Cost of living comparison
compared to
Chicago vs. Sweden Cost of Living Summary
Chicago is 2.7 times more expensive than Sweden overall.
- Restaurants
-
pay 17.6% more in Chicago
- Groceries
-
pay 21.2% more in Chicago
- Transportation
-
pay 21.2% less in Chicago
- Housing
-
pay 2.0 times more in Chicago
- Childcare
-
pay 11.3 times more in Chicago
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 41.3% more in Chicago
- Clothing
-
pay 6.4% less in Chicago
The cost of childcare, housing, entertainment and sports, groceries, and restaurants in Chicago are more expensive than in Sweden. Expenses including transportation and clothing are lower in Chicago. Notably, childcare and housing are significantly more expensive in Chicago.
Chicago vs. Sweden Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Chicago instead of Sweden, you would:
pay 17.6% more for restaurants
|
Sweden
|
Chicago
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$14.38
SEK135.86
|
$20.50
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$11.04
SEK104.36
|
$12.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.58
SEK24.43
|
$2.96
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.22
SEK20.96
|
$2.33
|
|
Sweden vs. Chicago - Cost of restaurants
pay 21.2% more for groceries
|
Sweden
|
Chicago
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$2.88
SEK27.20
|
$4.01
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$6.00
SEK56.72
|
$7.05
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$6.33
SEK59.85
|
$4.30
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.34
SEK41.01
|
$5.02
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$5.57
SEK52.62
|
$6.55
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.41
SEK13.35
|
$2.31
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.21
SEK11.44
|
$0.79
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.36
SEK12.85
|
$1.85
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.97
SEK18.66
|
$2.09
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.80
SEK7.55
|
$1.16
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.79
SEK7.49
|
$1.26
|
|
Sweden vs. Chicago - Cost of groceries
pay 21.2% less for transportation
|
Sweden
|
Chicago
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$7.32
SEK69.19
|
$3.81
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$81.92
SEK774.19
|
$75.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$31,594.19
SEK298,596.70
|
$35,691.85
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$24.67
SEK233.17
|
$14.43
|
|
Sweden vs. Chicago - Cost of transportation
pay 2.0 times more for housing
|
Sweden
|
Chicago
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$37.43
SEK353.72
|
$65.83
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$936.32
SEK8,849.16
|
$2,418.00
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$720.46
SEK6,809.11
|
$1,692.50
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$97.92
SEK925.40
|
$141.41
|
|
Sweden vs. Chicago - Cost of housing
pay 11.3 times more for childcare
|
Sweden
|
Chicago
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$155.59
SEK1,470.47
|
$2,050.00
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$4,116.05
SEK38,900.77
|
$39,114.29
|
|
Sweden vs. Chicago - Cost of childcare
pay 41.3% more for entertainment and sports
|
Sweden
|
Chicago
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$7.74
SEK73.17
|
$7.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$4.56
SEK43.10
|
$5.53
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$7.64
SEK72.24
|
$17.00
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$44.09
SEK416.68
|
$71.80
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$16.46
SEK155.54
|
$18.00
|
|
Sweden vs. Chicago - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 6.4% less for clothing
|
Sweden
|
Chicago
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$94.86
SEK896.55
|
$64.24
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$42.53
SEK401.90
|
$49.62
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$106.79
SEK1,009.30
|
$99.48
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$151.29
SEK1,429.84
|
$146.50
|
|
Sweden 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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