Cologne vs Essen - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

Cologne Essen
🚶 Cost of living one person
$1744
$1443
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$4212
$3513
🏠 One person rent
$947
$690
🏘️ Family rent
$1673
$1216
🍽️ Food expenses
$491
$461
🚐 Transport expenses
$174
$150
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$3148
$2980
😷 Air quality
Excellent
Excellent
✈️ Airport proximity
15 km
25 km
🎓 Higher education
92
96
😀 Quality of life
96
94
🏙️ Population
1.09M
587K

The cost of living in Cologne is 21% more expensive than in Essen. Cities ranked 2551st and 3685th ($1744 vs $1443) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 24th and 413th 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 2nd vs 5th best cities to live in Germany, and 12th vs 33rd among the best cities to live in the world.

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the estimated difference in money purchasing power

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
$13.1
$13
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$61.3
$49.2
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$10.4
$10.4
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$4.67
$4.01
☕ Cappuccino
$3.64
$3.1
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$3.1
$2.45
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$963
$574
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$743
$444
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$1902
$1177
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$1332
$833
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$120
$180
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$186
$274
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$40.4
$40.1
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
4.01%
3.97%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$6163
$4052
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$5539
$3401
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$3.35
$3.43
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$56.6
$56
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$22.1
$25.9
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$1.83
$1.73
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.23
$1.1
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$1.8
$1.76
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.69
$2.38
🥚 Eggs, x12
$3.95
$3.2
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$13.5
$12.3
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$13.2
$11.7
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$20.1
$18.8
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.71
$2.74
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.55
$1.62
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.06
$2.18
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$4.26
$3.75
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.64
$1.49
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.64
$1.61
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.64
$0.62
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$2.22
$1.85
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$6.56
$6.49
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$1.02
$0.92
🚬 Cigarette pack
$8.09
$7.99
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$8.17
$10.5
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$2.2
$2.46
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$1.75
$1.42
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$1.5
$1.44
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$32.5
$29.7
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$11.9
$13.8
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$49.2
$80.3
💇 Haircut, simple
$18.4
$13.6
👖 Brand Jeans
$94.7
$89.2
👟 Brand Sneakers
$103
$92.3
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$773
$417
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$15595
$8902

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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
$1578
10 km or 6.4 mi Leverkusen
$1822
10 km or 6.4 mi Frechen
$1569
13 km or 7.9 mi Bruhl
$1559
13 km or 7.9 mi Pulheim
$1572
14 km or 8.4 mi Wesseling
$1554
14 km or 8.5 mi Bergisch Gladbach
$1586
15 km or 9.3 mi Niederkassel
$1551
16 km or 10 mi Rosrath
$1536
18 km or 11 mi Monheim am Rhein
$1576
19 km or 12 mi Dormagen
$1561
19 km or 12 mi Erftstadt
$1534
19 km or 12 mi Langenfeld
$1577
20 km or 12 mi Troisdorf
$1544
20 km or 12 mi Leichlingen
$1559
20 km or 12 mi Kerpen
$1529
21 km or 13 mi Bornheim
$1554
21 km or 13 mi Lohmar
$1523
22 km or 14 mi Bergheim
$1518
23 km or 15 mi Siegburg
$1522
24 km or 15 mi Overath
$1497
25 km or 16 mi Sankt Augustin
$1542
25 km or 16 mi Bonn
$1677
26 km or 16 mi Hilden
$1522
26 km or 16 mi Solingen
$1580
27 km or 17 mi Elsdorf
$1502
28 km or 17 mi Wermelskirchen
$1497
28 km or 17 mi Haan
$1517
28 km or 18 mi Bedburg
$1504
29 km or 18 mi Hennef
$1494
31 km or 19 mi Grevenbroich
$1499
31 km or 19 mi Remscheid
$1494
31 km or 20 mi Erkrath
$1516
33 km or 20 mi Konigswinter
$1446
34 km or 21 mi Euskirchen
$1503
34 km or 21 mi Neuss
$1495
34 km or 21 mi Mettmann
$1479
35 km or 21 mi Zulpich
$1490
35 km or 21 mi Meckenheim
$1500
35 km or 22 mi Dusseldorf
$1772

Cities near Essen

Distance City Cost of living
9.5 km or 5.9 mi Gelsenkirchen
$1418
9.6 km or 6 mi Mulheim
$1434
10 km or 6.3 mi Bottrop
$1367
11 km or 7.1 mi Oberhausen
$1485
12 km or 7.8 mi Velbert
$1428
13 km or 8.3 mi Hattingen
$1444
14 km or 8.4 mi Gladbeck
$1422
14 km or 8.8 mi Heiligenhaus
$1444
15 km or 9 mi Bochum
$1486
18 km or 11 mi Herne
$1559
18 km or 11 mi Duisburg
$1314
19 km or 12 mi Herten
$1438
19 km or 12 mi Wulfrath
$1433
19 km or 12 mi Sprockhovel
$1431
20 km or 13 mi Ratingen
$1497
22 km or 14 mi Witten
$1489
23 km or 14 mi Recklinghausen
$1407
23 km or 14 mi Mettmann
$1479
23 km or 14 mi Dinslaken
$1430
24 km or 15 mi Dorsten
$1430
24 km or 15 mi Castrop-Rauxel
$1464
24 km or 15 mi Wuppertal
$1233
25 km or 16 mi Marl
$1435
26 km or 16 mi Erkrath
$1516
27 km or 17 mi Schwelm
$1404
27 km or 17 mi Oer-Erkenschwick
$1432
27 km or 17 mi Moers
$1439
27 km or 17 mi Wetter
$1451
28 km or 17 mi Gevelsberg
$1435
28 km or 18 mi Voerde
$1434
28 km or 18 mi Ennepetal
$1431
29 km or 18 mi Haan
$1517
30 km or 18 mi Dusseldorf
$1772
30 km or 18 mi Herdecke
$1455
30 km or 19 mi Rheinberg
$1435
31 km or 20 mi Hilden
$1522
32 km or 20 mi Neukirchen-Vluyn
$1445
32 km or 20 mi Waltrop
$1459
32 km or 20 mi Solingen
$1580
32 km or 20 mi Datteln
$1448