Essen vs Indianapolis - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated: March 02, 2025

	Essen	Indianapolis
🚶 Cost of living one person	$1443	$2189
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family	$3513	$5318
🏠 One person rent	$690	$1304
🏘️ Family rent	$1216	$2170
🍽️ Food expenses	$461	$615
🚐 Transport expenses	$150	$123
💳 Monthly salary after tax	$2980	$4608
😷 Air quality	Excellent	Moderate
✈️ Airport proximity	25 km	13 km
🎓 Higher education	96	71
😀 Quality of life	94	89
🏙️ Population	587K	888K

The cost of living in Essen is 34% less expensive than in Indianapolis. Cities ranked 3685th and 1378th ($1443 vs $2189) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 413th and 1239th 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 2.1 months in Essen compared to 2.1 months in Indianapolis. Essen ranked 5th best city to live in Germany vs Indianapolis ranked 44th in the United States, while ranked 33rd and 191st among best cities to live in the world.

Salary adjustment calculator
the estimated difference in money purchasing power

Cost of living in Essen vs Indianapolis infographic

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Prices in Essen vs Indianapolis

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

	Essen	Indianapolis
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu	$13	$25.1
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2	$49.2	$68.1
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's	$10.4	$9.98
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$4.01	$6.05
☕ Cappuccino	$3.1	$4.95
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz	$2.45	$2.7
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$574	$1424
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$444	$1026
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$1177	$2421
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$833	$1776
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$180	$127
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$274	$194
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited	$40.1	$70.6
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years	3.97%	6.64%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$4052	$1949
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$3401	$1579
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket	$3.43	$1.74
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport	$56	$59.6
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi	$25.9	$15.6
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal	$1.73	$0.9
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt	$1.1	$0.8
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb	$1.76	$2.96
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.38	$4.97
🥚 Eggs, x12	$3.2	$3.09
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$12.3	$9.38
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$11.7	$11.2
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$18.8	$14.8
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.74	$4.36
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.62	$1.28
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.18	$5.9
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$3.75	$3.16
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.49	$2.3
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.61	$2.62
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt	$0.62	$1.35
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz	$1.85	$2.69
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle	$6.49	$12.1
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$0.92	$1.73
🚬 Cigarette pack	$7.99	$8.75
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week	$10.5	$9.25
🧴 Hair Shampoo	$2.46	$4.52
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls	$1.42	$4.45
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube	$1.44	$2.24
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month	$29.7	$38
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person	$13.8	$12.4
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit	$80.3	$110
💇 Haircut, simple	$13.6	$18.3
👖 Brand Jeans	$89.2	$49.3
👟 Brand Sneakers	$92.3	$88.9
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month	$417	$1868
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year	$8902	$27149

Cost of living in other countries

Cost of living

Cost of Living in the nearest cities

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

Cities near Indianapolis

Distance	City	Cost of living
17 km or 11 mi	Lawrence	$2023
18 km or 11 mi	Greenwood	$2010
22 km or 14 mi	Plainfield	$1953
22 km or 14 mi	Brownsburg	$1751
23 km or 14 mi	Carmel	$1981
24 km or 15 mi	Fishers	$1974
29 km or 18 mi	Westfield	$1951
32 km or 20 mi	Franklin	$2001
33 km or 21 mi	Greenfield	$1880
33 km or 21 mi	Noblesville	$1944
55 km or 34 mi	Anderson	$1806
65 km or 41 mi	Columbus	$1875
75 km or 46 mi	Bloomington	$2147
79 km or 49 mi	Kokomo	$1736
81 km or 50 mi	Muncie	$1613
95 km or 59 mi	Lafayette	$2007
96 km or 60 mi	Marion	$1870
99 km or 61 mi	West Lafayette	$2004
108 km or 67 mi	Richmond	$1872
111 km or 69 mi	Terre Haute	$1561
124 km or 77 mi	Oxford	$1839
132 km or 82 mi	Danville	$1875
143 km or 89 mi	Hamilton	$1895
147 km or 91 mi	Fairfield	$1914
155 km or 97 mi	Middletown	$1427
156 km or 97 mi	Florence	$1940
159 km or 99 mi	Cincinnati	$1925
160 km or 99 mi	Trotwood	$1870
162 km or 101 mi	Covington	$2490
165 km or 102 mi	Mason	$1853
165 km or 103 mi	Clarksville	$1863
166 km or 103 mi	Independence	$2145
166 km or 103 mi	New Albany	$1903
167 km or 104 mi	Dayton	$1783
168 km or 104 mi	Jeffersonville	$1731
168 km or 104 mi	Piqua	$1914
169 km or 105 mi	Troy	$1897
169 km or 105 mi	Fort Wayne	$1939
171 km or 106 mi	Lebanon	$1834
172 km or 107 mi	Kettering	$1890