Cost of living comparison

compared to

Philadelphia vs. United Kingdom Cost of Living Summary

Philadelphia is 24.9% more expensive than United Kingdom overall.

Restaurants
pay 19.1% more in Philadelphia
Groceries
pay 67.4% more in Philadelphia
Transportation
pay 21.9% less in Philadelphia
Housing
pay 32.4% more in Philadelphia
Childcare
pay 76.0% more in Philadelphia
Entertainment and Sports
pay 0.1% more in Philadelphia
Clothing
pay 1.4% more in Philadelphia

The cost of childcare, groceries, housing, restaurants, clothing, and entertainment and sports in Philadelphia are more expensive than in United Kingdom. Notably, childcare is significantly more expensive in Philadelphia.

Philadelphia vs. United Kingdom Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Philadelphia instead of United Kingdom, you would:

pay 19.1% more for restaurants

 
United Kingdom
Philadelphia
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $20.41
£15.26
$20.00
 
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$9.94
£7.43
$13.00
 
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $2.32
£1.74
$2.79
 

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pay 67.4% more for groceries

 
United Kingdom
Philadelphia
Bread
1 loaf
$1.59
£1.19
$4.25
 
Local cheese (8 oz) $4.71
£3.52
$7.30
 
Milk (1 gallon) $6.20
£4.64
$5.27
 

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pay 21.9% less for transportation

 
United Kingdom
Philadelphia
Gasoline (1 gallon) $7.22
£5.40
$3.24
 
Monthly public transit pass $99.05
£74.07
$96.50
 
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $36,224.29
£27,089.65
$36,373.32
 

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pay 32.4% more for housing

 
United Kingdom
Philadelphia
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$41.90
£31.33
$76.39
 
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $1,285.79
£961.56
$1,831.00
 
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $1,062.09
£794.26
$1,313.60
 

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pay 76.0% more for childcare

 
United Kingdom
Philadelphia
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $1,530.71
£1,144.72
$2,026.67
 
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $19,375.12
£14,489.32
$42,560.00
 

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pay 0.1% more for entertainment and sports

 
United Kingdom
Philadelphia
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $6.35
£4.75
$6.00
 
Cappuccino in mid-range area $4.54
£3.39
$5.06
 
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$19.18
£14.34
$13.00
 

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pay 1.4% more for clothing

 
United Kingdom
Philadelphia
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$86.00
£64.31
$51.00
 
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$44.20
£33.05
$44.86
 
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$95.21
£71.20
$95.31
 

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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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