcare
-
pay 40.4% less in Rome
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 7.7% less in Rome
- Clothing
-
pay 25.4% more in Rome
The cost of clothing and transportation in Rome are more expensive than in Salem. Expenses including childcare, housing, restaurants, groceries, and entertainment and sports are lower in Rome.
Rome vs. Salem Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Rome instead of Salem, you would:
pay 9.6% less for restaurants
|
Salem
|
Rome
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$18.00
|
$17.52
€14.93
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$11.00
|
$11.68
€9.95
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.66
|
$2.50
€2.13
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.08
|
$1.34
€1.14
|
|
Salem vs. Rome - Cost of restaurants
pay 8.8% less for groceries
|
Salem
|
Rome
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$3.90
|
$2.21
€1.89
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$7.87
|
$9.54
€8.13
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.13
|
$7.12
€6.06
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$5.00
|
$4.62
€3.94
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$6.08
|
$5.53
€4.71
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.00
|
$1.21
€1.03
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.77
|
$1.04
€0.89
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.75
|
$1.08
€0.92
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.78
|
$1.44
€1.22
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.30
|
$0.85
€0.72
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.50
|
$0.98
€0.83
|
|
Salem vs. Rome - Cost of groceries
pay 18.9% more for transportation
|
Salem
|
Rome
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.82
|
$7.66
€6.53
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$45.00
|
$40.88
€34.83
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$32,740.34
|
$29,199.74
€24,878.35
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$20.90
|
$19.86
€16.92
|
|
Salem vs. Rome - Cost of transportation
pay 23.9% less for housing
|
Salem
|
Rome
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$82.50
|
$32.12
€27.36
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,592.86
|
$1,436.63
€1,224.02
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,441.67
|
$927.65
€790.37
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$154.85
|
$171.74
€146.33
|
|
Salem vs. Rome - Cost of housing
pay 40.4% less for childcare
|
Salem
|
Rome
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,075.00
|
$568.18
€484.09
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$16,500.00
|
$10,951.36
€9,330.63
|
|
Salem vs. Rome - Cost of childcare
pay 7.7% less for entertainment and sports
|
Salem
|
Rome
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$5.00
|
$5.84
€4.98
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$4.67
|
$2.01
€1.72
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$12.00
|
$7.18
€6.12
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$46.00
|
$70.65
€60.19
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$13.25
|
$11.68
€9.95
|
|
Salem vs. Rome - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 25.4% more for clothing
|
Salem
|
Rome
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$47.80
|
$81.76
€69.66
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$47.25
|
$37.76
€32.18
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$84.75
|
$88.68
€75.56
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$80.00
|
$116.80
€99.51
|
|
Salem vs. Rome - 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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