Calgary vs Essen - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated: March 02, 2025

	Calgary	Essen
🚶 Cost of living one person	$2077	$1443
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family	$4598	$3513
🏠 One person rent	$1226	$690
🏘️ Family rent	$1942	$1216
🍽️ Food expenses	$561	$461
🚐 Transport expenses	$162	$150
💳 Monthly salary after tax	$3168	$2980
😷 Air quality	Good	Excellent
✈️ Airport proximity	9 km	25 km
🎓 Higher education	53	96
😀 Quality of life	90	94
🏙️ Population	1.31M	587K

The cost of living in Calgary is 44% more expensive than in Essen. Cities ranked 1646th and 3685th ($2077 vs $1443) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 23rd and 413th in Canada and Germany, respectively. Check Canada vs Germany comparison.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 1.5 months in Calgary compared to 2.1 months in Essen. Calgary ranked 8th best city to live in Canada vs Essen ranked 5th in Germany, while ranked 153rd and 33rd among best cities to live in the world.

Salary adjustment calculator
the estimated difference in money purchasing power

Cost of living in Calgary vs Essen infographic

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Prices in Calgary vs Essen

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

	Calgary	Essen
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu	$15.2	$13
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2	$60.7	$49.2
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's	$9.97	$10.4
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$5.29	$4.01
☕ Cappuccino	$4.1	$3.1
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz	$2.02	$2.45
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$1222	$574
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$991	$444
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$2053	$1177
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$1592	$833
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$131	$180
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$200	$274
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited	$57.4	$40.1
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years	6.03%	3.97%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$3283	$4052
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$3066	$3401
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket	$2.57	$3.43
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport	$80.8	$56
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi	$14.5	$25.9
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal	$1.09	$1.73
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt	$2.11	$1.1
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb	$2.47	$1.76
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.98	$2.38
🥚 Eggs, x12	$3.79	$3.2
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$14.2	$12.3
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$13.1	$11.7
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$14.5	$18.8
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$4.12	$2.74
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.31	$1.62
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$3.69	$2.18
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$4.19	$3.75
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.52	$1.49
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.42	$1.61
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt	$1.2	$0.62
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz	$2.37	$1.85
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle	$15.2	$6.49
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$2.92	$0.92
🚬 Cigarette pack	$13	$7.99
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week	$8.11	$10.5
🧴 Hair Shampoo	$5.68	$2.46
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls	$2.77	$1.42
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube	$2.21	$1.44
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month	$49.1	$29.7
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person	$11.7	$13.8
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit	$61.4	$80.3
💇 Haircut, simple	$22.6	$13.6
👖 Brand Jeans	$56.3	$89.2
👟 Brand Sneakers	$82.4	$92.3
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month	$841	$417
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year	$16603	$8902

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	$1743
137 km or 85 mi	Red Deer	$1676
174 km or 108 mi	Lethbridge	$1614
248 km or 154 mi	Leduc	$1656
265 km or 165 mi	Medicine Hat	$1487
278 km or 173 mi	Spruce Grove	$1588
279 km or 173 mi	Edmonton	$1769
357 km or 222 mi	Sandpoint	$2568
402 km or 250 mi	Kelowna	$1886
422 km or 262 mi	Coeur d'Alene	$2299
426 km or 265 mi	Post Falls	$2284
429 km or 266 mi	Penticton	$1638
440 km or 273 mi	Spokane Valley	$2174
442 km or 275 mi	Kamloops	$1770
443 km or 275 mi	Great Falls	$2007
452 km or 281 mi	Spokane	$2163
466 km or 289 mi	Missoula	$2054
517 km or 322 mi	Helena	$2327
524 km or 325 mi	Saskatoon	$1786
526 km or 327 mi	Moscow	$1792
531 km or 330 mi	Pullman	$1612
556 km or 345 mi	Grande Prairie	$1778
560 km or 348 mi	Lewiston	$1884
572 km or 355 mi	Butte	$1632
579 km or 360 mi	Moses Lake	$2009
600 km or 373 mi	Chilliwack	$1761
603 km or 375 mi	Moose Jaw	$1360
607 km or 377 mi	Wenatchee	$2248
616 km or 382 mi	Prince Albert	$1446
630 km or 391 mi	Abbotsford	$1883
636 km or 395 mi	Whistler	$2023
637 km or 396 mi	Walla Walla	$1968
638 km or 396 mi	Bozeman	$2616
641 km or 398 mi	Maple Ridge	$1969
650 km or 404 mi	Langley	$2021
650 km or 404 mi	Pasco	$2050
651 km or 405 mi	Coquitlam	$2490
654 km or 406 mi	Bellingham	$2466
654 km or 406 mi	Richland	$2181
655 km or 407 mi	Fort McMurray	$1871

Cities near Essen

Distance	City	Cost of living
9.5 km or 5.9 mi	Gelsenkirchen	$1418
9.6 km or 6 mi	Mulheim	$1434
10 km or 6.3 mi	Bottrop	$1367
11 km or 7.1 mi	Oberhausen	$1485
12 km or 7.8 mi	Velbert	$1428
13 km or 8.3 mi	Hattingen	$1444
14 km or 8.4 mi	Gladbeck	$1422
14 km or 8.8 mi	Heiligenhaus	$1444
15 km or 9 mi	Bochum	$1486
18 km or 11 mi	Herne	$1559
18 km or 11 mi	Duisburg	$1314
19 km or 12 mi	Herten	$1438
19 km or 12 mi	Wulfrath	$1433
19 km or 12 mi	Sprockhovel	$1431
20 km or 13 mi	Ratingen	$1497
22 km or 14 mi	Witten	$1489
23 km or 14 mi	Recklinghausen	$1407
23 km or 14 mi	Mettmann	$1479
23 km or 14 mi	Dinslaken	$1430
24 km or 15 mi	Dorsten	$1430
24 km or 15 mi	Castrop-Rauxel	$1464
24 km or 15 mi	Wuppertal	$1233
25 km or 16 mi	Marl	$1435
26 km or 16 mi	Erkrath	$1516
27 km or 17 mi	Schwelm	$1404
27 km or 17 mi	Oer-Erkenschwick	$1432
27 km or 17 mi	Moers	$1439
27 km or 17 mi	Wetter	$1451
28 km or 17 mi	Gevelsberg	$1435
28 km or 18 mi	Voerde	$1434
28 km or 18 mi	Ennepetal	$1431
29 km or 18 mi	Haan	$1517
30 km or 18 mi	Dusseldorf	$1772
30 km or 18 mi	Herdecke	$1455
30 km or 19 mi	Rheinberg	$1435
31 km or 20 mi	Hilden	$1522
32 km or 20 mi	Neukirchen-Vluyn	$1445
32 km or 20 mi	Waltrop	$1459
32 km or 20 mi	Solingen	$1580
32 km or 20 mi	Datteln	$1448