Cost of living comparison

United States

compared to

Belgium

Gent vs. Staten Island Cost of Living Summary

Gent is 5.1% more expensive than Staten Island.

Restaurants: pay 50.8% more in Gent
Groceries: pay 34.7% less in Gent
Transportation: pay 59.1% more in Gent
Housing: pay 21.9% less in Gent
Childcare: pay 25.1% less in Gent
Entertainment and Sports: pay 34.4% less in Gent
Clothing: pay 41.8% more in Gent

The cost of transportation, restaurants, and clothing in Gent are more expensive than in Staten Island. Expenses including groceries, entertainment and sports, childcare, and housing are lower in Gent.

Planning a move to Belgium? Get up to 5 free, no-obligation quotes from vetted international movers. Get free quotes →

Gent vs. Staten Island Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Gent instead of Staten Island, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 50.8% more for restaurants

	Staten Island	Gent
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$22.00	$23.36 €20.75	+6.2%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$12.00	$15.18 €13.49	+26.5%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.33	$3.57 €3.17	+53.0%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.58	$3.44 €3.06	+117.5%
Average			+50.8%

Staten Island vs. Gent - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 34.7% less for groceries

	Staten Island	Gent
Bread 1 loaf	$4.59	$2.81 €2.50	-38.8%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$8.89	$8.79 €7.81	-1.1%
Milk (1 gallon)	$5.72	$4.40 €3.91	-23.1%
Eggs 1 dozen	$7.06	$4.24 €3.77	-39.9%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$6.00	$5.56 €4.94	-7.3%
Apples (1 lb)	$3.00	$1.30 €1.15	-56.8%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.29	$1.01 €0.90	-21.8%
Oranges (1 lb)	$2.60	$1.24 €1.10	-52.5%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.68	$1.41 €1.25	-47.3%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.63	$0.86 €0.76	-47.4%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.78	$0.96 €0.85	-46.1%
Average			-34.7%

Staten Island vs. Gent - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 59.1% more for transportation

	Staten Island	Gent
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$3.40	$7.17 €6.37	+110.7%
Monthly public transit pass	??	$58.40 €51.88
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$36,344.69	$33,819.14 €30,042.76	-6.9%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$20.40	$35.39 €31.44	+73.5%
Average			+59.1%

Staten Island vs. Gent - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 21.9% less for housing

	Staten Island	Gent
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$67.59	$50.22 €44.62	-25.7%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,750.00	$1,078.14 €957.75	-38.4%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,400.00	$950.45 €844.32	-32.1%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$164.03	$178.28 €158.37	+8.7%
Average			-21.9%

Staten Island vs. Gent - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 25.1% less for childcare

	Staten Island	Gent
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$2,000.00	$583.99 €518.78	-70.8%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$16,000.00	$19,301.03 €17,145.80	+20.6%
Average			-25.1%

Staten Island vs. Gent - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 34.4% less for entertainment and sports

	Staten Island	Gent
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$8.00	$5.84 €5.19	-27.0%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$5.91	$4.31 €3.83	-27.0%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$19.00	$13.43 €11.93	-29.3%
Monthly membership at local gym	$116.67	$34.21 €30.39	-70.7%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$20.00	$16.35 €14.53	-18.2%
Average			-34.4%

Staten Island vs. Gent - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 41.8% more for clothing

	Staten Island	Gent
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$67.80	$118.67 €105.42	+75.0%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$37.50	$54.02 €47.99	+44.1%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$115.58	$106.87 €94.94	-7.5%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$105.00	$163.52 €145.26	+55.7%
Average			+41.8%

Staten Island vs. Gent - Cost of clothing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

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

Compare further: Staten Island vs. Gent

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in Gent?

Size Comparison · See true size

Staten Island is around the same size as Gent.

More cost comparisons

Staten Island vs.

Hanoi

Staten Island vs.

Lima

Staten Island vs.

Washington

Staten Island vs.

Madrid

Staten Island vs.

Reykjavik

Staten Island vs.

Beijing

Staten Island vs.

Athens

Staten Island vs.

Warsaw

Share this

Compare countries by overall cost of living

See the cost of living in United States vs. Belgium. This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within United States and Belgium.

Help us improve these prices

MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate. Learn more

Add prices for Staten Island

Add prices for Gent

Ask the Elsewhere Community

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Gent or Staten Island. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.