Dortmund vs Milwaukee - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated: March 11, 2026

	Dortmund	Milwaukee
🚶 Cost of living one person	$1637	$2078
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family	$4119	$5083
🏠 One person rent	$750	$1194
🏘️ Family rent	$1294	$1948
🍽️ Food expenses	$579	$591
🚐 Transport expenses	$163	$118
💳 Monthly salary after tax	$3601	$3809
😷 Air quality	Excellent	Excellent
✈️ Airport proximity	10 km	12 km
🎓 Higher education	94	81
😀 Quality of life	95	89
🏙️ Population	595K	577K

The cost of living in Dortmund is 21% less expensive than in Milwaukee. Cities ranked 3504th and 1833rd ($1637 vs $2078) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 330th and 1456th in Germany and the United States, respectively. Check Germany vs the United States comparison.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 2.2 months in Dortmund compared to 1.8 months in Milwaukee. Dortmund ranked 5th best city to live in Germany vs Milwaukee ranked 70th in the United States, while ranked 33rd and 260th among best cities to live in the world.

Salary adjustment calculator
the estimated difference in money purchasing power

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Prices in Dortmund vs Milwaukee

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

	Dortmund	Milwaukee
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu	$17.3	$16.5
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2	$79	$60.5
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's	$13.1	$9.91
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$5.64	$5.7
☕ Cappuccino	$3.87	$5.12
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz	$3.3	$3.01
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$738	$1421
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$545	$908
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$1337	$2353
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$1001	$1538
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$110	$121
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$169	$185
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited	$56.9	$62.1
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years	3.95%	6.44%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$3201	$2254
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$2354	$1645
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket	$4.17	$2.01
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport	$68.4	$73.7
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi	$24.9	$16
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal	$2.05	$0.86
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt	$1.29	$0.86
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb	$2.57	$2.87
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$3.66	$4.24
🥚 Eggs, x12	$4.04	$4.58
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$15.4	$10.8
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$13	$13.2
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$22.2	$16.7
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$3.52	$4.4
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.15	$1.38
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.51	$4.62
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$5.16	$4.34
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.94	$2.18
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.81	$2.49
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt	$0.75	$1.57
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz	$2.32	$2.32
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle	$7.01	$16.2
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$1.02	$2.81
🚬 Cigarette pack	$10.3	$10.5
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week	$8.14	$9.34
🧴 Hair Shampoo	$2.82	$4.34
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls	$1.45	$3.57
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube	$1.37	$1.85
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month	$41.3	$44.7
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person	$17.9	$13.6
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit	$52.6	$166
💇 Haircut, simple	$17.5	$16.8
👖 Brand Jeans	$96.5	$48.1
👟 Brand Sneakers	$91.9	$85.1
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month	$428	$1835
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year	$29493	$24369

Cost of living in other countries

Cost of living

Cost of Living in the nearest cities

Cities near Dortmund

Distance	City	Cost of living
10 km or 6.4 mi	Schwerte	$1515
11 km or 6.9 mi	Castrop-Rauxel	$1584
12 km or 7.4 mi	Lunen	$1576
13 km or 7.9 mi	Waltrop	$1614
13 km or 8 mi	Witten	$1622
13 km or 8 mi	Herdecke	$1566
15 km or 9.2 mi	Wetter	$1579
16 km or 9.7 mi	Unna	$1559
16 km or 10 mi	Bergkamen	$1570
16 km or 10 mi	Kamen	$1572
17 km or 11 mi	Hagen	$1573
17 km or 11 mi	Herne	$1638
18 km or 11 mi	Bochum	$1561
18 km or 11 mi	Datteln	$1587
19 km or 12 mi	Selm	$1593
20 km or 12 mi	Werne	$1586
20 km or 13 mi	Iserlohn	$1249
21 km or 13 mi	Oer-Erkenschwick	$1570
21 km or 13 mi	Frondenberg	$1531
22 km or 13 mi	Recklinghausen	$1548
22 km or 14 mi	Gevelsberg	$1574
23 km or 14 mi	Sprockhovel	$1575
23 km or 14 mi	Hattingen	$1573
25 km or 15 mi	Menden	$1512
25 km or 15 mi	Herten	$1570
25 km or 16 mi	Ennepetal	$1564
25 km or 16 mi	Gelsenkirchen	$1508
25 km or 16 mi	Hemer	$1445
27 km or 17 mi	Schwelm	$1565
28 km or 18 mi	Ludinghausen	$1598
29 km or 18 mi	Marl	$1572
30 km or 18 mi	Hamm	$1619
31 km or 19 mi	Werl	$1586
32 km or 20 mi	Essen	$1561
33 km or 20 mi	Haltern am See	$1575
34 km or 21 mi	Gladbeck	$1549
35 km or 21 mi	Ludenscheid	$1570
35 km or 22 mi	Wuppertal	$1486
35 km or 22 mi	Velbert	$1579
36 km or 22 mi	Radevormwald	$1579

Cities near Milwaukee

Distance	City	Cost of living
5.6 km or 3.5 mi	West Allis	$1962
6.3 km or 3.9 mi	Wauwatosa	$1986
10 km or 6.4 mi	Greenfield	$1965
13 km or 8.3 mi	Brookfield	$1924
15 km or 9.4 mi	New Berlin	$1963
17 km or 11 mi	South Milwaukee	$2040
17 km or 11 mi	Menomonee Falls	$1997
17 km or 11 mi	Franklin	$1997
19 km or 12 mi	Oak Creek	$2028
19 km or 12 mi	Mequon	$2020
22 km or 14 mi	Muskego	$1966
23 km or 14 mi	Waukesha	$1812
27 km or 17 mi	Caledonia	$2037
37 km or 23 mi	Mount Pleasant	$2079
38 km or 24 mi	Racine	$2070
46 km or 28 mi	West Bend	$1971
53 km or 33 mi	Kenosha	$2034
57 km or 36 mi	Pleasant Prairie	$2092
64 km or 40 mi	Watertown	$1990
67 km or 42 mi	Zion	$2381
74 km or 46 mi	Fort Atkinson	$1814
76 km or 47 mi	Round Lake Beach	$2365
76 km or 47 mi	Gurnee	$2379
77 km or 48 mi	Waukegan	$2435
78 km or 49 mi	Grayslake	$2354
80 km or 50 mi	Sheboygan	$1746
81 km or 51 mi	North Chicago	$2403
84 km or 52 mi	McHenry	$2437
85 km or 53 mi	Libertyville	$2410
87 km or 54 mi	Mundelein	$2131
90 km or 56 mi	Fond du Lac	$1844
91 km or 57 mi	Woodstock	$2229
91 km or 57 mi	Vernon Hills	$2402
96 km or 60 mi	Janesville	$1784
97 km or 60 mi	Crystal Lake	$2504
97 km or 60 mi	Highland Park	$2398
98 km or 61 mi	Buffalo Grove	$2371
101 km or 63 mi	Lake in the Hills	$2519
102 km or 63 mi	Wheeling	$2434
103 km or 64 mi	Northbrook	$2415