Chicago vs Seattle - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

Chicago Seattle
🚶 Cost of living one person
$2822
$3154
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$6502
$7508
🏠 One person rent
$1695
$1981
🏘️ Family rent
$2718
$3422
🍽️ Food expenses
$730
$796
🚐 Transport expenses
$192
$169
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$5026
$6532
😷 Air quality
Excellent
Excellent
✈️ Airport proximity
15 km
9 km
🎓 Higher education
100
80
😀 Quality of life
95
95
🏙️ Population
2.75M
737K

The cost of living in Chicago is 11% less expensive than in Seattle. Cities ranked 375th and 142nd ($2822 vs $3154) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 311th and 101st in the United States.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 1.8 months in Chicago compared to 2.1 months in Seattle. Ranked 3rd vs 5th best cities to live in the United States, and 22nd vs 32nd among the best cities to live in the world.

Salary adjustment calculator
the estimated difference in money purchasing power

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Prices in Chicago vs Seattle

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

Chicago Seattle
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu
$19.9
$22.3
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$99.7
$96.5
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$13.5
$14.6
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$6.93
$7.73
 Cappuccino
$5.6
$6.45
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$3.05
$2.97
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$2002
$2110
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$1406
$1647
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$3205
$3872
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$2314
$2891
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$101
$169
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$157
$262
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$68
$72.8
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
6.66%
6.53%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$3759
$7394
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$2521
$5077
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$2.5
$3.01
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$75.2
$111
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$14.5
$16.9
 Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$0.99
$1.21
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.24
$1.44
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$4.16
$4.47
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$5.38
$4.23
🥚 Eggs, x12
$5.59
$6.95
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$14.3
$20.7
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$14.8
$16.8
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$17.6
$21.9
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$5.36
$5.6
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.81
$2.27
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$3.9
$5.07
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$4.44
$6.09
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.56
$3.03
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.56
$3.45
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.8
$1.74
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$3.62
$3.47
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$15.1
$17.2
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$3.03
$3.65
🚬 Cigarette pack
$16.9
$12.5
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$11.6
$10.5
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$7.06
$8.04
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$4.23
$6.86
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$2.21
$2.42
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$69.5
$83.5
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$16.7
$17.8
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$154
$147
💇 Haircut, simple
$33
$24.7
👖 Brand Jeans
$60.8
$69.7
👟 Brand Sneakers
$99.7
$122
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$1863
$2521
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$24172
$28950

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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
$2429
14 km or 8.8 mi Berwyn
$2374
14 km or 8.9 mi Oak Park
$2432
16 km or 10 mi Elmwood Park
$2406
18 km or 11 mi Maywood
$2396
18 km or 11 mi Evanston
$2202
19 km or 12 mi Skokie
$2300
19 km or 12 mi Burbank
$2449
20 km or 12 mi Melrose Park
$2418
21 km or 13 mi Oak Lawn
$2443
22 km or 14 mi Morton Grove
$2381
22 km or 14 mi Niles
$2408
23 km or 14 mi Park Ridge
$2466
23 km or 14 mi Wilmette
$2295
25 km or 16 mi Blue Island
$2439
26 km or 16 mi Elmhurst
$2454
27 km or 17 mi Glenview
$2433
28 km or 17 mi Des Plaines
$2521
28 km or 18 mi Dolton
$2438
29 km or 18 mi Villa Park
$2475
30 km or 19 mi Harvey
$2434
30 km or 19 mi East Chicago
$1906
30 km or 19 mi Westmont
$2411
31 km or 19 mi Calumet
$2440
31 km or 20 mi South Holland
$2425
32 km or 20 mi Lombard
$2503
32 km or 20 mi Hammond
$1889
32 km or 20 mi Oak Forest
$2438
33 km or 20 mi Northbrook
$2415
33 km or 20 mi Mount Prospect
$2477
33 km or 20 mi Darien
$2434
33 km or 21 mi Elk Grove Village
$2525
34 km or 21 mi Downers Grove
$2354
35 km or 22 mi Orland Park
$2421
36 km or 22 mi Lansing
$2412
36 km or 22 mi Glen Ellyn
$2311
37 km or 23 mi Highland Park
$2398
37 km or 23 mi Munster
$1862
37 km or 23 mi Tinley Park
$2425
37 km or 23 mi Wheeling
$2434

Cities near Seattle

Distance City Cost of living
9.1 km or 5.7 mi Mercer Island
$2896
11 km or 6.5 mi Bellevue
$3292
14 km or 8.5 mi Kirkland
$3041
15 km or 9.2 mi Tukwila
$2681
15 km or 9.5 mi Burien
$2717
16 km or 10 mi Bainbridge Island
$2855
17 km or 10 mi Shoreline
$2778
17 km or 10 mi Renton
$2604
17 km or 11 mi Redmond
$3559
17 km or 11 mi Kenmore
$2702
19 km or 12 mi SeaTac
$2807
21 km or 13 mi Bothell
$2737
22 km or 14 mi Sammamish
$2915
22 km or 14 mi Edmonds
$2739
23 km or 14 mi Issaquah
$2798
24 km or 15 mi Des Moines
$2677
24 km or 15 mi Lynnwood
$2734
24 km or 15 mi Bremerton
$2475
26 km or 16 mi Kent
$2814
30 km or 19 mi Mill Creek
$2717
33 km or 20 mi Federal Way
$2587
34 km or 21 mi Maple Valley
$2656
35 km or 21 mi Mukilteo
$2674
35 km or 22 mi Auburn
$2325
41 km or 25 mi Everett
$2641
42 km or 26 mi Tacoma
$2519
46 km or 28 mi University Place
$2720
48 km or 30 mi Puyallup
$2828
50 km or 31 mi Lake Stevens
$2641
51 km or 32 mi Lakewood
$2582
52 km or 33 mi Marysville
$2628
57 km or 35 mi Spanaway
$2362
74 km or 46 mi Lacey
$2584
76 km or 47 mi Olympia
$2558
78 km or 48 mi Sequim
$2710
80 km or 50 mi Oak Harbor
$2754
90 km or 56 mi Mount Vernon
$2456
100 km or 62 mi Port Angeles
$2539
109 km or 68 mi Centralia
$2747
119 km or 74 mi Victoria
$2173