Chicago vs Stockholm - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated: June 21, 2026

	Chicago	Stockholm
🚶 Cost of living one person	$2851	$2439
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family	$6527	$5447
🏠 One person rent	$1714	$1383
🏘️ Family rent	$2737	$2366
🍽️ Food expenses	$704	$651
🚐 Transport expenses	$212	$230
💳 Monthly salary after tax	$5090	$3766
😷 Air quality	Excellent	Excellent
✈️ Airport proximity	15 km	8 km
🎓 Higher education	100	95
😀 Quality of life	95	95
🏙️ Population	2.75M	985K

The cost of living in Chicago is 17% more expensive than in Stockholm. Cities ranked 358th and 1008th ($2851 vs $2439) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 300th and 1st in the United States and Sweden, respectively. Check the United States vs Sweden comparison.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 1.8 months in Chicago compared to 1.5 months in Stockholm. Chicago ranked 3rd best city to live in the United States vs Stockholm ranked 1st in Sweden, while ranked 18th and 19th among best cities to live in the world.

Salary adjustment calculator
the estimated difference in money purchasing power

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<img src="https://livingcost.org/assets/photo/cost/chicago/stockholm.jpg" alt="Cost of living in Chicago vs Stockholm infographic" style="max-width: 100%; height: auto;"><p>Source: <a href="https://livingcost.org/cost/chicago/stockholm" target="_blank">Chicago vs Stockholm - Cost of Living Comparison</a></p>

Prices in Chicago vs Stockholm

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

	Chicago	Stockholm
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu	$19.6	$16.5
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2	$84.3	$88.4
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's	$12.7	$11.7
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$7.35	$7.68
☕ Cappuccino	$6.06	$5.44
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz	$2.85	$3.88
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$2011	$1658
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$1414	$1052
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$3203	$2807
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$2316	$1877
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$117	$172
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$180	$264
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited	$63.3	$38.3
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years	6.32%	3.45%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$3899	$11775
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$2568	$6727
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket	$2.51	$4.51
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport	$82.6	$110
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi	$16.5	$24.7
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal	$1.12	$1.86
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt	$1.2	$1.82
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb	$3.67	$3.5
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$4.62	$3.37
🥚 Eggs, x12	$5.11	$5.31
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$14.2	$15.3
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$14.5	$14.7
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$19.1	$22.7
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$4.78	$3.66
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.86	$2.96
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$3.96	$3.27
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$5.01	$4.71
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.39	$1.9
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.63	$2.01
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt	$1.79	$1.44
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz	$3.71	$2.9
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle	$16	$13.8
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$3.02	$2.32
🚬 Cigarette pack	$17.4	$8.88
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week	$11.6	$10.5
🧴 Hair Shampoo	$7.05	$5.08
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls	$4.22	$3.15
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube	$2.31	$2.91
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month	$74.6	$52
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person	$17	$18.6
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit	$177	$36.1
💇 Haircut, simple	$32.8	$33.3
👖 Brand Jeans	$62.9	$116
👟 Brand Sneakers	$105	$137
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month	$1582	$171
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year	$27880	$17265

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 Stockholm

Distance	City	Cost of living
5.1 km or 3.2 mi	Solna	$2014
5.2 km or 3.3 mi	Lidingo	$1211
13 km or 7.9 mi	Taby	$1789
16 km or 9.9 mi	Sollentuna	$1979
21 km or 13 mi	Tumba	$1794
21 km or 13 mi	Akersberga	$1672
31 km or 19 mi	Sodertalje	$1842
35 km or 22 mi	Marsta	$1644
35 km or 22 mi	Sigtuna	$1659
63 km or 39 mi	Uppsala	$1625
87 km or 54 mi	Nykoping	$1583
92 km or 57 mi	Eskilstuna	$1463
92 km or 57 mi	Vasteras	$1507
105 km or 65 mi	Sala	$1363
138 km or 86 mi	Norrkoping	$1269
158 km or 98 mi	Gavle	$1303
163 km or 101 mi	Orebro	$1251
174 km or 108 mi	Linkoping	$1543
185 km or 115 mi	Ludvika	$1337
190 km or 118 mi	Visby	$1498
195 km or 121 mi	Borlange	$1298
195 km or 121 mi	Falun	$1810
253 km or 157 mi	Mariestad	$1479
258 km or 161 mi	Karlstad	$1481
262 km or 163 mi	Raisio	$1531
264 km or 164 mi	Skovde	$1503
265 km or 165 mi	Turku	$1560
268 km or 167 mi	Kaarina	$1529
271 km or 168 mi	Mora	$1625
274 km or 170 mi	Vetlanda	$1535
275 km or 171 mi	Rauma	$1370
281 km or 175 mi	Kuressaare	$1225
284 km or 177 mi	Jonkoping	$1490
297 km or 184 mi	Ventspils	$932
306 km or 190 mi	Salo	$1535
310 km or 193 mi	Raseborg	$1597
312 km or 194 mi	Arvika	$1423
313 km or 195 mi	Kalmar	$1629
315 km or 196 mi	Pori	$1416
332 km or 206 mi	Vaxjo	$1464