Chicago vs Ottawa - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

Chicago Ottawa
🚶 Cost of living one person
$2613
$2170
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$6659
$4837
🏠 One person rent
$1594
$1276
🏘️ Family rent
$3123
$1943
🍽️ Food expenses
$649
$586
🚐 Transport expenses
$210
$181
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$5285
$2926
😷 Air quality
Good
Excellent
✈️ Airport proximity
15 km
5 km
🎓 Higher education
100
50
😀 Quality of life
96
90
🏙️ Population
2.75M
1.02M

The cost of living in Chicago is 20% more expensive than in Ottawa. Cities ranked 505th and 1355th ($2613 vs $2170) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 455th and 25th in the United States and Canada, respectively. Check the United States vs Canada comparison.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 2 months in Chicago compared to 1.3 months in Ottawa. Chicago ranked 2nd best city to live in the United States vs Ottawa ranked 10th in Canada, while ranked 16th and 117th among best cities to live in the world.

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the estimated difference in money purchasing power

Cost of living in Chicago vs Ottawa infographic

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Prices in Chicago vs Ottawa

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

Chicago Ottawa
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu
$17.5
$18.7
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$80.3
$79.9
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$10.6
$10.3
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$6.98
$5.99
 Cappuccino
$5.12
$4.2
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$2.87
$2.64
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$1958
$1239
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$1297
$1064
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$3908
$2077
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$2652
$1607
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$103
$119
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$158
$184
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$61.2
$57.8
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
6.64%
7.14%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$3227
$8889
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$2803
$6051
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$2.52
$2.78
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$87.1
$95.3
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$15.1
$19
 Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$1.1
$1.12
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.04
$2.29
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$3.79
$2.49
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$4.74
$3.27
🥚 Eggs, x12
$3.8
$3.46
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$14.8
$13.2
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$12.5
$12
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$19.9
$13.9
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$5.27
$3.87
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.94
$1.33
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$5.02
$2.93
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$4.53
$3.75
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.42
$2.37
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.8
$2.41
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.53
$1.09
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$2.9
$2.01
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$15.1
$14
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$2.65
$2.55
🚬 Cigarette pack
$15.7
$12.8
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$9.23
$10.4
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$5.71
$4.28
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$3.85
$2.06
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$1.94
$1.67
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$73.1
$48.9
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$14.8
$11.1
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$78.7
$60.9
💇 Haircut, simple
$28.3
$15.1
👖 Brand Jeans
$61.8
$62.1
👟 Brand Sneakers
$99.6
$105
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$2675
$1090
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$15494
$21213

Cost of living in other countries

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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 Ottawa

Distance City Cost of living
7.4 km or 4.6 mi Gatineau
$1530
19 km or 12 mi Kanata
$2220
87 km or 54 mi Cornwall
$1539
94 km or 58 mi Brockville
$1878
124 km or 77 mi Salaberry-de-Valleyfield
$2014
128 km or 80 mi Mirabel
$1797
130 km or 81 mi Vaudreuil-Dorion
$1894
138 km or 86 mi Saint-Jerome
$1757
141 km or 87 mi Saint-Eustache
$1827
143 km or 89 mi Kirkland
$1845
144 km or 89 mi Blainville
$1808
146 km or 90 mi Sainte-Therese
$1808
147 km or 91 mi Pointe-Claire
$1846
147 km or 91 mi Boisbriand
$1813
147 km or 91 mi Dollard-des-Ormeaux
$1835
147 km or 91 mi Kingston
$1412
150 km or 93 mi Le Ray
$1856
152 km or 94 mi Dorval
$1846
152 km or 94 mi Chateauguay
$1841
153 km or 95 mi Laval
$1874
157 km or 98 mi Saint-Lin-Laurentides
$1705
158 km or 98 mi Cote-Saint-Luc
$1840
160 km or 100 mi Mount Royal
$1821
162 km or 101 mi Watertown
$1746
163 km or 102 mi Terrebonne
$1820
163 km or 102 mi Westmount
$1808
166 km or 103 mi Saint-Constant
$1888
167 km or 104 mi Montreal
$1821
167 km or 104 mi Mascouche
$1772
170 km or 106 mi Saint-Lambert
$1869
170 km or 106 mi Candiac
$1912
170 km or 106 mi Longueuil
$1962
171 km or 106 mi La Prairie
$1949
175 km or 109 mi Brossard
$2105
176 km or 109 mi Boucherville
$1882
177 km or 110 mi Repentigny
$1783
178 km or 111 mi Varennes
$1835
183 km or 114 mi L'Assomption
$1659
183 km or 114 mi Saint-Bruno-de-Montarville
$1924
185 km or 115 mi Sainte-Julie
$1874