Cost of living comparison
compared to
Chicago vs. Surrey Cost of Living Summary
Chicago is 10.0% more expensive than Surrey.
Chicago vs. Surrey Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Chicago instead of Surrey, you would:
pay 15.4% more for restaurants
|
Surrey
|
Chicago
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$23.13
£17.26
|
$21.25
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$9.25
£6.90
|
$13.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.26
£1.69
|
$2.66
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.45
£1.08
|
$2.30
|
|
Surrey vs. Chicago - Cost of restaurants
pay 55.3% more for groceries
|
Surrey
|
Chicago
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$2.07
£1.55
|
$3.92
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$4.18
£3.12
|
$7.07
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.88
£3.64
|
$4.97
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.18
£3.12
|
$4.78
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$4.10
£3.06
|
$6.65
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.40
£1.04
|
$2.39
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.66
£0.49
|
$0.89
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$0.90
£0.67
|
$1.87
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.48
£1.10
|
$2.21
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.64
£0.48
|
$1.24
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.82
£0.61
|
$1.23
|
|
Surrey vs. Chicago - Cost of groceries
pay 22.1% less for transportation
|
Surrey
|
Chicago
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$7.14
£5.33
|
$4.66
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass | ?? |
$75.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$38,182.92
£28,501.11
|
$36,531.00
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) | ?? |
$14.45
|
|
Surrey vs. Chicago - Cost of transportation
pay 3.0% more for housing
|
Surrey
|
Chicago
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$35.02
£26.14
|
$61.13
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,894.06
£1,413.79
|
$2,400.00
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,883.05
£1,405.57
|
$1,679.31
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$202.10
£150.86
|
$147.87
|
|
Surrey vs. Chicago - Cost of housing
pay 11.2% less for childcare
|
Surrey
|
Chicago
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$2,114.30
£1,578.19
|
$1,536.88
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$29,071.61
£21,700.10
|
$31,537.78
|
|
Surrey vs. Chicago - Cost of childcare
pay 9.4% more for entertainment and sports
|
Surrey
|
Chicago
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$6.61
£4.93
|
$7.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$4.79
£3.58
|
$5.70
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$22.96
£17.14
|
$16.00
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$52.86
£39.45
|
$53.47
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$13.21
£9.86
|
$18.00
|
|
Surrey vs. Chicago - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 30.5% more for clothing
|
Surrey
|
Chicago
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$52.86
£39.45
|
$66.94
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$39.64
£29.59
|
$51.67
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$88.10
£65.76
|
$99.58
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$92.50
£69.05
|
$143.78
|
|
Surrey vs. Chicago - Cost of clothing
We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated November 2026). How we calculate this
Change currency:
Compare further: Surrey vs. Chicago
Compare countries by overall cost of living
See the
cost of living in United Kingdom vs. United States.
This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within United Kingdom and United States.
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
Ask the Elsewhere Community
Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Chicago or Surrey. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.