Cape Town vs Chicago - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

Cape Town Chicago
🚶 Cost of living one person
$1120
$2667
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$2628
$6807
🏠 One person rent
$603
$1579
🏘️ Family rent
$1117
$3056
🍽️ Food expenses
$284
$700
🚐 Transport expenses
$137
$205
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$1545
$4901
😷 Air quality
Excellent
Moderate
✈️ Airport proximity
7 km
15 km
🎓 Higher education
55
100
😀 Quality of life
59
96
🏙️ Population
3.78M
2.75M

The cost of living in Cape Town is 58% less expensive than in Chicago. Cities ranked 4849th and 483rd ($1120 vs $2667) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 2nd and 425th in South Africa and the United States, respectively. Check South Africa vs the United States comparison.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 1.4 months in Cape Town compared to 1.8 months in Chicago. Cape Town ranked 1st best city to live in South Africa vs Chicago ranked 3rd in the United States, while ranked 5407th and 20th among best cities to live in the world.

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Prices in Cape Town vs Chicago

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

Cape Town Chicago
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu
$7.8
$21
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$34
$87.3
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$5.15
$11.7
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$2.53
$7.62
☕ Cappuccino
$2.32
$5.4
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$1.04
$3.12
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$705
$1974
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$452
$1280
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$1367
$3828
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$889
$2594
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$59
$102
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$91.3
$156
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$41.1
$59.1
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
11.61%
6.61%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$1902
$3554
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$1292
$3158
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$1.14
$2.49
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$45.3
$76.5
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$8.91
$16.6
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$1.36
$1.12
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.1
$1.02
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$1.07
$3.92
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.53
$5
🥚 Eggs, x12
$2.67
$3.69
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$8.88
$14.8
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$5.96
$12.8
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$7.13
$19.9
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.58
$4.97
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.61
$1.91
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.51
$4.81
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.64
$4.56
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.53
$2.34
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.35
$3.08
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.66
$1.93
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$1.44
$2.86
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$5.57
$14.8
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$1.42
$2.9
🚬 Cigarette pack
$2.99
$16.6
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$4.24
$11.6
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$3.42
$6.03
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$2.24
$3.65
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$1.59
$1.81
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$36.2
$63.1
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$6.5
$15
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$38.2
$126
💇 Haircut, simple
$10.4
$29.3
👖 Brand Jeans
$52.1
$62.2
👟 Brand Sneakers
$103
$95.5
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$201
$2457
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$4270
$19423

Cost of living in other countries

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Cost of Living in the nearest cities

Cities near Cape Town

Distance City Cost of living
54 km or 33 mi Paarl
$850
99 km or 62 mi Worcester
$649
371 km or 231 mi George
$790
644 km or 400 mi Uitenhage
$901
662 km or 411 mi Port Elizabeth
$970
664 km or 413 mi Upington
$741
754 km or 468 mi Makhanda
$792
821 km or 510 mi Komani
$953
833 km or 518 mi Kimberley
$859
845 km or 525 mi Bhisho
$1286
882 km or 548 mi East London
$703
912 km or 567 mi Bloemfontein
$696
950 km or 590 mi Mafeteng
$581
999 km or 621 mi Maseru
$627
1002 km or 622 mi Mthatha
$862
1029 km or 639 mi Teyateyaneng
$533
1030 km or 640 mi Welkom
$774
1034 km or 643 mi Mariental
$832
1092 km or 679 mi Butha-Buthe
$559
1092 km or 679 mi Kroonstad
$788
1113 km or 692 mi Klerksdorp
$689
1135 km or 705 mi Mmabatho
$809
1155 km or 718 mi Potchefstroom
$717
1187 km or 737 mi Rehoboth
$779
1194 km or 742 mi Lobatse
$692
1198 km or 745 mi Kanye
$690
1208 km or 751 mi Vanderbijlpark
$768
1217 km or 756 mi Vereeniging
$717
1231 km or 765 mi Pietermaritzburg
$674
1244 km or 773 mi Soweto
$971
1250 km or 777 mi Rustenburg
$943
1260 km or 783 mi Gaborone
$718
1261 km or 783 mi Molepolole
$654
1261 km or 784 mi Johannesburg
$1079
1267 km or 788 mi Randburg
$874
1269 km or 789 mi Windhoek
$840
1270 km or 789 mi Sandton
$997
1271 km or 790 mi Durban
$834
1277 km or 794 mi Gobabis
$818
1279 km or 795 mi Walvis Bay
$790

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