Cost of living comparison
compared to
Netherlands vs. United States Cost of Living Summary
Netherlands is 16.3% more expensive than United States overall.
- Restaurants
-
pay 29.6% more in Netherlands
- Groceries
-
pay 10.4% less in Netherlands
- Transportation
-
pay 68.9% more in Netherlands
- Housing
-
pay 5.5% less in Netherlands
- Childcare
-
pay 8.2% less in Netherlands
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 6.7% more in Netherlands
- Clothing
-
pay 33.3% more in Netherlands
The cost of transportation, clothing, restaurants, and entertainment and sports in Netherlands are more expensive than in United States. Expenses including groceries, childcare, and housing are lower in Netherlands.
Netherlands vs. United States Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Netherlands instead of United States, you would:
pay 29.6% more for restaurants
|
United States
|
Netherlands
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$19.45
|
$21.66
€18.68
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$11.12
|
$13.94
€12.02
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.56
|
$3.53
€3.05
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.00
|
$2.87
€2.48
|
|
United States vs. Netherlands - Cost of restaurants
pay 10.4% less for groceries
|
United States
|
Netherlands
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$3.56
|
$2.15
€1.86
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$6.50
|
$6.70
€5.78
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$3.97
|
$4.86
€4.19
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.27
|
$4.76
€4.10
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$5.41
|
$7.31
€6.30
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.37
|
$1.05
€0.91
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.78
|
$1.13
€0.98
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.04
|
$0.90
€0.77
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.21
|
$1.84
€1.59
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.34
|
$0.95
€0.82
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.38
|
$0.92
€0.80
|
|
United States vs. Netherlands - Cost of groceries
pay 68.9% more for transportation
|
United States
|
Netherlands
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.41
|
$8.56
€7.38
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$65.85
|
$101.86
€87.83
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$32,336.38
|
$36,970.03
€31,880.25
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$17.61
|
$27.44
€23.66
|
|
United States vs. Netherlands - Cost of transportation
pay 5.5% less for housing
|
United States
|
Netherlands
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$68.97
|
$49.26
€42.48
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,664.59
|
$1,462.13
€1,260.83
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,416.15
|
$1,216.44
€1,048.97
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$150.19
|
$199.59
€172.11
|
|
United States vs. Netherlands - Cost of housing
pay 8.2% less for childcare
|
United States
|
Netherlands
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,387.27
|
$1,911.60
€1,648.43
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$23,196.46
|
$10,591.36
€9,133.21
|
|
United States vs. Netherlands - Cost of childcare
pay 6.7% more for entertainment and sports
|
United States
|
Netherlands
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$5.84
|
$6.49
€5.60
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.15
|
$4.17
€3.60
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$9.90
|
$13.74
€11.84
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$51.45
|
$43.55
€37.55
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$13.64
|
$16.09
€13.87
|
|
United States vs. Netherlands - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 33.3% more for clothing
|
United States
|
Netherlands
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$51.08
|
$94.61
€81.59
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$41.81
|
$45.24
€39.01
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$87.56
|
$104.29
€89.93
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$112.04
|
$135.17
€116.56
|
|
United States vs. Netherlands - 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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