Chicago vs South Tarawa - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated: June 21, 2026

	Chicago	South Tarawa
🚶 Cost of living one person	$2851	$526
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family	$6527	$1270
🏠 One person rent	$1714	$226
🏘️ Family rent	$2737	$370
🍽️ Food expenses	$704	$222
🚐 Transport expenses	$212	$22.1
💳 Monthly salary after tax	$5090	$181
😷 Air quality	Excellent	Excellent
✈️ Airport proximity	15 km	20 km
🎓 Higher education	100	1
😀 Quality of life	95	30
🏙️ Population	2.75M	63.4K

The cost of living in Chicago is 442% more expensive than in South Tarawa. Cities ranked 358th and 8528th ($2851 vs $526) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 300th and 2nd in the United States and Kiribati, respectively. Check the United States vs Kiribati comparison.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 1.8 months in Chicago compared to 0.3 months in South Tarawa. Chicago ranked 3rd best city to live in the United States vs South Tarawa ranked 1st in Kiribati, while ranked 18th and 8796th among best cities to live in the world.

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Prices in Chicago vs South Tarawa

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

	Chicago	South Tarawa
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu	$19.6	$3.8
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2	$84.3	$21.7
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's	$12.7	$5.11
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$7.35	$1.82
☕ Cappuccino	$6.06	$1.95
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz	$2.85	$0.63
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$2011	$214
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$1414	$146
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$3203	$385
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$2316	$256
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$117	$41.3
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$180	$63.1
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited	$63.3	$25.1
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years	6.32%	12.34%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$3899	$1342
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$2568	$823
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket	$2.51	$0.38
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport	$82.6	$15.3
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi	$16.5	$7.19
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal	$1.12	$1.03
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt	$1.2	$1.22
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb	$3.67	$0.74
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$4.62	$1.19
🥚 Eggs, x12	$5.11	$1.7
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$14.2	$7.3
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$14.5	$4.45
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$19.1	$7.14
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$4.78	$2.34
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.86	$1.25
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$3.96	$1.62
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$5.01	$1.14
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.39	$1.03
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.63	$1.03
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt	$1.79	$0.38
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz	$3.71	$1.2
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle	$16	$7.9
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$3.02	$1.42
🚬 Cigarette pack	$17.4	$3.16
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week	$11.6	$3.85
🧴 Hair Shampoo	$7.05	$3.01
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls	$4.22	$1.51
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube	$2.31	$1.24
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month	$74.6	$23.6
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person	$17	$4.41
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit	$177	$18.5
💇 Haircut, simple	$32.8	$4.15
👖 Brand Jeans	$62.9	$31
👟 Brand Sneakers	$105	$65.3
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month	$1582	$139
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year	$27880	$4506

Cost of living in other countries

Cost of living

Cost of Living in the nearest cities

Cities near Chicago

Distance	City	Cost of living
11 km or 7 mi	Cicero	$2444
14 km or 8.8 mi	Berwyn	$2399
14 km or 8.9 mi	Oak Park	$2440
16 km or 10 mi	Elmwood Park	$2425
18 km or 11 mi	Maywood	$2423
18 km or 11 mi	Evanston	$2232
19 km or 12 mi	Skokie	$2309
19 km or 12 mi	Burbank	$2454
20 km or 12 mi	Melrose Park	$2430
21 km or 13 mi	Oak Lawn	$2463
22 km or 14 mi	Morton Grove	$2376
22 km or 14 mi	Niles	$2394
23 km or 14 mi	Park Ridge	$2461
23 km or 14 mi	Wilmette	$2323
25 km or 16 mi	Blue Island	$2444
26 km or 16 mi	Elmhurst	$2483
27 km or 17 mi	Glenview	$2436
28 km or 17 mi	Des Plaines	$2569
28 km or 18 mi	Dolton	$2436
29 km or 18 mi	Villa Park	$2508
30 km or 19 mi	Harvey	$2425
30 km or 19 mi	East Chicago	$1751
30 km or 19 mi	Westmont	$2440
31 km or 19 mi	Calumet	$2443
31 km or 20 mi	South Holland	$2439
32 km or 20 mi	Lombard	$2580
32 km or 20 mi	Hammond	$1761
32 km or 20 mi	Oak Forest	$2429
33 km or 20 mi	Northbrook	$2400
33 km or 20 mi	Mount Prospect	$2508
33 km or 20 mi	Darien	$2463
33 km or 21 mi	Elk Grove Village	$2543
34 km or 21 mi	Downers Grove	$2418
35 km or 22 mi	Orland Park	$2438
36 km or 22 mi	Lansing	$2425
36 km or 22 mi	Glen Ellyn	$2406
37 km or 23 mi	Highland Park	$2418
37 km or 23 mi	Munster	$1784
37 km or 23 mi	Tinley Park	$2423
37 km or 23 mi	Wheeling	$2453

Cities near South Tarawa

Distance	City	Cost of living
658 km or 409 mi	Majuro	$1499
661 km or 411 mi	Djarrit	$1497
706 km or 439 mi	Yaren	$788
1302 km or 809 mi	Vaiaku	$714
1302 km or 809 mi	Funafuti	$714
1768 km or 1099 mi	Auki	$1491
1879 km or 1167 mi	Honiara	$1502
1988 km or 1235 mi	Luganville	$2020
2172 km or 1349 mi	Lautoka	$680
2190 km or 1361 mi	Nadi	$1095
2190 km or 1361 mi	Port Vila	$2036
2248 km or 1397 mi	Nasinu	$910
2253 km or 1400 mi	Suva	$891
2310 km or 1435 mi	Manase	$790
2382 km or 1480 mi	Apia	$789
2712 km or 1685 mi	Dumbea	$1844
2713 km or 1686 mi	Paita	$1851
2725 km or 1693 mi	Noumea	$1911
2817 km or 1750 mi	Nukualofa	$1032
2825 km or 1756 mi	Mua	$1033
3022 km or 1878 mi	Lae	$546
3104 km or 1929 mi	Port Moresby	$562
3286 km or 2042 mi	London	$526
3357 km or 2086 mi	Saipan	$1435
3375 km or 2097 mi	Dededo	$2409
3383 km or 2102 mi	Hagatna	$3243
3611 km or 2244 mi	Cairns	$1851
3612 km or 2244 mi	Jayapura	$492
3658 km or 2273 mi	Gladstone	$1643
3665 km or 2277 mi	Townsville	$2015
3668 km or 2279 mi	Bundaberg	$1720
3672 km or 2282 mi	Hervey Bay	$1883
3673 km or 2282 mi	Rockhampton	$1642
3762 km or 2338 mi	Kauai	$2888
3779 km or 2348 mi	Sunshine Coast	$1838
3788 km or 2354 mi	Caloundra	$1863
3822 km or 2375 mi	Caboolture	$1992
3851 km or 2393 mi	Waipahu	$2760
3854 km or 2395 mi	Brisbane	$2323
3855 km or 2396 mi	Pearl	$2649