Cost of living comparison
compared to
West Lafayette vs. United States Cost of Living Summary
West Lafayette is 17.0% cheaper than United States overall.
- Restaurants
-
pay 31.8% less in West Lafayette
- Groceries
-
pay 18.2% less in West Lafayette
- Transportation
-
pay 21.1% less in West Lafayette
- Housing
-
pay 15.2% less in West Lafayette
- Childcare
-
pay 27.9% less in West Lafayette
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 17.1% less in West Lafayette
- Clothing
-
pay 12.6% more in West Lafayette
Expenses including restaurants, childcare, transportation, groceries, entertainment and sports, and housing are lower in West Lafayette.
West Lafayette vs. United States Cost Breakdown
If you lived in West Lafayette instead of United States, you would:
pay 31.8% less for restaurants
|
United States
|
West Lafayette
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$19.45
|
$12.50
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$11.12
|
$6.50
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.56
|
$2.08
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.00
|
$1.37
|
|
United States vs. West Lafayette - Cost of restaurants
pay 18.2% less for groceries
|
United States
|
West Lafayette
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$3.56
|
$1.98
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$6.50
|
$9.80
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$3.97
|
$2.88
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.27
|
$3.99
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$5.41
|
$5.00
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.37
|
$1.79
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.78
|
$0.55
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.04
|
$1.00
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.21
|
$1.24
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.34
|
$1.15
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.38
|
$1.37
|
|
United States vs. West Lafayette - Cost of groceries
pay 21.1% less for transportation
|
United States
|
West Lafayette
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.41
|
$3.01
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$65.85
|
$28.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$32,336.38
|
$36,036.53
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$17.61
|
$12.96
|
|
United States vs. West Lafayette - Cost of transportation
pay 15.2% less for housing
|
United States
|
West Lafayette
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$68.97
|
$58.33
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,664.59
|
$1,400.00
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,416.15
|
$1,250.00
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$150.19
|
$123.09
|
|
United States vs. West Lafayette - Cost of housing
pay 27.9% less for childcare
|
United States
|
West Lafayette
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,387.27
|
$1,000.00
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$23,196.46
|
?? | |
United States vs. West Lafayette - Cost of childcare
pay 17.1% less for entertainment and sports
|
United States
|
West Lafayette
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$5.84
|
$5.17
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.15
|
$5.00
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$9.90
|
$8.18
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$51.45
|
$30.00
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$13.64
|
$12.00
|
|
United States vs. West Lafayette - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 12.6% more for clothing
|
United States
|
West Lafayette
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$51.08
|
$45.00
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$41.81
|
?? | |
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$87.56
|
$120.00
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$112.04
|
?? | |
United States vs. West Lafayette - 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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