Belgium vs United States - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

Belgium United States
🚶 Cost of living one person
$1775
$2522
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$4154
$5757
🏠 One person rent
$946
$1593
🏘️ Family rent
$1507
$2642
🍽️ Food expenses
$605
$656
🚐 Transport expenses
$87.7
$103
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$2977
$4550
💸 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%
95.9%
🎓 Higher education
97
100
😀 Quality of life
91
88
🏙️ Population
11.9M
340M

The average cost of living in Belgium ($1775) is 30% less expensive than in the United States ($2522). Belgium ranked 25th vs 9th 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 1.7 months in Belgium compared to 1.8 months in the United States. Ranked 16th and 22nd 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
$21.5
$19.8
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$92.1
$77
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$13.1
$11.7
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$5.29
$6.39
 Cappuccino
$4.19
$5.44
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$3.33
$2.76
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$847
$1682
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$735
$1337
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$1479
$2997
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$1222
$2414
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$137
$130
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$211
$200
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$51.6
$68.9
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
3.52%
6.16%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$4264
$4871
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$3147
$3394
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$3.1
$2.34
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$55.2
$71.1
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$27.1
$18
 Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$1.96
$1.02
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.28
$1.11
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$2.63
$3.58
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.29
$4.47
🥚 Eggs, x12
$4.02
$4.73
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$15
$13.2
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$12.1
$12.3
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$20.5
$17.3
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.92
$5.06
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.36
$1.82
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.55
$4.57
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$3.1
$4.83
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.35
$2.88
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.85
$2.97
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.69
$1.52
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$2.93
$2.75
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$8.39
$15
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$1.98
$2.45
🚬 Cigarette pack
$12.6
$11.1
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$11.4
$10.5
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$4.36
$6.66
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$2.28
$4.59
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$2.93
$2.24
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$42.5
$52.6
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$14.9
$14.7
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$32.2
$127
💇 Haircut, simple
$20.6
$22.1
👖 Brand Jeans
$102
$55.3
👟 Brand Sneakers
$104
$94.7
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$883
$1520
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$18519
$20019

Cost of living in other countries

Cost of living

Cities Comparison in Belgium vs the United States

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Cost of Living in Popular cities

In Belgium

City Cost of living Population
Antwerp
$1834
529K
Ghent
$1817
273K
Brussels
$2030
196K
Liege
$1596
195K
Charleroi
$1776
204K
Schaerbeek
$1896
133K
Anderlecht
$1926
121K
Leuven
$1895
101K
Bruges
$1914
119K
Hasselt
$1779
90.2K
Mons
$1577
95.3K
La Louviere
$1752
81K
Mouscron
$1617
58.2K
Aalst
$1881
88.9K
Ostend
$1544
71.6K
Kortrijk
$1583
77.7K
Tournai
$1767
69.6K
Namur
$1716
115K
Braine-l'Alleud
$1888
40.7K
Mechelen
$1848
86.9K
Seraing
$1600
64.3K
Woluwe-Saint-Lambert
$1837
57.7K
Sint-Niklaas
$1799
80.2K
Roeselare
$1540
64.5K
Forest
$1969
56.6K
Vilvoorde
$1844
44K
Saint-Gilles
$1895
49.7K
Dendermonde
$1769
45.7K
Verviers
$1303
55.2K
Genk
$1643
66.1K

In the United States

City Cost of living Population
New York City
$4202
8.8M
Los Angeles
$3420
3.9M
Chicago
$2851
2.75M
Houston
$2261
2.3M
San Diego
$3486
1.39M
Philadelphia
$2597
1.6M
San Francisco
$4110
874K
Phoenix
$2423
1.61M
Dallas
$2472
1.3M
San Jose
$3957
1.01M
San Antonio
$2071
1.43M
Washington
$3350
690K
Seattle
$3183
737K
Austin
$2475
962K
Boston
$3680
676K
Fort Worth
$2259
919K
Hempstead
$2710
793K
Indianapolis
$2405
888K
Charlotte
$2470
875K
Jacksonville
$2192
950K
Columbus
$2140
906K
Denver
$2848
716K
Portland
$2785
653K
Nashville
$2451
689K
Atlanta
$2628
499K
Oklahoma City
$1931
681K
Baltimore
$2224
586K
Las Vegas
$2294
642K
Sacramento
$2682
525K
Memphis
$1917
633K