Cost of living comparison
Brussels is 8.4% more expensive than United States.
If you lived in Brussels instead of United States, you would:
pay 13.8% more for restaurants
United States
|
Brussels
|
||
---|---|---|---|
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$18.15
|
$16.49
€15.47
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$9.28
|
$9.90
€9.28
|
|
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.24
|
$2.58
€2.42
|
|
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.77
|
$2.54
€2.38
|
|
pay 19.5% less for groceries
United States
|
Brussels
|
||
---|---|---|---|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$3.17
|
$2.31
€2.17
|
|
Local cheese (8 oz) |
$5.93
|
$7.55
€7.08
|
|
Milk (1 gallon) |
$3.83
|
$4.69
€4.40
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.01
|
$3.50
€3.28
|
|
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$5.32
|
$4.96
€4.65
|
|
Apples (1 lb) |
$2.19
|
$1.14
€1.07
|
|
Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.76
|
$0.78
€0.74
|
|
Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.93
|
$1.17
€1.09
|
|
Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.05
|
$1.36
€1.27
|
|
Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.29
|
$0.69
€0.64
|
|
Onions (1 lb) |
$1.27
|
$0.60
€0.56
|
|
pay 34.7% more for transportation
United States
|
Brussels
|
||
---|---|---|---|
Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.72
|
$7.71
€7.23
|
|
Monthly public transit pass |
$63.08
|
$53.87
€50.53
|
|
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$25,096.27
|
$27,486.24
€25,778.41
|
|
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$16.64
|
$22.76
€21.34
|
|
pay 16.6% less for housing
United States
|
Brussels
|
||
---|---|---|---|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$70.73
|
$55.77
€52.30
|
|
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,528.07
|
$1,043.18
€978.36
|
|
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,282.97
|
$873.71
€819.42
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$138.81
|
$164.26
€154.05
|
|
pay 18.2% more for childcare
United States
|
Brussels
|
||
---|---|---|---|
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,137.97
|
$944.84
€886.13
|
|
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$15,943.15
|
$24,473.75
€22,953.10
|
|
pay 3.9% less for entertainment and sports
United States
|
Brussels
|
||
---|---|---|---|
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$5.19
|
$5.50
€5.16
|
|
Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$4.51
|
$3.72
€3.49
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$8.57
|
$8.80
€8.25
|
|
Monthly membership at local gym |
$42.79
|
$34.17
€32.04
|
|
Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$12.04
|
$13.19
€12.37
|
|
pay 32.2% more for clothing
United States
|
Brussels
|
||
---|---|---|---|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$45.40
|
$89.22
€83.68
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$36.73
|
$32.58
€30.56
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$79.51
|
$97.94
€91.86
|
|
Men's business shoes (leather) |
$109.59
|
$132.04
€123.84
|
|
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