Belgium vs United States - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

Belgium United States
🚶 Cost of living one person
$1618
$2454
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$3781
$5738
🏠 One person rent
$857
$1565
🏘️ Family rent
$1369
$2755
🍽️ Food expenses
$548
$624
🚐 Transport expenses
$84.7
$102
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$2756
$4635
💸 GDP per capita
$53475
$81695
😃 Human freedom index
8.33
8.39
❤️ Life expectancy
81.7
77.4
👮 Corruption perceptions index
73
69
🌐 English speaking %
59%
95.5%
🎓 Higher education
97
100
😀 Quality of life
88
87
🏙️ Population
11.6M
332M

The average cost of living in Belgium ($1618) is 34% less expensive than in the United States ($2454). Belgium ranked 25th vs 10th for the United States in the list of the most expensive countries in the world.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 1.7 months in Belgium compared to 1.9 months in the United States. Ranked 18th and 20th best countries to live in the world.

Salary adjustment calculator
the estimated difference in money purchasing power

Cost of living in Belgium vs United States infographic

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Prices in Belgium vs the United States

We calculate prices for Belgium and the United States as a population-weighted mean of 91 and 2202 cities, respectively. Since large cities tend to have a higher cost of living, it's better to visit specific city pages below for more relevant information.

Belgium United States
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu
$19.1
$18.7
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$83.1
$75
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$11.1
$10.8
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$4.59
$6.19
 Cappuccino
$3.68
$5.13
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$3
$2.57
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$773
$1641
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$644
$1330
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$1307
$2946
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$1060
$2414
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$134
$123
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$207
$189
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$52.9
$66.1
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
3.5%
6.53%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$4140
$4710
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$3333
$3231
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$2.83
$2.37
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$52.7
$70
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$26.5
$18.4
 Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$1.89
$0.98
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.26
$1.08
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$2.4
$3.5
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.43
$4.35
🥚 Eggs, x12
$3.65
$3.81
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$14.5
$13
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$11
$11.6
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$18.6
$15.9
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.61
$5.03
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.14
$1.76
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.48
$4.51
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.83
$4.74
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.94
$2.81
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.7
$2.88
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.62
$1.42
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$2.88
$2.6
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$7.61
$14.4
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$1.96
$2.17
🚬 Cigarette pack
$9.09
$10.3
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$11
$9.41
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$4.22
$6.07
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$2.07
$4.4
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$2.78
$2.13
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$36.1
$51.1
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$13.7
$14.1
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$32
$122
💇 Haircut, simple
$19.5
$20.2
👖 Brand Jeans
$95.6
$52.8
👟 Brand Sneakers
$98.9
$89.4
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$613
$1400
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$16544
$20224

Cost of living in other countries

Cost of living

Cities Comparison in Belgium vs the United States

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Cost of Living in Popular cities

In Belgium

City Cost of living Population
Antwerp
$1762
529K
Ghent
$1645
265K
Brussels
$1958
196K
Liege
$1505
195K
Charleroi
$1450
202K
Schaerbeek
$1752
133K
Anderlecht
$1734
121K
Mouscron
$1497
58.2K
Bruges
$1471
119K
Leuven
$1761
101K
Mons
$1446
95.3K
Namur
$1441
114K
Aalst
$1779
88.9K
Ostend
$1425
71.6K
La Louviere
$1586
81K
Tournai
$1647
69.6K
Kortrijk
$1423
77.7K
Braine-l'Alleud
$1702
39.8K
Mechelen
$1619
86.9K
Hasselt
$1517
77.7K
Sint-Niklaas
$1592
80.2K
Seraing
$1501
64.3K
Woluwe-Saint-Lambert
$1657
57.7K
Vilvoorde
$1675
44K
Forest
$1712
56.6K
Dendermonde
$1592
45.7K
Roeselare
$1378
64.5K
Genk
$1525
66.1K
Verviers
$1252
55.2K
Saint-Gilles
$1633
49.7K

In the United States

City Cost of living Population
New York City
$4051
8.8M
Los Angeles
$3187
3.9M
Chicago
$2667
2.75M
Houston
$2248
2.3M
San Diego
$3346
1.39M
Phoenix
$2369
1.61M
San Jose
$3674
1.01M
Dallas
$2550
1.3M
San Francisco
$3781
874K
Philadelphia
$2541
1.6M
San Antonio
$2194
1.43M
Austin
$2473
962K
Seattle
$2908
737K
Indianapolis
$2187
888K
Hempstead
$2702
793K
Charlotte
$2615
875K
Washington
$3139
690K
Boston
$3467
676K
Fort Worth
$2195
919K
Jacksonville
$2386
950K
Columbus
$2252
906K
Denver
$2699
716K
Nashville
$2649
689K
Portland
$2572
653K
Atlanta
$2540
499K
Las Vegas
$2246
642K
Detroit
$2006
639K
Oakland
$3146
441K
El Paso
$1775
679K
Baltimore
$2223
586K