Cost of living comparison
compared to
Long Island vs. United States Cost of Living Summary
Long Island is 12.0% more expensive than United States overall.
- Restaurants
-
pay 3.6% less in Long Island
- Groceries
-
pay 14.8% more in Long Island
- Transportation
-
pay 19.4% more in Long Island
- Housing
-
pay 12.6% more in Long Island
- Childcare
-
pay 32.1% more in Long Island
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 4.8% more in Long Island
- Clothing
-
pay 3.7% more in Long Island
The cost of childcare, transportation, groceries, housing, entertainment and sports, and clothing in Long Island are more expensive than in United States.
Long Island vs. United States Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Long Island instead of United States, you would:
pay 3.6% less for restaurants
|
United States
|
Long Island
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$19.45
|
$18.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$11.12
|
$13.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.56
|
$2.28
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.00
|
$1.74
|
|
United States vs. Long Island - Cost of restaurants
pay 14.8% more for groceries
|
United States
|
Long Island
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$3.56
|
$4.05
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$6.50
|
$8.73
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$3.97
|
$4.62
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.27
|
$5.17
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$5.41
|
$5.62
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.37
|
$2.87
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.78
|
$1.07
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.04
|
$2.16
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.21
|
$2.37
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.34
|
$1.25
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.38
|
$1.51
|
|
United States vs. Long Island - Cost of groceries
pay 19.4% more for transportation
|
United States
|
Long Island
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.41
|
$3.30
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$65.85
|
$129.50
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$32,336.38
|
$24,000.00
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$17.61
|
$19.40
|
|
United States vs. Long Island - Cost of transportation
pay 12.6% more for housing
|
United States
|
Long Island
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$68.97
|
$57.25
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,664.59
|
$2,325.00
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,416.15
|
$2,250.00
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$150.19
|
$103.54
|
|
United States vs. Long Island - Cost of housing
pay 32.1% more for childcare
|
United States
|
Long Island
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,387.27
|
$2,250.00
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$23,196.46
|
$23,666.67
|
|
United States vs. Long Island - Cost of childcare
pay 4.8% more for entertainment and sports
|
United States
|
Long Island
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$5.84
|
$7.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.15
|
$4.75
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$9.90
|
$11.98
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$51.45
|
$34.00
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$13.64
|
$17.00
|
|
United States vs. Long Island - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 3.7% more for clothing
|
United States
|
Long Island
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$51.08
|
$30.00
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$41.81
|
$63.33
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$87.56
|
$76.33
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$112.04
|
$131.67
|
|
United States vs. Long Island - 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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