Cost of living comparison
compared to
United States vs. Traverse City Cost of Living Summary
United States is 23.2% more expensive than Traverse City.
- Restaurants
-
pay 3.9% more in United States
- Groceries
-
pay 14.7% more in United States
- Transportation
-
pay 38.2% more in United States
- Housing
-
pay 5.0% more in United States
- Childcare
-
pay 71.5% more in United States
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 34.8% more in United States
- Clothing
-
pay 5.8% less in United States
The cost of childcare, transportation, entertainment and sports, groceries, housing, and restaurants in United States are more expensive than in Traverse City.
United States vs. Traverse City Cost Breakdown
If you lived in United States instead of Traverse City, you would:
pay 3.9% more for restaurants
|
Traverse City
|
United States
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$20.00
|
$19.45
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$10.00
|
$11.12
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.25
|
$2.56
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.14
|
$2.00
|
|
Traverse City vs. United States - Cost of restaurants
pay 14.7% more for groceries
|
Traverse City
|
United States
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$2.94
|
$3.56
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$4.64
|
$6.50
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$2.83
|
$3.97
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$2.61
|
$4.27
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$5.07
|
$5.41
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.74
|
$2.37
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.72
|
$0.78
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.75
|
$2.04
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$3.08
|
$2.21
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.21
|
$1.34
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.45
|
$1.38
|
|
Traverse City vs. United States - Cost of groceries
pay 38.2% more for transportation
|
Traverse City
|
United States
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.27
|
$3.41
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$30.00
|
$65.85
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$35,699.74
|
$32,336.38
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) | ?? |
$17.61
|
|
Traverse City vs. United States - Cost of transportation
pay 5.0% more for housing
|
Traverse City
|
United States
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$67.50
|
$68.97
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,983.33
|
$1,664.59
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,418.00
|
$1,416.15
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$112.10
|
$150.19
|
|
Traverse City vs. United States - Cost of housing
pay 71.5% more for childcare
|
Traverse City
|
United States
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,030.00
|
$1,387.27
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$11,136.00
|
$23,196.46
|
|
Traverse City vs. United States - Cost of childcare
pay 34.8% more for entertainment and sports
|
Traverse City
|
United States
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$3.75
|
$5.84
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$4.00
|
$5.15
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$6.00
|
$9.90
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$63.33
|
$51.45
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$9.50
|
$13.64
|
|
Traverse City vs. United States - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 5.8% less for clothing
|
Traverse City
|
United States
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$74.33
|
$51.08
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$41.67
|
$41.81
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$111.67
|
$87.56
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$86.67
|
$112.04
|
|
Traverse City vs. United States - 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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