Cost of living comparison
compared to
Chicago vs. Spain Cost of Living Summary
Chicago is 98.5% more expensive than Spain overall.
- Restaurants
-
pay 25.1% more in Chicago
- Groceries
-
pay 59.5% more in Chicago
- Transportation
-
pay 12.7% more in Chicago
- Housing
-
pay 2.1 times more in Chicago
- Childcare
-
pay 4.6 times more in Chicago
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 2.1 times more in Chicago
- Clothing
-
pay 16.5% more in Chicago
The cost of childcare, entertainment and sports, housing, groceries, restaurants, and clothing in Chicago are more expensive than in Spain. Notably, childcare, entertainment and sports, and housing are significantly more expensive in Chicago.
Chicago vs. Spain Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Chicago instead of Spain, you would:
pay 25.1% more for restaurants
|
Spain
|
Chicago
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$15.59
€13.39
|
$20.50
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$10.47
€8.99
|
$12.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.43
€2.09
|
$2.96
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.75
€1.51
|
$2.33
|
|
Spain vs. Chicago - Cost of restaurants
pay 59.5% more for groceries
|
Spain
|
Chicago
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.50
€1.29
|
$4.01
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$7.18
€6.16
|
$7.05
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.55
€3.91
|
$4.30
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$3.00
€2.58
|
$5.02
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$3.77
€3.24
|
$6.55
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.12
€0.97
|
$2.31
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.94
€0.81
|
$0.79
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$0.90
€0.77
|
$1.85
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.25
€1.07
|
$2.09
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.79
€0.68
|
$1.16
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.88
€0.76
|
$1.26
|
|
Spain vs. Chicago - Cost of groceries
pay 12.7% more for transportation
|
Spain
|
Chicago
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$6.72
€5.78
|
$3.81
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$36.04
€30.95
|
$75.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$36,479.99
€31,329.42
|
$35,691.85
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$16.35
€14.04
|
$14.43
|
|
Spain vs. Chicago - Cost of transportation
pay 2.1 times more for housing
|
Spain
|
Chicago
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$31.86
€27.37
|
$65.83
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$935.97
€803.82
|
$2,418.00
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$738.34
€634.10
|
$1,692.50
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$108.98
€93.59
|
$141.41
|
|
Spain vs. Chicago - Cost of housing
pay 4.6 times more for childcare
|
Spain
|
Chicago
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$443.17
€380.60
|
$2,050.00
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$8,629.20
€7,410.85
|
$39,114.29
|
|
Spain vs. Chicago - Cost of childcare
pay 2.1 times more for entertainment and sports
|
Spain
|
Chicago
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$3.32
€2.85
|
$7.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$2.26
€1.94
|
$5.53
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$6.32
€5.43
|
$17.00
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$48.29
€41.47
|
$71.80
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$9.66
€8.30
|
$18.00
|
|
Spain vs. Chicago - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 16.5% more for clothing
|
Spain
|
Chicago
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$82.11
€70.52
|
$64.24
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$35.86
€30.80
|
$49.62
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$88.78
€76.24
|
$99.48
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$106.74
€91.67
|
$146.50
|
|
Spain 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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