Cologne vs Essen - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

Cologne Essen
🚶 Cost of living one person
$1752
$1519
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$4185
$3604
🏠 One person rent
$967
$759
🏘️ Family rent
$1672
$1284
🍽️ Food expenses
$477
$474
🚐 Transport expenses
$180
$146
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$3141
$3220
😷 Air quality
Good
Good
✈️ Airport proximity
15 km
25 km
🎓 Higher education
92
95
😀 Quality of life
96
95
🏙️ Population
1.07M
579K

The cost of living in Cologne is 15% more expensive than in Essen. Cities ranked 2484th and 3358th ($1752 vs $1519) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 31st and 247th in Germany.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 1.8 months in Cologne compared to 2.1 months in Essen. Ranked 1st vs 4th best cities to live in Germany, and 12th vs 32nd among the best cities to live in the world.

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Cost of living in Cologne vs Essen infographic

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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
$12.9
$12.5
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$55.9
$54.2
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$10.3
$10.3
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$3.98
$4.1
 Cappuccino
$3.43
$3.29
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$2.61
$2.57
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$925
$639
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$719
$505
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$1823
$1100
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$1272
$925
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$163
$186
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$246
$282
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$43.1
$41.6
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
3.69%
3.99%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$5594
$4207
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$3486
$5688
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$3.41
$3.28
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$61.2
$59.6
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$22.1
$23.9
 Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$2
$1.8
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.26
$1.16
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$1.94
$2
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.57
$2.25
🥚 Eggs, x12
$4.27
$3.28
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$12.4
$13.2
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$15
$14
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$17.3
$15.2
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.42
$2.58
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.45
$1.79
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.2
$2.31
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.85
$2.41
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.93
$1.77
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.95
$1.98
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.36
$0.61
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$2.28
$1.9
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$6.32
$5.97
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$1.12
$1.01
🚬 Cigarette pack
$8.18
$8.16
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$8.18
$11.5
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$2.27
$2.53
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$1.79
$1.45
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$1.56
$1.49
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$28.9
$33.3
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$12.4
$10.2
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$49.7
$83.1
💇 Haircut, simple
$19
$14.4
👖 Brand Jeans
$90.4
$91.4
👟 Brand Sneakers
$87.8
$96.4
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$792
$426
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$16182
$9133

Cost of living in other countries

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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
$1520
10 km or 6.4 mi Leverkusen
$1778
10 km or 6.4 mi Frechen
$1542
13 km or 7.9 mi Bruhl
$1468
13 km or 7.9 mi Pulheim
$1551
14 km or 8.4 mi Wesseling
$1500
14 km or 8.5 mi Bergisch Gladbach
$1490
15 km or 9.3 mi Niederkassel
$1515
16 km or 10 mi Rosrath
$1499
18 km or 11 mi Monheim am Rhein
$1575
19 km or 12 mi Dormagen
$1547
19 km or 12 mi Erftstadt
$1497
19 km or 12 mi Langenfeld
$1562
20 km or 12 mi Troisdorf
$1512
20 km or 12 mi Leichlingen
$1556
20 km or 12 mi Kerpen
$1501
21 km or 13 mi Bornheim
$1516
21 km or 13 mi Lohmar
$1498
22 km or 14 mi Bergheim
$1505
23 km or 15 mi Siegburg
$1504
24 km or 15 mi Overath
$1462
25 km or 16 mi Sankt Augustin
$1520
25 km or 16 mi Bonn
$1593
26 km or 16 mi Hilden
$1501
26 km or 16 mi Solingen
$1511
27 km or 17 mi Elsdorf
$1484
28 km or 17 mi Wermelskirchen
$1388
28 km or 17 mi Haan
$1458
28 km or 18 mi Bedburg
$1484
29 km or 18 mi Hennef
$1494
31 km or 19 mi Grevenbroich
$1488
31 km or 19 mi Remscheid
$1276
31 km or 20 mi Erkrath
$1493
33 km or 20 mi Konigswinter
$1516
34 km or 21 mi Euskirchen
$1489
34 km or 21 mi Neuss
$1476
34 km or 21 mi Mettmann
$1432
35 km or 21 mi Zulpich
$1478
35 km or 21 mi Meckenheim
$1506
35 km or 22 mi Dusseldorf
$1776

Cities near Essen

Distance City Cost of living
9.5 km or 5.9 mi Gelsenkirchen
$1350
9.6 km or 6 mi Mulheim
$1402
10 km or 6.3 mi Bottrop
$1267
11 km or 7.1 mi Oberhausen
$1384
12 km or 7.8 mi Velbert
$1387
13 km or 8.3 mi Hattingen
$1389
14 km or 8.4 mi Gladbeck
$1375
14 km or 8.8 mi Heiligenhaus
$1412
15 km or 9 mi Bochum
$1471
18 km or 11 mi Herne
$1558
18 km or 11 mi Duisburg
$1395
19 km or 12 mi Herten
$1424
19 km or 12 mi Wulfrath
$1369
19 km or 12 mi Sprockhovel
$1356
20 km or 13 mi Ratingen
$1470
22 km or 14 mi Witten
$1286
23 km or 14 mi Recklinghausen
$1407
23 km or 14 mi Mettmann
$1432
23 km or 14 mi Dinslaken
$1387
24 km or 15 mi Dorsten
$1399
24 km or 15 mi Castrop-Rauxel
$1430
24 km or 15 mi Wuppertal
$1124
25 km or 16 mi Marl
$1415
26 km or 16 mi Erkrath
$1493
27 km or 17 mi Schwelm
$1318
27 km or 17 mi Oer-Erkenschwick
$1422
27 km or 17 mi Moers
$1417
27 km or 17 mi Wetter
$1373
28 km or 17 mi Gevelsberg
$1367
28 km or 18 mi Voerde
$1396
28 km or 18 mi Ennepetal
$1351
29 km or 18 mi Haan
$1458
30 km or 18 mi Dusseldorf
$1776
30 km or 18 mi Herdecke
$1388
30 km or 19 mi Rheinberg
$1394
31 km or 20 mi Hilden
$1501
32 km or 20 mi Neukirchen-Vluyn
$1409
32 km or 20 mi Waltrop
$1407
32 km or 20 mi Solingen
$1511
32 km or 20 mi Datteln
$1410