Cost of living Chicago vs Atlanta

pay 1.5% less for restaurants

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Is it better to live in Chicago or Atlanta?
How expensive is Chicago compared to Atlanta?
What is a good salary to live on in Chicago?
What is a good salary to live comfortably in Atlanta?

	Illinois	Georgia
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$15.94	$14.05	-11.8%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$7.89	$7.55	-4.3%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (0.33 liter)	$1.89	$1.91	+1.2%
Bottle of water (0.33 liter)	$1.56	$1.70	+8.9%
Average			-1.5%

Illinois vs. Georgia - Cost of restaurants

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pay 9.1% more for groceries

	Illinois	Georgia
Bread 1 loaf	$2.28	$2.61	+14.7%
Local cheese (500 grams)	$4.27	$5.42	+26.8%
Milk (1 liter)	$0.72	$0.85	+16.8%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.98	$2.35	+18.9%
Boneless chicken breast (1 kg)	$9.05	$10.89	+20.3%
Apples (1 kg)	$4.36	$5.19	+19.0%
Bananas (1 kg)	$1.50	$1.49	-0.8%
Oranges (1 kg)	$4.24	$3.79	-10.6%
Tomatoes (1 kg)	$3.79	$3.83	+0.9%
Potatoes (1 kg)	$2.71	$2.89	+6.5%
Onions (1 kg)	$2.87	$2.50	-12.6%
Average			+9.1%

Illinois vs. Georgia - Cost of groceries

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pay 7.7% less for transportation

	Illinois	Georgia
Gasoline (1 liter)	$1.16	$1.08	-7.5%
Monthly public transit pass	$95.06	$62.74	-34.0%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$21,932.34	$24,697.68	+12.6%
Taxi trip in downtown area (8 km)	$17.36	$17.02	-2.0%
Average			-7.7%

Illinois vs. Georgia - Cost of transportation

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pay 12.8% more for housing

	Illinois	Georgia
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$64.99	$69.46	+6.9%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,145.33	$1,347.72	+17.7%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,003.81	$1,065.94	+6.2%
Utilities for two (65 m2 apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$118.31	$142.27	+20.3%
Average			+12.8%

Illinois vs. Georgia - Cost of housing

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pay 14.0% more for childcare

Illinois

Georgia

Private preschool for 1 child, monthly

$975.12

$637.01

-34.7%

Middle school for 1 child, two semesters

$10,205.90

$16,607.70

+62.7%

Average

+14.0%

Illinois vs. Georgia - Cost of childcare

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pay 9.2% less for entertainment and sports

	Illinois	Georgia
Domestic/local beer	$4.66	$4.70	+0.8%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$4.05	$4.24	+4.8%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$9.17	$6.49	-29.2%
Monthly membership at local gym	$42.23	$32.46	-23.1%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$11.54	$11.63	+0.8%
Average			-9.2%

Illinois vs. Georgia - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 8.2% more for clothing

	Illinois	Georgia
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$45.37	$49.57	+9.3%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$34.35	$37.75	+9.9%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$77.10	$81.51	+5.7%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$97.59	$105.28	+7.9%
Average			+8.2%

Illinois vs. Georgia - Cost of clothing

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The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you. We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: November 2022

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Is it better to live in Chicago or Atlanta?

The violent crime rate in Chicago is 943 violent crimes per 100,000 people. That compares to the national average of 382 violent crimes/100k people. Atlanta is a safer city with a total crime rate of 5,423 crimes/100k people, but note that's still double the national average!

How expensive is Chicago compared to Atlanta?

The cost of living in Chicago, IL is 14.7% higher than in Atlanta, GA. You would have to earn a salary of $68,795 to maintain your current standard of living. Employers in Chicago, IL typically pay 7.2% more than employeers in Atlanta, GA.

What is a good salary to live on in Chicago?

According to ZipRecruiter, the average full-time salary in Chicago is $46,144 per year; the 90th percentile of earners in the city earn $68,371. Since our brokers recommend spending approximately 33% of monthly take-home income on rent, the salary needed to live in the city flexes depending on the cost of your rent.

What is a good salary to live comfortably in Atlanta?

In Atlanta, the annual salary needed to be happy is about $121,000, according to a new survey from GoBankingRates. In Georgia, that magic number is around $93,240 per year but they also said if you're making in the range of $53,280 to $66,660, that's enough to at least reach emotional well-being, the study found.