Cost of living comparison
compared to
Chicago vs. San Diego Cost of Living Summary
Chicago is 2.0% cheaper than San Diego.
- Restaurants
-
pay 8.0% less in Chicago
- Groceries
-
pay 3.9% less in Chicago
- Transportation
-
pay 7.4% less in Chicago
- Housing
-
pay 26.2% less in Chicago
- Childcare
-
pay 26.6% more in Chicago
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 4.8% more in Chicago
- Clothing
-
pay 0.2% more in Chicago
The cost of childcare, entertainment and sports, and clothing in Chicago are more expensive than in San Diego. Expenses including housing, restaurants, transportation, and groceries are lower in Chicago.
Chicago vs. San Diego Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Chicago instead of San Diego, you would:
pay 8.0% less for restaurants
|
San Diego
|
Chicago
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$21.00
|
$20.50
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$15.00
|
$12.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$3.03
|
$2.96
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.50
|
$2.33
|
|
San Diego vs. Chicago - Cost of restaurants
pay 3.9% less for groceries
|
San Diego
|
Chicago
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$4.57
|
$4.01
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$7.36
|
$7.05
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.78
|
$4.30
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$5.84
|
$5.02
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$6.07
|
$6.55
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.22
|
$2.31
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.78
|
$0.79
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.91
|
$1.85
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.26
|
$2.09
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.42
|
$1.16
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.12
|
$1.26
|
|
San Diego vs. Chicago - Cost of groceries
pay 7.4% less for transportation
|
San Diego
|
Chicago
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.76
|
$3.81
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$72.00
|
$75.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$31,965.00
|
$35,691.85
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$19.40
|
$14.43
|
|
San Diego vs. Chicago - Cost of transportation
pay 26.2% less for housing
|
San Diego
|
Chicago
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$82.19
|
$65.83
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$3,033.00
|
$2,418.00
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$2,538.64
|
$1,692.50
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$205.84
|
$141.41
|
|
San Diego vs. Chicago - Cost of housing
pay 26.6% more for childcare
|
San Diego
|
Chicago
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,750.00
|
$2,050.00
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$28,750.00
|
$39,114.29
|
|
San Diego vs. Chicago - Cost of childcare
pay 4.8% more for entertainment and sports
|
San Diego
|
Chicago
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$8.00
|
$7.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.90
|
$5.53
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$12.00
|
$17.00
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$73.21
|
$71.80
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$17.50
|
$18.00
|
|
San Diego vs. Chicago - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 0.2% more for clothing
|
San Diego
|
Chicago
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$60.72
|
$64.24
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$58.44
|
$49.62
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$105.68
|
$99.48
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$126.25
|
$146.50
|
|
San Diego 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: December 2025
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