Cost of living comparison
compared to
East Lansing vs. United States Cost of Living Summary
East Lansing is 14.4% cheaper than United States overall.
- Restaurants
-
pay 13.0% less in East Lansing
- Groceries
-
pay 11.4% less in East Lansing
- Transportation
-
pay 9.8% less in East Lansing
- Housing
-
pay 21.4% less in East Lansing
- Childcare
-
pay 17.2% less in East Lansing
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 7.8% less in East Lansing
- Clothing
-
pay 20.5% less in East Lansing
Expenses including housing, clothing, childcare, restaurants, groceries, and transportation are lower in East Lansing.
East Lansing vs. United States Cost Breakdown
If you lived in East Lansing instead of United States, you would:
pay 13.0% less for restaurants
|
United States
|
East Lansing
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$19.45
|
$13.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$11.12
|
$10.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.56
|
$2.57
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.00
|
$1.82
|
|
United States vs. East Lansing - Cost of restaurants
pay 11.4% less for groceries
|
United States
|
East Lansing
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$3.56
|
$3.31
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$6.50
|
$6.06
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$3.97
|
$3.57
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.27
|
$2.50
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$5.41
|
$5.25
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.37
|
$2.08
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.78
|
$0.55
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.04
|
$2.65
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.21
|
$2.25
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.34
|
$0.98
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.38
|
$1.13
|
|
United States vs. East Lansing - Cost of groceries
pay 9.8% less for transportation
|
United States
|
East Lansing
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.41
|
$3.30
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$65.85
|
$50.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$32,336.38
|
$35,699.74
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$17.61
|
$13.68
|
|
United States vs. East Lansing - Cost of transportation
pay 21.4% less for housing
|
United States
|
East Lansing
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$68.97
|
$52.14
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,664.59
|
$1,233.33
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,416.15
|
$1,066.67
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$150.19
|
$134.29
|
|
United States vs. East Lansing - Cost of housing
pay 17.2% less for childcare
|
United States
|
East Lansing
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,387.27
|
$1,294.79
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$23,196.46
|
$16,800.00
|
|
United States vs. East Lansing - Cost of childcare
pay 7.8% less for entertainment and sports
|
United States
|
East Lansing
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$5.84
|
$6.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.15
|
$4.86
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$9.90
|
$10.00
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$51.45
|
$36.67
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$13.64
|
$12.50
|
|
United States vs. East Lansing - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 20.5% less for clothing
|
United States
|
East Lansing
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$51.08
|
$45.00
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$41.81
|
$31.00
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$87.56
|
$70.00
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$112.04
|
$85.00
|
|
United States vs. East Lansing - 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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