Berlin vs Chicago - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated: March 02, 2025

	Berlin	Chicago
🚶 Cost of living one person	$2027	$2678
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family	$4661	$6655
🏠 One person rent	$1127	$1596
🏘️ Family rent	$2029	$2946
🍽️ Food expenses	$505	$700
🚐 Transport expenses	$258	$200
💳 Monthly salary after tax	$3225	$4876
😷 Air quality	Good	Moderate
✈️ Airport proximity	19 km	15 km
🎓 Higher education	100	100
😀 Quality of life	95	95
🏙️ Population	3.78M	2.75M

The cost of living in Berlin is 24% less expensive than in Chicago. Cities ranked 1762nd and 529th ($2027 vs $2678) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 2nd and 483rd 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 1.6 months in Berlin compared to 1.8 months in Chicago. Berlin ranked 3rd best city to live in Germany vs Chicago ranked 3rd in the United States, while ranked 21st and 23rd 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	$14.6	$21.9
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2	$65.3	$90.6
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's	$12.5	$12
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$4.57	$7
☕ Cappuccino	$3.85	$5.4
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz	$2.94	$2.95
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$1156	$1841
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$832	$1327
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$2233	$3729
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$1562	$2474
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$190	$104
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$293	$159
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited	$40.1	$62.1
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years	3.88%	6.68%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$8133	$3391
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$5908	$2689
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket	$3.68	$2.48
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport	$57.5	$75.1
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi	$23.9	$16.1
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal	$1.81	$1.06
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt	$1.28	$0.94
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb	$1.93	$3.68
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.88	$4.61
🥚 Eggs, x12	$3.66	$4.13
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$13.2	$13.5
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$11	$14.2
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$16.7	$18.3
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.93	$4.67
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.94	$1.84
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.27	$4.36
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$3.75	$4.43
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.99	$2.18
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.81	$2.71
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt	$0.55	$1.81
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz	$1.9	$2.85
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle	$6.55	$14.9
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$1.2	$3.04
🚬 Cigarette pack	$9.01	$15
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week	$9.37	$11.5
🧴 Hair Shampoo	$3.2	$6.02
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls	$1.73	$3.63
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube	$2.11	$1.76
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month	$33.3	$63
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person	$13	$14.8
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit	$59.3	$127
💇 Haircut, simple	$19.3	$29.8
👖 Brand Jeans	$88.2	$59
👟 Brand Sneakers	$95.1	$94.4
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month	$186	$2114
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year	$9774	$24502

Cost of living in other countries

Cost of living

$349

$907

$6.64K

Cost of Living in the nearest cities

Cities near Berlin

Distance	City	Cost of living
15 km or 9.2 mi	Teltow	$1707
18 km or 11 mi	Hohen Neuendorf	$1782
18 km or 11 mi	Hennigsdorf	$1770
20 km or 13 mi	Falkensee	$1714
21 km or 13 mi	Bernau bei Berlin	$1763
25 km or 16 mi	Potsdam	$1724
25 km or 16 mi	Ludwigsfelde	$1691
28 km or 18 mi	Oranienburg	$1796
30 km or 19 mi	Konigs Wusterhausen	$1695
34 km or 21 mi	Werder	$1665
34 km or 21 mi	Strausberg	$1711
46 km or 29 mi	Eberswalde	$1714
49 km or 31 mi	Furstenwalde	$1632
50 km or 31 mi	Luckenwalde	$1663
57 km or 36 mi	Brandenburg an der Havel	$1686
60 km or 37 mi	Neuruppin	$1723
72 km or 44 mi	Rathenow	$1690
81 km or 50 mi	Frankfurt	$1534
86 km or 53 mi	Schwedt	$1644
88 km or 55 mi	Wittenberg	$1354
97 km or 60 mi	Neustrelitz	$1442
97 km or 60 mi	Eisenhuttenstadt	$1437
104 km or 65 mi	Stendal	$1319
106 km or 66 mi	Cottbus	$1241
107 km or 67 mi	Burg bei Magdeburg	$1315
107 km or 67 mi	Zerbst	$1332
109 km or 68 mi	Dessau-Rolau	$1340
109 km or 68 mi	Torgau	$1350
116 km or 72 mi	Neubrandenburg	$1421
119 km or 74 mi	Senftenberg	$1351
121 km or 75 mi	Waren	$1395
124 km or 77 mi	Bitterfeld-Wolfen	$1308
124 km or 77 mi	Schonebeck	$1326
125 km or 78 mi	Spremberg	$1310
127 km or 79 mi	Magdeburg	$1282
128 km or 79 mi	Szczecin	$1108
128 km or 80 mi	Kothen	$1346
128 km or 80 mi	Gorzow Wielkopolski	$1022
131 km or 81 mi	Delitzsch	$1419
134 km or 83 mi	Hoyerswerda	$1373

Cities near Chicago

Distance	City	Cost of living
11 km or 7 mi	Cicero	$2425
14 km or 8.8 mi	Berwyn	$2421
14 km or 8.9 mi	Oak Park	$2510
16 km or 10 mi	Elmwood Park	$2426
18 km or 11 mi	Maywood	$2444
18 km or 11 mi	Evanston	$2194
19 km or 12 mi	Skokie	$2256
19 km or 12 mi	Burbank	$2401
20 km or 12 mi	Melrose Park	$2418
21 km or 13 mi	Oak Lawn	$2384
22 km or 14 mi	Morton Grove	$2314
22 km or 14 mi	Niles	$2334
23 km or 14 mi	Park Ridge	$2389
23 km or 14 mi	Wilmette	$2264
25 km or 16 mi	Blue Island	$2377
26 km or 16 mi	Elmhurst	$2392
27 km or 17 mi	Glenview	$2363
28 km or 17 mi	Des Plaines	$2509
28 km or 18 mi	Dolton	$2359
29 km or 18 mi	Villa Park	$2393
30 km or 19 mi	Harvey	$2360
30 km or 19 mi	East Chicago	$1938
30 km or 19 mi	Westmont	$2362
31 km or 19 mi	Calumet	$2363
31 km or 20 mi	South Holland	$2344
32 km or 20 mi	Lombard	$2396
32 km or 20 mi	Hammond	$1948
32 km or 20 mi	Oak Forest	$2350
33 km or 20 mi	Northbrook	$2378
33 km or 20 mi	Mount Prospect	$2446
33 km or 20 mi	Darien	$2369
33 km or 21 mi	Elk Grove Village	$2506
34 km or 21 mi	Downers Grove	$2342
35 km or 22 mi	Orland Park	$2367
36 km or 22 mi	Lansing	$2342
36 km or 22 mi	Glen Ellyn	$2227
37 km or 23 mi	Highland Park	$2345
37 km or 23 mi	Munster	$1954
37 km or 23 mi	Tinley Park	$2351
37 km or 23 mi	Wheeling	$2371