London vs New York City - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated: March 11, 2026

	London	New York City
🚶 Cost of living one person	$3740	$4207
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family	$8537	$9179
🏠 One person rent	$2516	$2718
🏘️ Family rent	$4294	$4382
🍽️ Food expenses	$631	$875
🚐 Transport expenses	$412	$373
💳 Monthly salary after tax	$3678	$5229
😷 Air quality	Excellent	Excellent
✈️ Airport proximity	13 km	13 km
🎓 Higher education	100	100
😀 Quality of life	96	95
🏙️ Population	8.8M	8.8M

The cost of living in London is 11% less expensive than in New York City. Cities ranked 20th and 4th ($3740 vs $4207) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 1st and 2nd in the United Kingdom and the United States, respectively. Check the United Kingdom vs the United States comparison.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 1 months in London compared to 1.2 months in New York City. London ranked 1st best city to live in the United Kingdom vs New York City ranked 2nd in the United States, while ranked 12th and 18th among best cities to live in the world.

Salary adjustment calculator
the estimated difference in money purchasing power

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Prices in London vs New York City

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

	London	New York City
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu	$22.5	$23.6
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2	$98	$107
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's	$11.7	$13.6
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$9.2	$8.27
☕ Cappuccino	$5.94	$5.88
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz	$3.15	$2.87
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$2958	$3712
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$2140	$2223
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$4865	$5056
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$3773	$3881
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$169	$130
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$260	$200
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited	$42.3	$66.8
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years	4.75%	6.64%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$20369	$17512
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$10989	$9335
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket	$4.62	$3.01
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport	$105	$134
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi	$31.9	$23.8
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal	$1.86	$0.89
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt	$1.87	$1.38
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb	$2.25	$4.55
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.42	$6.56
🥚 Eggs, x12	$5.71	$7.96
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$13.7	$19.2
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$9.98	$15.1
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$18.3	$19.9
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$3.13	$6.67
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.59	$2.42
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.98	$5.62
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$3.8	$6.34
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.46	$3.09
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.82	$3.46
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt	$1.2	$1.65
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz	$3.79	$3.77
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle	$14	$18.5
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$3.33	$4.32
🚬 Cigarette pack	$23.6	$18.7
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week	$4.84	$23.4
🧴 Hair Shampoo	$6.87	$13.9
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls	$2.9	$7.99
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube	$3.44	$2.83
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month	$68.5	$118
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person	$20.3	$21.2
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit	$79.9	$156
💇 Haircut, simple	$15.2	$40.7
👖 Brand Jeans	$117	$68.7
👟 Brand Sneakers	$122	$116
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month	$2594	$2132
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year	$30567	$21999

Cost of living in other countries

Cost of living

Cost of Living in the nearest cities

Cities near London

Distance	City	Cost of living
1.3 km or 0.8 mi	Westminster	$3038
11 km or 7 mi	Wimbledon	$2559
13 km or 8.3 mi	Richmond	$2498
15 km or 9.3 mi	Croydon	$2564
16 km or 10 mi	Greenford	$2419
19 km or 12 mi	Ewell	$2417
21 km or 13 mi	Coulsdon	$2406
23 km or 14 mi	Esher	$2395
24 km or 15 mi	Walton-on-Thames	$2382
25 km or 15 mi	Watford	$2661
27 km or 17 mi	Upminster	$2336
28 km or 17 mi	Rickmansworth	$2426
31 km or 19 mi	St Albans	$2490
32 km or 20 mi	Grays	$2227
32 km or 20 mi	Hertford	$2271
32 km or 20 mi	Slough	$2345
32 km or 20 mi	Brentwood	$2675
35 km or 22 mi	Harlow	$2152
35 km or 22 mi	Gravesend	$2259
35 km or 22 mi	Hemel Hempstead	$2321
37 km or 23 mi	Woking	$2567
38 km or 24 mi	Harpenden	$2276
40 km or 25 mi	Billericay	$2260
41 km or 25 mi	Maidenhead	$2846
43 km or 27 mi	East Grinstead	$2265
43 km or 27 mi	Basildon	$2188
43 km or 27 mi	Guildford	$2622
44 km or 27 mi	Crawley	$2385
44 km or 27 mi	Stevenage	$2262
44 km or 27 mi	Bracknell	$2485
44 km or 28 mi	Rochester	$1860
44 km or 28 mi	Tonbridge	$2191
45 km or 28 mi	High Wycombe	$2215
46 km or 28 mi	Bishop's Stortford	$2223
46 km or 28 mi	Luton	$2212
47 km or 29 mi	Chatham	$2576
49 km or 30 mi	Chelmsford	$2111
49 km or 30 mi	Gillingham	$2377
49 km or 30 mi	Godalming	$2472
49 km or 31 mi	Farnborough	$2199

Cities near New York City

Distance	City	Cost of living
11 km or 6.6 mi	Astoria	$2850
11 km or 6.8 mi	Hoboken	$3614
11 km or 7.1 mi	Jersey	$3134
13 km or 8.3 mi	Union	$3092
14 km or 8.8 mi	West New York	$2814
14 km or 8.9 mi	Bayonne	$3307
15 km or 9.6 mi	North Bergen	$2803
17 km or 10 mi	Secaucus	$2868
17 km or 11 mi	Cliffside Park	$2738
18 km or 11 mi	Kearny	$2781
20 km or 12 mi	Valley Stream	$2803
20 km or 13 mi	Fort Lee	$2801
20 km or 13 mi	Lyndhurst	$2696
22 km or 14 mi	Newark	$2750
23 km or 14 mi	Elizabeth	$2792
23 km or 14 mi	Belleville	$2533
25 km or 15 mi	Hillside	$2717
25 km or 15 mi	Long Beach	$2809
25 km or 15 mi	Nutley	$2539
25 km or 16 mi	East Orange	$2512
25 km or 16 mi	Irvington	$2665
26 km or 16 mi	Rockville Centre	$2684
26 km or 16 mi	Linden	$2774
26 km or 16 mi	Hackensack	$2685
26 km or 16 mi	Bloomfield	$2477
26 km or 16 mi	Teaneck	$2702
26 km or 16 mi	Carteret	$2782
26 km or 16 mi	Passaic	$2665
27 km or 17 mi	Roselle	$2772
27 km or 17 mi	Hempstead	$2697
28 km or 17 mi	Union Township	$2734
28 km or 18 mi	Clifton	$2666
28 km or 18 mi	Maplewood	$2638
29 km or 18 mi	Montclair	$2497
29 km or 18 mi	Bergenfield	$2687
29 km or 18 mi	Mount Vernon	$2863
30 km or 18 mi	Rahway	$2758
30 km or 18 mi	Uniondale	$2690
30 km or 18 mi	West Orange	$2503
30 km or 18 mi	New Rochelle	$3188