Cost of living comparison
compared to
Aarau vs. Switzerland Cost of Living Summary
Aarau is 8.2% cheaper than Switzerland overall.
- Restaurants
-
pay 10.6% less in Aarau
- Groceries
-
pay 6.6% less in Aarau
- Transportation
-
pay 12.7% more in Aarau
- Housing
-
pay 14.6% less in Aarau
- Childcare
-
pay 15.6% less in Aarau
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 4.7% less in Aarau
- Clothing
-
pay 18.0% less in Aarau
Expenses including clothing, childcare, housing, restaurants, groceries, and entertainment and sports are lower in Aarau.
Aarau vs. Switzerland Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Aarau instead of Switzerland, you would:
pay 10.6% less for restaurants
|
Switzerland
|
Aarau
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$32.37
CHF25.99
|
$30.66
CHF24.61
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$18.82
CHF15.11
|
$19.39
CHF15.57
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$5.26
CHF4.23
|
$3.46
CHF2.78
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$4.76
CHF3.82
|
$4.48
CHF3.60
|
|
Switzerland vs. Aarau - Cost of restaurants
pay 6.6% less for groceries
|
Switzerland
|
Aarau
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$3.73
CHF2.99
|
$3.37
CHF2.70
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$14.66
CHF11.77
|
$16.06
CHF12.89
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$8.19
CHF6.58
|
$8.17
CHF6.56
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$7.43
CHF5.96
|
$7.03
CHF5.64
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$14.43
CHF11.59
|
$14.76
CHF11.85
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.69
CHF1.36
|
$1.31
CHF1.05
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.10
CHF0.89
|
$0.96
CHF0.77
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.35
CHF1.08
|
$1.29
CHF1.04
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.94
CHF2.36
|
$2.65
CHF2.13
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.16
CHF0.93
|
$1.11
CHF0.89
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.10
CHF0.88
|
$0.94
CHF0.75
|
|
Switzerland vs. Aarau - Cost of groceries
pay 12.7% more for transportation
|
Switzerland
|
Aarau
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$8.41
CHF6.75
|
$8.34
CHF6.69
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$119.36
CHF95.82
|
$150.15
CHF120.54
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$40,637.10
CHF32,622.53
|
$41,041.86
CHF32,947.46
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$45.06
CHF36.17
|
$56.31
CHF45.20
|
|
Switzerland vs. Aarau - Cost of transportation
pay 14.6% less for housing
|
Switzerland
|
Aarau
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$59.20
CHF47.52
|
$61.31
CHF49.22
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,797.02
CHF1,442.60
|
$1,313.84
CHF1,054.72
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,562.03
CHF1,253.96
|
$1,063.58
CHF853.82
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$197.97
CHF158.93
|
$191.37
CHF153.63
|
|
Switzerland vs. Aarau - Cost of housing
pay 15.6% less for childcare
|
Switzerland
|
Aarau
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$2,700.86
CHF2,168.19
|
$2,502.55
CHF2,008.99
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$33,359.10
CHF26,779.92
|
$25,425.93
CHF20,411.36
|
|
Switzerland vs. Aarau - Cost of childcare
pay 4.7% less for entertainment and sports
|
Switzerland
|
Aarau
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$8.73
CHF7.00
|
$8.13
CHF6.53
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$6.04
CHF4.85
|
$6.51
CHF5.22
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$11.28
CHF9.06
|
$11.39
CHF9.14
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$101.44
CHF81.43
|
$77.16
CHF61.94
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$24.10
CHF19.35
|
$23.77
CHF19.09
|
|
Switzerland vs. Aarau - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 18.0% less for clothing
|
Switzerland
|
Aarau
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$142.30
CHF114.24
|
$93.85
CHF75.34
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$70.55
CHF56.63
|
$75.08
CHF60.27
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$162.86
CHF130.74
|
$112.61
CHF90.40
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$202.63
CHF162.67
|
$175.18
CHF140.63
|
|
Switzerland vs. Aarau - 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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