Cologne vs Essen - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

Cologne Essen
🚶 Cost of living one person
$1941
$1519
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$4759
$3766
🏠 One person rent
$1049
$642
🏘️ Family rent
$1816
$1100
🍽️ Food expenses
$538
$537
🚐 Transport expenses
$208
$181
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$3341
$3165
😷 Air quality
Excellent
Excellent
✈️ Airport proximity
15 km
25 km
🎓 Higher education
92
96
😀 Quality of life
95
95
🏙️ Population
1.09M
587K

The cost of living in Cologne is 28% more expensive than in Essen. Cities ranked 2200th and 3925th ($1941 vs $1519) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 19th and 521st in Germany.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 1.7 months in Cologne compared to 2.1 months in Essen. Ranked 2nd vs 3rd best cities to live in Germany, and 21st vs 23rd 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 Cologne vs Essen

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

Cologne Essen
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu
$16.2
$16.8
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$74.1
$72.5
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$11.7
$11.8
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$5.56
$5.63
☕ Cappuccino
$4.07
$3.91
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$3.76
$2.88
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$1071
$571
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$805
$434
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$1941
$1047
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$1445
$794
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$150
$141
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$231
$217
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$40.5
$39.1
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
3.88%
3.95%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$8050
$4896
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$5385
$3071
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$4.12
$4.17
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$69
$69.4
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$26.4
$31.1
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$2.08
$1.96
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.43
$1.31
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$2.16
$1.98
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$3.11
$2.8
🥚 Eggs, x12
$4.14
$3.68
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$13.6
$15.1
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$11.1
$10.6
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$27.6
$25.1
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.97
$3.15
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.12
$2.19
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.34
$2.29
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$3.98
$3.68
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.65
$1.42
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.17
$1.31
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.75
$0.81
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$2.38
$2.05
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$7.48
$6.13
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$1.24
$1.05
🚬 Cigarette pack
$9.3
$9.41
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$8.17
$11.6
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$2.61
$2.72
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$1.75
$1.56
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$1.95
$1.58
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$42.8
$36.4
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$15.1
$15.1
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$55.4
$88.4
💇 Haircut, simple
$19.1
$15.3
👖 Brand Jeans
$95.1
$97.9
👟 Brand Sneakers
$105
$108
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$1042
$483
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$23900
$9789

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Cost of Living in the nearest cities

Cities near Cologne

Distance City Cost of living
9.2 km or 5.7 mi Hurth
$1728
10 km or 6.4 mi Leverkusen
$1972
10 km or 6.4 mi Frechen
$1715
13 km or 7.9 mi Bruhl
$1713
13 km or 7.9 mi Pulheim
$1726
14 km or 8.4 mi Wesseling
$1722
14 km or 8.5 mi Bergisch Gladbach
$1689
15 km or 9.3 mi Niederkassel
$1732
16 km or 10 mi Rosrath
$1693
18 km or 11 mi Monheim am Rhein
$1713
19 km or 12 mi Dormagen
$1699
19 km or 12 mi Erftstadt
$1689
19 km or 12 mi Langenfeld
$1716
20 km or 12 mi Troisdorf
$1721
20 km or 12 mi Leichlingen
$1696
20 km or 12 mi Kerpen
$1674
21 km or 13 mi Bornheim
$1764
21 km or 13 mi Lohmar
$1686
22 km or 14 mi Bergheim
$1667
23 km or 15 mi Siegburg
$1711
24 km or 15 mi Overath
$1657
25 km or 16 mi Sankt Augustin
$1738
25 km or 16 mi Bonn
$1948
26 km or 16 mi Hilden
$1673
26 km or 16 mi Solingen
$1698
27 km or 17 mi Elsdorf
$1658
28 km or 17 mi Wermelskirchen
$1631
28 km or 17 mi Haan
$1662
28 km or 18 mi Bedburg
$1653
29 km or 18 mi Hennef
$1668
31 km or 19 mi Grevenbroich
$1652
31 km or 19 mi Remscheid
$1617
31 km or 20 mi Erkrath
$1653
33 km or 20 mi Konigswinter
$1597
34 km or 21 mi Euskirchen
$1665
34 km or 21 mi Neuss
$1685
34 km or 21 mi Mettmann
$1629
35 km or 21 mi Zulpich
$1650
35 km or 21 mi Meckenheim
$1686
35 km or 22 mi Dusseldorf
$1913

Cities near Essen

Distance City Cost of living
9.5 km or 5.9 mi Gelsenkirchen
$1506
9.6 km or 6 mi Mulheim
$1575
10 km or 6.3 mi Bottrop
$1468
11 km or 7.1 mi Oberhausen
$1636
12 km or 7.8 mi Velbert
$1580
13 km or 8.3 mi Hattingen
$1552
14 km or 8.4 mi Gladbeck
$1538
14 km or 8.8 mi Heiligenhaus
$1588
15 km or 9 mi Bochum
$1548
18 km or 11 mi Herne
$1624
18 km or 11 mi Duisburg
$1507
19 km or 12 mi Herten
$1565
19 km or 12 mi Wulfrath
$1605
19 km or 12 mi Sprockhovel
$1565
20 km or 13 mi Ratingen
$1637
22 km or 14 mi Witten
$1559
23 km or 14 mi Recklinghausen
$1580
23 km or 14 mi Mettmann
$1629
23 km or 14 mi Dinslaken
$1551
24 km or 15 mi Dorsten
$1557
24 km or 15 mi Castrop-Rauxel
$1534
24 km or 15 mi Wuppertal
$1547
25 km or 16 mi Marl
$1568
26 km or 16 mi Erkrath
$1653
27 km or 17 mi Schwelm
$1589
27 km or 17 mi Oer-Erkenschwick
$1565
27 km or 17 mi Moers
$1544
27 km or 17 mi Wetter
$1545
28 km or 17 mi Gevelsberg
$1559
28 km or 18 mi Voerde
$1566
28 km or 18 mi Ennepetal
$1572
29 km or 18 mi Haan
$1662
30 km or 18 mi Dusseldorf
$1913
30 km or 18 mi Herdecke
$1528
30 km or 19 mi Rheinberg
$1559
31 km or 20 mi Hilden
$1673
32 km or 20 mi Neukirchen-Vluyn
$1564
32 km or 20 mi Waltrop
$1533
32 km or 20 mi Solingen
$1698
32 km or 20 mi Datteln
$1538