Berlin vs Chicago - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated: March 01, 2024

	Berlin	Chicago
🚶 Cost of living one person	$2013	$2613
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family	$4765	$6659
🏠 One person rent	$1134	$1594
🏘️ Family rent	$2203	$3123
🍽️ Food expenses	$489	$649
🚐 Transport expenses	$266	$210
💳 Monthly salary after tax	$3496	$5285
😷 Air quality	Moderate	Good
✈️ Airport proximity	19 km	15 km
🎓 Higher education	100	100
😀 Quality of life	95	96
🏙️ Population	3.68M	2.75M

The cost of living in Berlin is 23% less expensive than in Chicago. Cities ranked 1759th and 505th ($2013 vs $2613) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 3rd and 455th in Germany and the United States, respectively. Check Germany vs the United States comparison.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 1.7 months in Berlin compared to 2 months in Chicago. Berlin ranked 2nd best city to live in Germany vs Chicago ranked 2nd in the United States, while ranked 19th and 16th among best cities to live in the world.

Salary adjustment calculator
the estimated difference in money purchasing power

Cost of living in Berlin vs Chicago infographic

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<img src="https://livingcost.org/assets/photo/cost/berlin/chicago.jpg" alt="Cost of living in Berlin vs Chicago infographic" style="max-width: 100%; height: auto;"><p>Source: <a href="https://livingcost.org/cost/berlin/chicago" target="_blank">Berlin vs Chicago - Cost of Living Comparison</a></p>

Prices in Berlin vs Chicago

Prices for goods and services in Berlin and Chicago are partly crowdsourced by our visitors, just like yourself. Please consider telling us about your city.

	Berlin	Chicago
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu	$12.4	$17.5
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2	$61.5	$80.3
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's	$10.6	$10.6
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$4.77	$6.98
☕ Cappuccino	$3.86	$5.12
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz	$3.02	$2.87
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$1192	$1958
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$858	$1297
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$2460	$3908
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$1755	$2652
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$165	$103
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$263	$158
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited	$43.7	$61.2
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years	3.96%	6.64%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$9186	$3227
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$6527	$2803
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket	$3.8	$2.52
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport	$56.2	$87.1
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi	$25.2	$15.1
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal	$1.96	$1.1
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt	$1.29	$1.04
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb	$2.08	$3.79
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.89	$4.74
🥚 Eggs, x12	$3.84	$3.8
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$13.8	$14.8
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$13.5	$12.5
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$15.3	$19.9
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.82	$5.27
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.8	$1.94
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.5	$5.02
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$3.18	$4.53
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.93	$2.42
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.01	$2.8
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt	$0.57	$1.53
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz	$2.06	$2.9
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle	$6.29	$15.1
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$1.12	$2.65
🚬 Cigarette pack	$9.14	$15.7
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week	$6.88	$9.23
🧴 Hair Shampoo	$3.43	$5.71
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls	$2.75	$3.85
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube	$1.75	$1.94
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month	$36.8	$73.1
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person	$13	$14.8
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit	$36.6	$78.7
💇 Haircut, simple	$19.1	$28.3
👖 Brand Jeans	$85.1	$61.8
👟 Brand Sneakers	$93.4	$99.6
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month	$228	$2675
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year	$9556	$15494

Cost of living in other countries

Cost of living

Cost of Living in the nearest cities

Cities near Berlin

Distance	City	Cost of living
15 km or 9.2 mi	Teltow	$1671
18 km or 11 mi	Hohen Neuendorf	$1729
18 km or 11 mi	Hennigsdorf	$1715
20 km or 13 mi	Falkensee	$1656
21 km or 13 mi	Bernau bei Berlin	$1735
25 km or 16 mi	Potsdam	$1601
25 km or 16 mi	Ludwigsfelde	$1629
28 km or 18 mi	Oranienburg	$1701
30 km or 19 mi	Konigs Wusterhausen	$1673
34 km or 21 mi	Werder	$1581
34 km or 21 mi	Strausberg	$1695
46 km or 29 mi	Eberswalde	$1689
49 km or 31 mi	Furstenwalde	$1622
50 km or 31 mi	Luckenwalde	$1607
57 km or 36 mi	Brandenburg an der Havel	$1618
60 km or 37 mi	Neuruppin	$1656
72 km or 44 mi	Rathenow	$1628
81 km or 50 mi	Frankfurt	$1536
86 km or 53 mi	Schwedt	$1677
88 km or 55 mi	Wittenberg	$1258
97 km or 60 mi	Neustrelitz	$1372
97 km or 60 mi	Eisenhuttenstadt	$1443
104 km or 65 mi	Stendal	$1280
106 km or 66 mi	Cottbus	$1288
107 km or 67 mi	Burg bei Magdeburg	$1298
107 km or 67 mi	Zerbst	$1263
109 km or 68 mi	Dessau-Rolau	$1253
109 km or 68 mi	Torgau	$1271
116 km or 72 mi	Neubrandenburg	$1379
119 km or 74 mi	Senftenberg	$1384
121 km or 75 mi	Waren	$1370
124 km or 77 mi	Bitterfeld-Wolfen	$1264
124 km or 77 mi	Schonebeck	$1295
125 km or 78 mi	Spremberg	$1348
127 km or 79 mi	Magdeburg	$1297
128 km or 79 mi	Szczecin	$1196
128 km or 80 mi	Kothen	$1249
128 km or 80 mi	Gorzow Wielkopolski	$848
131 km or 81 mi	Delitzsch	$1303
134 km or 83 mi	Hoyerswerda	$1323

Cities near Chicago

Distance	City	Cost of living
11 km or 7 mi	Cicero	$2476
14 km or 8.8 mi	Berwyn	$2544
14 km or 8.9 mi	Oak Park	$2446
16 km or 10 mi	Elmwood Park	$2346
18 km or 11 mi	Maywood	$2387
18 km or 11 mi	Evanston	$2199
19 km or 12 mi	Skokie	$2257
19 km or 12 mi	Burbank	$2326
20 km or 12 mi	Melrose Park	$2317
21 km or 13 mi	Oak Lawn	$2300
22 km or 14 mi	Morton Grove	$2290
22 km or 14 mi	Niles	$2323
23 km or 14 mi	Park Ridge	$2295
23 km or 14 mi	Wilmette	$2245
25 km or 16 mi	Blue Island	$2282
26 km or 16 mi	Elmhurst	$2244
27 km or 17 mi	Glenview	$2264
28 km or 17 mi	Des Plaines	$2215
28 km or 18 mi	Dolton	$2264
29 km or 18 mi	Villa Park	$2204
30 km or 19 mi	Harvey	$2258
30 km or 19 mi	East Chicago	$2013
30 km or 19 mi	Westmont	$2248
31 km or 19 mi	Calumet	$2258
31 km or 20 mi	South Holland	$2240
32 km or 20 mi	Lombard	$2162
32 km or 20 mi	Hammond	$2030
32 km or 20 mi	Oak Forest	$2257
33 km or 20 mi	Northbrook	$2253
33 km or 20 mi	Mount Prospect	$2269
33 km or 20 mi	Darien	$2250
33 km or 21 mi	Elk Grove Village	$2267
34 km or 21 mi	Downers Grove	$2264
35 km or 22 mi	Orland Park	$2238
36 km or 22 mi	Lansing	$2239
36 km or 22 mi	Glen Ellyn	$2089
37 km or 23 mi	Highland Park	$2221
37 km or 23 mi	Munster	$2038
37 km or 23 mi	Tinley Park	$2241
37 km or 23 mi	Wheeling	$2240