Cost of living comparison

Switzerland

compared to

United States

New York City vs. St. Gallen Cost of Living Summary

New York City is 22.8% more expensive than St. Gallen.

Restaurants: pay 18.8% less in New York City
Groceries: pay 28.8% more in New York City
Transportation: pay 24.7% less in New York City
Housing: pay 80.5% more in New York City
Childcare: pay 68.2% more in New York City
Entertainment and Sports: pay 10.0% more in New York City
Clothing: pay 27.6% less in New York City

The cost of housing, childcare, groceries, and entertainment and sports in New York City are more expensive than in St. Gallen. Expenses including clothing, transportation, and restaurants are lower in New York City. Notably, housing is significantly more expensive in New York City.

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New York City vs. St. Gallen Cost Breakdown

If you lived in New York City instead of St. Gallen, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 18.8% less for restaurants

	St. Gallen	New York City
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$28.80 CHF23.76	$26.50	-8.0%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$18.00 CHF14.85	$14.50	-19.4%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$5.85 CHF4.83	$3.95	-32.5%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$5.16 CHF4.26	$2.97	-42.5%
Average			-18.8%

St. Gallen vs. New York City - Cost of restaurants

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pay 28.8% more for groceries

	St. Gallen	New York City
Bread 1 loaf	$3.12 CHF2.57	$4.78	+53.2%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$12.50 CHF10.31	$9.47	-24.2%
Milk (1 gallon)	$8.32 CHF6.86	$5.13	-38.4%
Eggs 1 dozen	$7.69 CHF6.34	$6.03	-21.6%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$12.88 CHF10.63	$7.93	-38.4%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.39 CHF1.15	$3.11	+124.4%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.71 CHF0.58	$0.96	+36.2%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.07 CHF0.88	$2.83	+165.6%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.72 CHF2.25	$3.08	+13.2%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.76 CHF0.63	$1.83	+139.6%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.96 CHF0.79	$2.04	+113.4%
Average			+28.8%

St. Gallen vs. New York City - Cost of groceries

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pay 24.7% less for transportation

	St. Gallen	New York City
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$8.47 CHF6.99	$4.31	-49.2%
Monthly public transit pass	$127.20 CHF104.95	$140.00	+10.1%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$34,679.10 CHF28,612.96	$35,458.00	+2.2%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$44.04 CHF36.34	$20.44	-53.6%
Average			-24.7%

St. Gallen vs. New York City - Cost of transportation

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pay 80.5% more for housing

	St. Gallen	New York City
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$53.80 CHF44.39	$71.57	+33.0%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,754.95 CHF1,447.97	$4,447.32	+153.4%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,684.46 CHF1,389.81	$3,217.65	+91.0%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$237.28 CHF195.77	$164.80	-30.5%
Average			+80.5%

St. Gallen vs. New York City - Cost of housing

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pay 68.2% more for childcare

	St. Gallen	New York City
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$2,277.94 CHF1,879.48	$3,379.10	+48.3%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$31,937.17 CHF26,350.66	$60,882.67	+90.6%
Average			+68.2%

St. Gallen vs. New York City - Cost of childcare

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pay 10.0% more for entertainment and sports

	St. Gallen	New York City
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$9.00 CHF7.43	$8.50	-5.6%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$6.00 CHF4.95	$6.50	+8.3%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$10.80 CHF8.91	$19.00	+75.9%
Monthly membership at local gym	$79.33 CHF65.45	$121.41	+53.0%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$30.00 CHF24.75	$22.50	-25.0%
Average			+10.0%

St. Gallen vs. New York City - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 27.6% less for clothing

	St. Gallen	New York City
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$144.00 CHF118.81	$75.86	-47.3%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$64.00 CHF52.80	$54.45	-14.9%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$144.00 CHF118.81	$120.38	-16.4%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$180.00 CHF148.51	$132.00	-26.7%
Average			-27.6%

St. Gallen vs. New York City - Cost of clothing

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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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