Cost of living comparison
compared to
Lake Forest vs. United States Cost of Living Summary
Lake Forest is 6.4% more expensive than United States overall.
- Restaurants
-
pay 15.2% more in Lake Forest
- Groceries
-
pay 10.7% more in Lake Forest
- Transportation
-
pay 12.5% more in Lake Forest
- Housing
-
pay 0.8% more in Lake Forest
- Childcare
-
pay 13.2% less in Lake Forest
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 13.7% more in Lake Forest
- Clothing
-
pay 5.4% more in Lake Forest
The cost of restaurants, entertainment and sports, transportation, groceries, clothing, and housing in Lake Forest are more expensive than in United States.
Lake Forest vs. United States Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Lake Forest instead of United States, you would:
pay 15.2% more for restaurants
|
United States
|
Lake Forest
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$19.45
|
$25.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$11.12
|
$11.50
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.56
|
$2.67
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.00
|
$2.50
|
|
United States vs. Lake Forest - Cost of restaurants
pay 10.7% more for groceries
|
United States
|
Lake Forest
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$3.56
|
$3.80
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$6.50
|
$6.22
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$3.97
|
$4.59
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.27
|
$3.75
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$5.41
|
$9.15
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.37
|
$2.90
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.78
|
$0.66
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.04
|
$1.75
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.21
|
$2.68
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.34
|
$1.75
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.38
|
$1.36
|
|
United States vs. Lake Forest - Cost of groceries
pay 12.5% more for transportation
|
United States
|
Lake Forest
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.41
|
$4.76
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$65.85
|
?? | |
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$32,336.38
|
$28,500.00
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$17.61
|
$19.41
|
|
United States vs. Lake Forest - Cost of transportation
pay 0.8% more for housing
|
United States
|
Lake Forest
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$68.97
|
$75.00
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,664.59
|
$1,433.33
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,416.15
|
$1,500.00
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$150.19
|
$153.80
|
|
United States vs. Lake Forest - Cost of housing
pay 13.2% less for childcare
|
United States
|
Lake Forest
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,387.27
|
$1,211.00
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$23,196.46
|
$20,000.00
|
|
United States vs. Lake Forest - Cost of childcare
pay 13.7% more for entertainment and sports
|
United States
|
Lake Forest
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$5.84
|
$9.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.15
|
$5.75
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$9.90
|
$9.63
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$51.45
|
$50.00
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$13.64
|
$14.75
|
|
United States vs. Lake Forest - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 5.4% more for clothing
|
United States
|
Lake Forest
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$51.08
|
$55.00
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$41.81
|
$40.75
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$87.56
|
$80.00
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$112.04
|
$140.00
|
|
United States vs. Lake Forest - 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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