Cost of Living in Chicago, 🇺🇸 United States - For Locals, Nomads, and Tourists

Researched Updated Oct 25, 2026 Last changed Oct 31, 2026 About costs

Cost breakdown

Digital nomad: short-term stay (1-3 months). Furnished Airbnb or coliving near center, coworking, eating out ~3x/day, travel health insurance.

Expat: long-term resident (1+ years). Renting apartment in center, mix of cooking and dining out, local health insurance, settled lifestyle.

Family: middle-class 4-person family. 2-3 bedroom in suburbs, groceries for 4, international school, car/transport, family health plan.

Local: budget-conscious local resident. Renting outside center, cooking at home, public transport, local phone plan.

Tourist: short-stay visitor (1-14 days). Hotel/Airbnb nightly, all meals at restaurants, taxis, sightseeing.

CategoryCost

Housing 1 2 3 13 14 16 $2,900 $2,300 $3,100 $1,680 $175

Utilities 1 35 — $130 $180 $117 —

Internet & Mobile 7 8 10 1 $45 $108 $210 $108 $5

Groceries 1 11 $145 $500 $1,050 $360 $12

Transportation 1 4 5 $220 $145 $680 $75 $35

Dining Out 24 25 26 27 28 1 $1,150 $560 $800 $185 $90

Leisure Activities 1 17 21 $400 $300 $6,520 $95 $40

Health Insurance 9 20 $63 $465 $1,180 $385 —

Visa & Legal Fees 19 — $50 $50 — —

Total $4,923 $4,558 $13,770 $3,005 $357

Itemized prices

Local prices converted to the selected currency.

Housing

Apartment (1 bedroom) 1 2 3 $2,300.00 $1,600 – $2,780 per month

Coworking Space 15 $289.00 per month

Airbnb (1 month) 2 13 1 $2,900.00 $2,400 – $3,600 per month

Coliving Space 14 $1,250.00 per month

Food & Dining

Coffee 25 1 $6.06 per cup

Beer 33 1 $7.35 per pint

Meal (Inexpensive) 26 1 $19.60 per meal

Fast Food Combo 24 1 $12.70 per meal

Apples 23 1 $4.78 per kg

Bread 23 1 $3.67 per loaf

Milk 11 1 $1.09 per liter

Rice 23 1 $4.62 per kg

Chicken Fillets 11 1 $14.50 per kg

Beef 23 11 1 $19.10 per kg

Wine (Mid-range) 33 1 $16.00 per bottle

Meal (Mid-range, 2 people) 28 1 $84.30 per meal

Water (1.5L bottle) 33 1 $2.69 per bottle

Transportation

Taxi Start 5 6 $3.25 per trip

Taxi per km 5 6 $1.40 per km

Monthly Transport Pass 4 1 $75.00 per month

Gasoline 12 34 1 $1.29 per liter

Ride-hailing (5km) 1 5 $10.50 per trip

Scooter Rental 18 $7.50 per month

Services

Mobile Plan 7 8 $45.00 per month

Internet (60 Mbps+) 1 10 $63.30 per month

Gym Membership 22 1 $74.60 per month

Tennis Court (Weekend) 21 $20.00 per hour

SIM Card (Tourist, prepaid) 7 $45.00 one-time

Entertainment

Cinema Ticket 29 1 $17.00 per ticket

Clothing

Jeans 30 1 $62.90 per pair

Summer Dress 32 1 $48.00 per dress

Running Shoes 31 1 $105.00 per pair

Personal Care

Haircut 37 1 $32.80 per visit

Laundry 38 1 $3.50 per kg

Healthcare

Doctor Visit (GP) 36 1 $177.00 per visit

Pharmacy (basic meds) 33 1 $11.60 per purchase

About these costs

Method: Researched
Last updated: Oct 25, 2026
Last changed: Oct 31, 2026

Checked against the sources below and compared with similar cities. Numbers in the list point to these sources.

Compared with New York, Atlanta, Austin, Hanoi, London

Livingcost Chicago rent, groceries, meals, utilities, transport Oct 2026Index
Zumper Chicago 1-bedroom median USD 2,300 Oct 2026Listings
Zillow Chicago 1-bedroom average USD 1,850 Oct 2026Listings
CTA 30-Day CTA/Pace Pass USD 75Official
Chicago taxi placard USD 3.25 flag; USD 2.25/mileOfficial
Chicago Municipal Code 9-112-600 taximeter ratesOfficial
T-Mobile prepaid unlimited USD 45/mo with AutoPayOfficial
Visible unlimited USD 25/moOfficial
SafetyWing Essential USD 62.72 per 4 weeksOfficial
Xfinity 300 Mbps from USD 45/mo (Chicago market)Official
USDA ERS whole milk USD 4.106/gal Sept 2026Official
AAA Illinois regular gasoline USD 4.8943/gal Oct 2026Index
Chicago STR 1-bedroom avg host revenue USD 1,846/moSecondary
Pilsen CoLiving private room USD 1,250/moListings
WeWork Chicago all-access from USD 289/mo listListings
Mid-range Chicago hotels roughly USD 128–250/night Oct 2026Secondary
Intl school tuition USD 17,700–45,750/yr 2026/27Secondary
Divvy scooter USD 1 unlock + USD 0.44/minOfficial
CBP ESTA / Visa Waiver ProgrammeOfficial
KFF 2025 employer single premium benchmarkSecondary
Maggie Daley Park tennis permit USD 20/hr weekendsSecondary
LA Fitness Lakeview East Clark St USD 34.99–44.99/moListings
Jewel-Osco via Instacart Chicago grocery shelf prices Oct 2026Listings
McDonald's Big Mac Meal USD 12.29+ ChicagolandListings
Dunkin 31 E Adams Latte USD 4.74+; Iced Latte USD 6.11+Listings
Chipotle Michigan Ave Burrito Bowl USD 12.95+Listings
Portillo's Italian Beef Sandwich USD 13.75+ ChicagolandListings
Lou Malnati's Lincoln Ave Small Chicago Classic USD 23.05+Listings
AMC online adult ticket USD 11.99 base plus feesOfficial
Target Levi's 501 jeans USD 52.49 sale / USD 74.99 listListings
Target running shoes USD 40–140 Oct 2026Listings
Target Wild Fable summer dress USD 16.50 clearanceListings
Gopuff Devon Ave bottled water, beer and OTC meds retailListings
EIA US regular gasoline USD 3.860/gal week of 19 Oct 2026Official
Chicago utility estimate ComEd electric plus water/sewer/trashSecondary
MDsave Chicago-region new-patient PCP USD 104–160Listings
Fresha Chicago men's haircuts USD 20–50 at listed salonsListings
Spin It Up Avondale self-service washer from USD 4.75/loadListings

Change history

Oct 31, 2026
- Method Generated Researched
- Airbnb (1 month) 4200 2900
- Apartment (1 bedroom) 2350 2300
- Apples 2.65 4.78
- Beef 17 19.1
- Beer 8.5 7.35
38 more changes
- Bread 3.95 3.67
- Chicken Fillets 13.5 14.5
- Cinema Ticket 17.5 17
- Coffee 5.75 6.06
- Coliving Space 1600 1250
- Coworking Space 325 289
- Dining Out local 180, nomad 1400, expat 600, family 850, tourist 95 local 185, nomad 1150, expat 560, family 800, tourist 90
- Doctor Visit (GP) 160 177
- Fast Food Combo 12.5 12.7
- Gasoline 1.12 1.29
- Groceries local 400, nomad 150, expat 550, family 1100, tourist 10 local 360, nomad 145, expat 500, family 1050, tourist 12
- Gym Membership 70 74.6
- Haircut 45 32.8
- Health Insurance local 320, nomad 75, expat 450, family 1200, tourist 0 local 385, nomad 63, expat 465, family 1180, tourist 0
- Housing local 1350, nomad 2900, expat 2200, family 3400, tourist 185 local 1680, nomad 2900, expat 2300, family 3100, tourist 175
- Internet & Mobile local 90, nomad 120, expat 130, family 220, tourist 12 local 108, nomad 45, family 210, tourist 5
- Internet (60 Mbps+) 75 63.3
- Jeans 65 62.9
- Leisure Activities local 120, nomad 550, expat 350, family 600, tourist 45 local 95, nomad 400, expat 300, family 6520, tourist 40
- Meal (Inexpensive) 22 19.6
- Meal (Mid-range, 2 people) 95 84.3
- Milk 1.15 1.09
- Mobile Plan 65 45
- Monthly Transport Pass 80 75
- Pharmacy (basic meds) 14 11.6
- Rice 4.1 4.62
- Ride-hailing (5km) 18.5 10.5
- Running Shoes 115 105
- Scooter Rental 6.5 7.5
- Summer Dress 50 48
- Taxi Start 3.75 3.25
- Taxi per km 1.75 1.4
- Tennis Court (Weekend) 35 20
- Transportation local 75, nomad 180, expat 120, family 650, tourist 35 local 75, nomad 220, expat 145, family 680, tourist 35
- Utilities local 160, nomad 0, expat 210, family 380, tourist 0 local 117, nomad 0, expat 130, family 180, tourist 0
- Visa & Legal Fees local 0, expat 50, family 100 local 0, expat 50, family 50
- Water (1.5L bottle) 2.5 2.69
- Wine (Mid-range) 18 16
Scooter Rental local 6.5 → 7.5 Source

Chicago cost of living