Calgary vs Chicago - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated: October 10, 2024

	Calgary	Chicago
🚶 Cost of living one person	$2149	$2667
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family	$4908	$6807
🏠 One person rent	$1251	$1579
🏘️ Family rent	$2067	$3056
🍽️ Food expenses	$593	$700
🚐 Transport expenses	$170	$205
💳 Monthly salary after tax	$3509	$4901
😷 Air quality	Good	Moderate
✈️ Airport proximity	9 km	15 km
🎓 Higher education	53	100
😀 Quality of life	90	96
🏙️ Population	1.31M	2.75M

The cost of living in Calgary is 19% less expensive than in Chicago. Cities ranked 1473rd and 483rd ($2149 vs $2667) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 28th and 425th in Canada and the United States, respectively. Check Canada vs the United States comparison.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 1.6 months in Calgary compared to 1.8 months in Chicago. Calgary ranked 6th best city to live in Canada vs Chicago ranked 3rd in the United States, while ranked 131st and 20th among best cities to live in the world.

Salary adjustment calculator
the estimated difference in money purchasing power

Cost of living in Calgary vs Chicago infographic

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Prices in Calgary vs Chicago

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

	Calgary	Chicago
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu	$16.9	$21
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2	$64.6	$87.3
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's	$10.2	$11.7
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$5.43	$7.62
☕ Cappuccino	$4.28	$5.4
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz	$2.04	$3.12
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$1277	$1974
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$1002	$1280
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$2181	$3828
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$1707	$2594
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$134	$102
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$206	$156
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited	$59.9	$59.1
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years	6.34%	6.61%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$3298	$3554
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$3114	$3158
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket	$2.75	$2.49
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport	$83.8	$76.5
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi	$15.5	$16.6
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal	$1.12	$1.12
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt	$2.07	$1.02
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb	$2.49	$3.92
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$3.17	$5
🥚 Eggs, x12	$3.96	$3.69
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$15.5	$14.8
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$14.2	$12.8
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$15.9	$19.9
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$4.35	$4.97
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.44	$1.91
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$3.96	$4.81
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$4.15	$4.56
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.5	$2.34
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.31	$3.08
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt	$1.33	$1.93
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz	$2.61	$2.86
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle	$14.9	$14.8
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$2.97	$2.9
🚬 Cigarette pack	$13.6	$16.6
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week	$8.18	$11.6
🧴 Hair Shampoo	$5.97	$6.03
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls	$2.9	$3.65
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube	$2.32	$1.81
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month	$53	$63.1
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person	$13	$15
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit	$65.5	$126
💇 Haircut, simple	$23.4	$29.3
👖 Brand Jeans	$55	$62.2
👟 Brand Sneakers	$84.7	$95.5
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month	$984	$2457
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year	$19196	$19423

Cost of living in other countries

Cost of living

Cost of Living in the nearest cities

Cities near Calgary

Distance	City	Cost of living
106 km or 66 mi	Banff	$1914
137 km or 85 mi	Red Deer	$1727
174 km or 108 mi	Lethbridge	$1701
248 km or 154 mi	Leduc	$1723
265 km or 165 mi	Medicine Hat	$1577
278 km or 173 mi	Spruce Grove	$1709
279 km or 173 mi	Edmonton	$1785
357 km or 222 mi	Sandpoint	$2523
402 km or 250 mi	Kelowna	$2001
422 km or 262 mi	Coeur d'Alene	$2275
426 km or 265 mi	Post Falls	$2250
429 km or 266 mi	Penticton	$1781
440 km or 273 mi	Spokane Valley	$2156
442 km or 275 mi	Kamloops	$1854
443 km or 275 mi	Great Falls	$2139
452 km or 281 mi	Spokane	$2150
466 km or 289 mi	Missoula	$2011
517 km or 322 mi	Helena	$2498
524 km or 325 mi	Saskatoon	$1793
526 km or 327 mi	Moscow	$1642
531 km or 330 mi	Pullman	$1566
556 km or 345 mi	Grande Prairie	$1786
560 km or 348 mi	Lewiston	$1830
572 km or 355 mi	Butte	$1610
579 km or 360 mi	Moses Lake	$1917
600 km or 373 mi	Chilliwack	$1765
603 km or 375 mi	Moose Jaw	$1408
607 km or 377 mi	Wenatchee	$2322
616 km or 382 mi	Prince Albert	$1487
630 km or 391 mi	Abbotsford	$1976
636 km or 395 mi	Whistler	$2469
637 km or 396 mi	Walla Walla	$2010
638 km or 396 mi	Bozeman	$2484
641 km or 398 mi	Maple Ridge	$2243
650 km or 404 mi	Langley	$1983
650 km or 404 mi	Pasco	$2042
651 km or 405 mi	Coquitlam	$2553
654 km or 406 mi	Bellingham	$2278
654 km or 406 mi	Richland	$2169
655 km or 407 mi	Fort McMurray	$1871

Cities near Chicago

Distance	City	Cost of living
11 km or 7 mi	Cicero	$2427
14 km or 8.8 mi	Berwyn	$2463
14 km or 8.9 mi	Oak Park	$2424
16 km or 10 mi	Elmwood Park	$2375
18 km or 11 mi	Maywood	$2376
18 km or 11 mi	Evanston	$2177
19 km or 12 mi	Skokie	$2307
19 km or 12 mi	Burbank	$2344
20 km or 12 mi	Melrose Park	$2352
21 km or 13 mi	Oak Lawn	$2326
22 km or 14 mi	Morton Grove	$2367
22 km or 14 mi	Niles	$2412
23 km or 14 mi	Park Ridge	$2393
23 km or 14 mi	Wilmette	$2292
25 km or 16 mi	Blue Island	$2313
26 km or 16 mi	Elmhurst	$2305
27 km or 17 mi	Glenview	$2360
28 km or 17 mi	Des Plaines	$2358
28 km or 18 mi	Dolton	$2292
29 km or 18 mi	Villa Park	$2268
30 km or 19 mi	Harvey	$2292
30 km or 19 mi	East Chicago	$1950
30 km or 19 mi	Westmont	$2293
31 km or 19 mi	Calumet	$2296
31 km or 20 mi	South Holland	$2295
32 km or 20 mi	Lombard	$2224
32 km or 20 mi	Hammond	$1975
32 km or 20 mi	Oak Forest	$2276
33 km or 20 mi	Northbrook	$2392
33 km or 20 mi	Mount Prospect	$2363
33 km or 20 mi	Darien	$2276
33 km or 21 mi	Elk Grove Village	$2380
34 km or 21 mi	Downers Grove	$2290
35 km or 22 mi	Orland Park	$2269
36 km or 22 mi	Lansing	$2280
36 km or 22 mi	Glen Ellyn	$2134
37 km or 23 mi	Highland Park	$2331
37 km or 23 mi	Munster	$2002
37 km or 23 mi	Tinley Park	$2274
37 km or 23 mi	Wheeling	$2357