Cost of living comparison

United States

compared to

Switzerland

Switzerland vs. United States Cost of Living Summary

Switzerland is 32.8% more expensive than United States overall.

Restaurants: pay 65.8% more in Switzerland
Groceries: pay 11.5% more in Switzerland
Transportation: pay 72.2% more in Switzerland
Housing: pay 10.2% more in Switzerland
Childcare: pay 57.7% more in Switzerland
Entertainment and Sports: pay 45.8% more in Switzerland
Clothing: pay 85.2% more in Switzerland

The cost of clothing, transportation, restaurants, childcare, entertainment and sports, and groceries in Switzerland are more expensive than in United States. Notably, clothing is significantly more expensive in Switzerland.

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Switzerland vs. United States Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Switzerland instead of United States, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 65.8% more for restaurants

	United States	Switzerland
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$19.86	$30.33 CHF24.99	+52.8%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$11.42	$18.14 CHF14.94	+58.8%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.67	$5.29 CHF4.35	+98.3%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$2.05	$4.78 CHF3.94	+133.0%
Average			+65.8%

United States vs. Switzerland - Cost of restaurants

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pay 11.5% more for groceries

	United States	Switzerland
Bread 1 loaf	$3.63	$3.50 CHF2.89	-3.4%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$6.52	$12.96 CHF10.68	+98.9%
Milk (1 gallon)	$3.98	$8.10 CHF6.68	+103.5%
Eggs 1 dozen	$4.30	$7.57 CHF6.24	+76.3%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$5.46	$12.18 CHF10.04	+123.1%
Apples (1 lb)	$2.34	$1.60 CHF1.32	-31.6%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.80	$0.91 CHF0.75	+14.5%
Oranges (1 lb)	$2.02	$1.25 CHF1.03	-38.0%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.19	$2.25 CHF1.85	+2.5%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.34	$0.85 CHF0.70	-36.7%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.39	$0.94 CHF0.78	-31.9%
Average			+11.5%

United States vs. Switzerland - Cost of groceries

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pay 72.2% more for transportation

	United States	Switzerland
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.01	$8.57 CHF7.06	+114.0%
Monthly public transit pass	$66.70	$118.70 CHF97.79	+78.0%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$34,164.82	$40,149.55 CHF33,076.84	+17.5%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$18.02	$42.12 CHF34.70	+133.7%
Average			+72.2%

United States vs. Switzerland - Cost of transportation

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pay 10.2% more for housing

	United States	Switzerland
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$70.22	$58.17 CHF47.92	-17.2%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,681.01	$1,813.65 CHF1,494.16	+7.9%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,404.28	$1,535.97 CHF1,265.39	+9.4%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$157.64	$206.49 CHF170.11	+31.0%
Average			+10.2%

United States vs. Switzerland - Cost of housing

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pay 57.7% more for childcare

	United States	Switzerland
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,450.99	$2,648.71 CHF2,182.11	+82.5%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$24,361.50	$33,203.62 CHF27,354.51	+36.3%
Average			+57.7%

United States vs. Switzerland - Cost of childcare

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pay 45.8% more for entertainment and sports

	United States	Switzerland
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$6.00	$8.68 CHF7.15	+44.7%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$5.31	$5.95 CHF4.90	+12.1%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$10.42	$10.85 CHF8.94	+4.1%
Monthly membership at local gym	$50.68	$93.96 CHF77.41	+85.4%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$13.95	$22.75 CHF18.74	+63.1%
Average			+45.8%

United States vs. Switzerland - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 85.2% more for clothing

	United States	Switzerland
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$53.15	$135.00 CHF111.22	+154.0%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$41.88	$65.94 CHF54.32	+57.4%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$89.76	$152.86 CHF125.93	+70.3%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$114.01	$196.87 CHF162.19	+72.7%
Average			+85.2%

United States vs. Switzerland - Cost of clothing

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We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated November 2026). How we calculate this

Compare further: United States vs. Switzerland

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