Chicago vs Columbus - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

Chicago Columbus
🚶 Cost of living one person
$2613
$2202
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$6659
$5415
🏠 One person rent
$1594
$1315
🏘️ Family rent
$3123
$2574
🍽️ Food expenses
$649
$608
🚐 Transport expenses
$210
$120
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$5285
$3975
😷 Air quality
Good
Moderate
✈️ Airport proximity
15 km
10 km
🎓 Higher education
100
72
😀 Quality of life
96
87
🏙️ Population
2.75M
906K

The cost of living in Chicago is 19% more expensive than in Columbus. Cities ranked 505th and 1282nd ($2613 vs $2202) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 455th and 1143rd in the United States.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 2 months in Chicago compared to 1.8 months in Columbus. Ranked 2nd vs 47th best cities to live in the United States, and 16th vs 202nd among the best cities to live in the world.

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the estimated difference in money purchasing power

Cost of living in Chicago vs Columbus infographic

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Prices in Chicago vs Columbus

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

Chicago Columbus
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu
$17.5
$18.1
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$80.3
$69.5
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$10.6
$10.8
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$6.98
$5.03
☕ Cappuccino
$5.12
$4.89
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$2.87
$2.5
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$1958
$1415
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$1297
$1025
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$3908
$2997
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$2652
$2104
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$103
$142
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$158
$221
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$61.2
$70.2
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
6.64%
6.35%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$3227
$3125
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$2803
$3122
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$2.52
$1.99
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$87.1
$64.9
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$15.1
$13
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$1.1
$0.89
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.04
$0.91
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$3.79
$2.76
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$4.74
$2.99
🥚 Eggs, x12
$3.8
$2.58
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$14.8
$13.5
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$12.5
$11.9
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$19.9
$18.8
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$5.27
$4.68
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.94
$2.24
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$5.02
$4.58
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$4.53
$4.68
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.42
$3.73
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.8
$3.58
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.53
$1.35
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$2.9
$2.8
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$15.1
$15
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$2.65
$1.95
🚬 Cigarette pack
$15.7
$9.9
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$9.23
$10.4
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$5.71
$3.72
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$3.85
$4.03
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$1.94
$2.22
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$73.1
$43
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$14.8
$12.1
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$78.7
$116
💇 Haircut, simple
$28.3
$21.4
👖 Brand Jeans
$61.8
$64.7
👟 Brand Sneakers
$99.6
$88.3
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$2675
$1244
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$15494
$10456

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Cost of Living in the nearest cities

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

Cities near Columbus

Distance City Cost of living
8.6 km or 5.3 mi Upper Arlington
$2116
11 km or 7.1 mi Grove
$2107
13 km or 8.3 mi Gahanna
$2030
15 km or 9 mi Hilliard
$2125
17 km or 11 mi Reynoldsburg
$2046
18 km or 11 mi Dublin
$2124
19 km or 12 mi Westerville
$1805
22 km or 13 mi Pickerington
$2032
38 km or 24 mi Delaware
$1985
43 km or 27 mi Lancaster
$1935
43 km or 27 mi Marysville
$2010
51 km or 32 mi Newark
$1905
69 km or 43 mi Springfield
$1787
70 km or 43 mi Chillicothe
$1849
70 km or 44 mi Marion
$1900
84 km or 52 mi Zanesville
$1853
86 km or 53 mi Xenia
$1767
89 km or 55 mi Fairborn
$1642
94 km or 59 mi Beavercreek
$1747
97 km or 60 mi Huber Heights
$1761
97 km or 60 mi Mansfield
$1823
98 km or 61 mi Riverside
$1787
103 km or 64 mi Kettering
$1798
103 km or 64 mi Troy
$1844
104 km or 65 mi Athens
$1558
104 km or 65 mi Centerville
$1791
105 km or 65 mi Dayton
$1721
105 km or 65 mi Sidney
$2055
108 km or 67 mi Piqua
$1919
112 km or 69 mi Trotwood
$1803
116 km or 72 mi Ashland
$1587
120 km or 74 mi Lebanon
$1857
128 km or 80 mi Middletown
$1486
128 km or 80 mi Lima
$1886
130 km or 81 mi Wooster
$1768
131 km or 81 mi Mason
$1844
132 km or 82 mi Findlay
$1819
136 km or 84 mi Portsmouth
$1491
144 km or 90 mi New Philadelphia
$1659
146 km or 91 mi Norwalk
$1861