Belgium vs United States - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

Belgium United States
🚶 Cost of living one person
$1790
$2515
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$4202
$5738
🏠 One person rent
$946
$1593
🏘️ Family rent
$1521
$2641
🍽️ Food expenses
$615
$654
🚐 Transport expenses
$89.5
$101
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$2938
$4433
💸 GDP per capita
$56615
$84534
😃 Human freedom index
8.53
8.71
❤️ Life expectancy
82.4
78.4
👮 Corruption perceptions index
69
64
🌐 English speaking %
59%
95.3%
🎓 Higher education
97
100
😀 Quality of life
90
88
🏙️ Population
11.9M
340M

The average cost of living in Belgium ($1790) is 29% less expensive than in the United States ($2515). Belgium ranked 25th vs 10th for the United States in the list of the most expensive countries in the world.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 1.6 months in Belgium compared to 1.8 months in the United States. Ranked 17th and 21st best countries to live in the world.

Salary adjustment calculator
the estimated difference in money purchasing power

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Prices in Belgium vs the United States

We calculate prices for Belgium and the United States as a population-weighted mean of 91 and 2202 cities, respectively. Since large cities tend to have a higher cost of living, it's better to visit specific city pages below for more relevant information.

Belgium United States
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu
$21.3
$19.7
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$96.9
$78.4
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$13.6
$11.6
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$5.46
$6.36
 Cappuccino
$4.23
$5.38
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$3.36
$2.69
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$849
$1682
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$739
$1341
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$1482
$3111
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$1236
$2433
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$132
$129
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$203
$198
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$53.1
$68.4
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
3.38%
6.36%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$4256
$4955
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$3167
$3526
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$3.22
$2.34
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$56.1
$70.6
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$28
$17.9
 Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$1.93
$0.91
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.29
$1.11
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$2.63
$3.61
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.36
$4.52
🥚 Eggs, x12
$4.06
$4.83
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$15.1
$13.5
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$12.6
$12.3
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$19.7
$17.2
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.78
$5.09
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.35
$1.86
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.59
$4.5
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$3.04
$4.76
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.31
$2.87
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.01
$2.94
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.68
$1.52
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$3.01
$2.75
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$8.54
$14.8
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$2.02
$2.43
🚬 Cigarette pack
$12.6
$11
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$11.5
$10.5
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$4.47
$6.64
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$2.34
$4.55
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$3
$2.22
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$41.4
$52
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$15.2
$14.5
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$33
$123
💇 Haircut, simple
$21.2
$22.1
👖 Brand Jeans
$105
$55.1
👟 Brand Sneakers
$106
$93.8
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$770
$1517
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$18948
$21058

Cost of living in other countries

Cost of living

Cities Comparison in Belgium vs the United States

More countries to compare

Cost of Living in Popular cities

In Belgium

City Cost of living Population
Antwerp
$1857
529K
Ghent
$1846
273K
Brussels
$2065
196K
Liege
$1647
195K
Charleroi
$1784
204K
Schaerbeek
$1920
133K
Anderlecht
$1939
121K
Leuven
$1920
101K
Bruges
$1957
119K
Hasselt
$1780
90.2K
Mons
$1602
95.3K
Namur
$1610
115K
Aalst
$1890
88.9K
Ostend
$1587
71.6K
Kortrijk
$1549
77.7K
La Louviere
$1765
81K
Tournai
$1704
69.6K
Mechelen
$1877
86.9K
Mouscron
$1539
58.2K
Roeselare
$1555
64.5K
Sint-Niklaas
$1727
80.2K
Woluwe-Saint-Lambert
$1853
57.7K
Seraing
$1643
64.3K
Forest
$1993
56.6K
Vilvoorde
$1866
44K
Dendermonde
$1706
45.7K
Genk
$1680
66.1K
Saint-Gilles
$1932
49.7K
Verviers
$1358
55.2K
Deinze
$1734
44.3K

In the United States

City Cost of living Population
New York City
$4207
8.8M
Los Angeles
$3378
3.9M
Chicago
$2822
2.75M
Houston
$2265
2.3M
San Diego
$3507
1.39M
Philadelphia
$2597
1.6M
Phoenix
$2357
1.61M
San Francisco
$4040
874K
Dallas
$2461
1.3M
San Antonio
$2063
1.43M
San Jose
$3962
1.01M
Seattle
$3154
737K
Austin
$2444
962K
Boston
$3638
676K
Washington
$3306
690K
Hempstead
$2697
793K
Fort Worth
$2219
919K
Charlotte
$2403
875K
Indianapolis
$2374
888K
Jacksonville
$2224
950K
Columbus
$2127
906K
Denver
$2791
716K
Portland
$2738
653K
Nashville
$2477
689K
Atlanta
$2617
499K
Oklahoma City
$1922
681K
Las Vegas
$2407
642K
Baltimore
$2234
586K
Sacramento
$2846
525K
Oakland
$3212
441K