Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Elgin, IL and Buenos Aires

For one person, living is cheaper in Elgin, IL: $1,035 a month against $1,685 in Buenos Aires, rent and utilities included – about $7,800 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Buenos Aires outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

51

Cost of Living Index in Elgin, IL
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Elgin, IL Living Index
81

Cost of Living Index in Buenos Aires
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Buenos Aires Living Index

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Elgin, IL

🇺🇸 United States

$1,035

/mo nomad

Buenos Aires

🇦🇷 Argentina

$1,685

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Elgin, IL and in Buenos Aires

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Elgin, IL and in Buenos Aires actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,035 in Elgin, IL versus $1,685 in Buenos Aires.

Elgin, IL $1,035
Buenos Aires $1,685

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,614 in Elgin, IL versus $2,742 in Buenos Aires.

Elgin, IL $2,614
Buenos Aires $2,742

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,192 in Elgin, IL versus $3,799 in Buenos Aires.

Elgin, IL $4,192
Buenos Aires $3,799

Living in Elgin, IL costs roughly 39% less than in Buenos Aires, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Elgin, IL is 23% below, Buenos Aires is 26% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$19.93 $19.93

$18.73 ARS 28.4K

6.41%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$59.5 $59.5

$64.5 ARS 97.8K

-7.77%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.07 $10.07

$12.88 ARS 19.5K

-21.82%

Cappuccino

$3.90 $3.90

$3.98 ARS 6,029

-2.01%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.03 $3.03

$2.05 ARS 3,103

47.80%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.05 $2.05

$1.55 ARS 2,349

32.26%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.96 $5.96

$3.84 ARS 5,830

55.21%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.92 $4.92

$4.60 ARS 6,970

6.96%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.89 $0.89

$1.44 ARS 2,181

-38.19%

White Bread (500g)

$3.54 $3.54

$2.46 ARS 3,738

43.90%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$4.34 $4.34

$1.63 ARS 2,467

166.26%

Eggs

$3.73 $3.73

$2.89 ARS 4,385

29.07%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.35 $11.35

$10.65 ARS 16.1K

6.57%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$13.45 $13.45

$10.00 ARS 15.2K

34.50%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.71 $11.71

$13.74 ARS 20.8K

-14.77%

Apples (1kg)

$4.49 $4.49

$2.75 ARS 4,166

63.27%

Banana (1kg)

$1.27 $1.27

$2.18 ARS 3,300

-41.74%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.57 $2.57

$1.45 ARS 2,205

77.24%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.22 $4.22

$1.99 ARS 3,013

112.06%

Potato (1kg)

$1.99 $1.99

$1.24 ARS 1,885

60.48%

Onion (1kg)

$2.08 $2.08

$1.27 ARS 1,921

63.78%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.84 $1.84

$1.70 ARS 2,575

8.24%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.37 $2.37

$1.73 ARS 2,617

36.99%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$10.79 $10.79

$4.18 ARS 6,337

158.13%

Wine (Bottle)

$15.56 $15.56

$5.80 ARS 8,790

168.28%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.62 $2.62

$2.09 ARS 3,163

25.36%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.49 $3.49

$2.77 ARS 4,198

25.99%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.75 ARS 1,132

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.15 ARS 41.2K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.06 $4.06

$1.62 ARS 2,451

150.62%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.02 $2.02

$0.98 ARS 1,481

106.12%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$28.28 $28.28

$7.72 ARS 11.7K

266.32%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.04 $1.04

$1.36 ARS 2,058

-23.53%

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$36.5K $36.5K

$28.0K ARS 42.5M

30.41%

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$24.9K $24.9K

$34.5K ARS 52.4M

-27.80%

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$99.4 $99.4

$216 ARS 326.9K

-53.91%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$52.2 $52.2

$25.61 ARS 38.8K

103.75%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$49.61 $49.61

$31.36 ARS 47.6K

58.20%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.82 ARS 75.6K

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.06 ARS 25.9K

Cinema Ticket

$14.76 $14.76

$10.43 ARS 15.8K

41.51%

Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)

$1,690 $1,690

$466 ARS 706.7K

262.65%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$23.2K $23.2K

$9,057 ARS 13.7M

155.78%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$39.27 $39.27

$122 ARS 185.2K

-67.84%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$50.2 $50.2

$97.4 ARS 147.8K

-48.52%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$100 $100

$117 ARS 177.4K

-14.08%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$122 $122

$140 ARS 211.9K

-12.46%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$763 ARS 1.2M

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$505 ARS 766.1K

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,175 $2,175

$1,598 ARS 2.4M

36.08%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,811 $1,811

$1,185 ARS 1.8M

52.88%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,192 $2,192

$2,678 ARS 4.1M

-18.17%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,211 $2,211

$1,858 ARS 2.8M

19.00%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,971 $3,971

$954 ARS 1.4M

316.01%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.69

57.25

-88.31%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Elgin, IL: October 4, 2026

Last update for Buenos Aires: October 6, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Groceries & Markets

Elgin, IL

$371 35.3%

Buenos Aires

$284 17.1% 23.5% $87

Eating Out

Elgin, IL

$296 28.1%

Buenos Aires

$279 16.8% 5.9% $17

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Elgin, IL

$201 19.1%

Buenos Aires

$273 16.4% 35.5% $71

Clothing & Footwear

Elgin, IL

$141 13.3%

Buenos Aires

$214 12.9% 52.5% $74

Sport & Entertainment

Elgin, IL

$30 * 2.8%

Buenos Aires

$71 4.3% 140% $41

Getting Around

Elgin, IL

$14 * 1.4%

Buenos Aires

$37 2.2% 159% $22

Accommodation & Living

Elgin, IL

- * 0%

Buenos Aires

$505 30.4%

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

Elgin, IL pays 316% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $59.0 in Elgin, IL vs $64.0 in Buenos Aires. Groceries flip the comparison at $371 vs $284, with Buenos Aires cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇺🇸 Elgin, IL

🇦🇷 Buenos Aires

🕒 Local time

19:10 7:10 PM

21:10 9:10 PM

2 h ahead of Elgin, IL

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

112,603

2,891,082 Capital

💱 Currency

United States Dollar USD $

Argentine Peso ARS $

📈 Exchange rate

1 USD = 0.892 EUR

10,000 ARS = 6.59 USD

10,000 ARS = 5.88 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ARS, EUR to USD – United States Dollar Converter

🇦🇷 Argentine Peso ($)

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

United States Dollar exchange rates as of October 11, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.892 EUR).

Argentine Peso exchange rates as of October 11, 2026: 1 USD = 1,517 ARS (10,000 ARS = 6.59 USD). 1 EUR = 1,699 ARS (10,000 ARS = 5.88 EUR).

ARS to USD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Elgin, IL Buenos Aires 9,050 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Elgin, IL
Buenos Aires

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Elgin, IL vs Buenos Aires: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Elgin, IL and Buenos Aires differ by about 63% in total monthly costs ($1,035 vs $1,685 including rent). Elgin, IL is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 316% higher in Elgin, IL, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Childcare runs $1,690 in Elgin, IL versus $466 in Buenos Aires. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Elgin, IL – a meal for two runs $59.0 versus $64.0 in Buenos Aires. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,035 in Elgin, IL versus $1,685 in Buenos Aires, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Elgin, IL but tight or insufficient in Buenos Aires. The gap between the two cities makes Elgin, IL the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

Safety-wise, Elgin, IL and Buenos Aires are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Elgin, IL gentler on the wallet – expenses run 63% less than in Buenos Aires. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.