Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ellicott City, MD and Calgary

For one person, living is cheaper in Calgary: $2,255 a month against $3,456 in Ellicott City, MD, rent and utilities included – about $14,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

168

Cost of Living Index in Ellicott City, MD
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Ellicott City, MD Living Index
109

Cost of Living Index in Calgary
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Calgary Living Index

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Ellicott City, MD

🇺🇸 United States

$3,456

/mo nomad

Calgary

🇨🇦 Canada

$2,255

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Ellicott City, MD and in Calgary

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $3,456 in Ellicott City, MD versus $2,255 in Calgary.

Ellicott City, MD $3,456
Calgary $2,255

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,609 in Ellicott City, MD versus $3,361 in Calgary.

Ellicott City, MD $4,609
Calgary $3,361

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,762 in Ellicott City, MD versus $4,468 in Calgary.

Ellicott City, MD $5,762
Calgary $4,468

Living in Ellicott City, MD is roughly 53% more expensive than in Calgary, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Ellicott City, MD 155% above, Calgary 66% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.95 $17.95

$17.58 CA$24.85

2.10%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$96.3 $96.3

$69.1 CA$97.6

39.49%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.76 $10.76

$10.59 CA$14.97

1.61%

Cappuccino

$5.19 $5.19

$3.84 CA$5.42

35.16%

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

$3.48 $3.48

$1.93 CA$2.72

80.31%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.64 $2.64

$1.88 CA$2.66

40.43%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.16 $7.16

$5.09 CA$7.20

40.67%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.20 $8.20

$5.64 CA$7.97

45.39%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.16 $1.16

$2.00 CA$2.82

-42.00%

White Bread (500g)

$4.10 $4.10

$2.78 CA$3.93

47.48%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.91 $3.91

$5.59 CA$7.90

-30.05%

Eggs

$4.71 $4.71

$3.70 CA$5.23

27.30%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.82 $16.82

$11.48 CA$16.23

46.52%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$13.10 $13.10

$11.20 CA$15.84

16.96%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$18.63 $18.63

$18.59 CA$26.28

0.22%

Apples (1kg)

$5.90 $5.90

$4.70 CA$6.64

25.53%

Banana (1kg)

$1.59 $1.59

$1.45 CA$2.05

9.66%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.19 $4.19

$4.34 CA$6.13

-3.46%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.32 $4.32

$3.79 CA$5.36

13.98%

Potato (1kg)

$2.16 $2.16

$2.69 CA$3.81

-19.70%

Onion (1kg)

$2.62 $2.62

$2.75 CA$3.88

-4.73%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.37 $2.37

$2.56 CA$3.62

-7.42%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.26 $2.26

$1.50 CA$2.12

50.67%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$13.63 $13.63

$14.39 CA$20.34

-5.28%

Wine (Bottle)

$15.75 $15.75

$15.81 CA$22.35

-0.38%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.68 $2.68

$2.47 CA$3.49

8.50%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.13 $3.13

$3.10 CA$4.39

0.97%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.81 CA$3.97

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$90.6 CA$128

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.77 $1.77

$3.28 CA$4.64

-46.04%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.34 $1.34

$1.40 CA$1.97

-4.29%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$23.53 $23.53

$26.49 CA$37.45

-11.17%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.94 $0.94

$1.22 CA$1.72

-22.95%

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

$22.8K $22.8K

$28.4K CA$40.1K

-19.68%

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

$24.3K $24.3K

$20.8K CA$29.5K

16.49%

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

$205 $205

$165 CA$233

24.65%

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

$51.0 $51.0

$38.24 CA$54.1

33.24%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$79.6 $79.6

$50.1 CA$70.9

58.81%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$114 $114

$53.8 CA$76.1

112.12%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.04 CA$25.51

Cinema Ticket

$14.86 $14.86

$14.04 CA$19.84

5.84%

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

$1,971 $1,971

$797 CA$1,126

147.45%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$35.0K $35.0K

$15.8K CA$22.3K

121.33%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$51.3 $51.3

$59.1 CA$83.5

-13.19%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$56.0 $56.0

$40.20 CA$56.8

39.28%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$90.6 $90.6

$90.8 CA$128

-0.13%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$113 $113

$109 CA$155

3.46%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,470 $2,470

$1,207 CA$1,707

104.62%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,078 $2,078

$1,011 CA$1,429

105.48%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,963 $2,963

$1,949 CA$2,756

52.02%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,651 $2,651

$1,677 CA$2,371

58.04%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,532 CA$4,993

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,585 $2,585

$3,392 CA$4,795

-23.79%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,995 $4,995

$3,152 CA$4,456

58.46%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.79

4.51

50.55%

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

Last update for Ellicott City, MD: October 17, 2026

Last update for Calgary: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Ellicott City, MD

$2.1K 60.1%

Calgary

$1K 44.8% 51.3% $1.1K

Groceries & Markets

Ellicott City, MD

$436 12.6%

Calgary

$392 17.4% 10.1% $44

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ellicott City, MD

$336 9.7%

Calgary

$253 11.2% 24.7% $83

Eating Out

Ellicott City, MD

$315 9.1%

Calgary

$270 12% 14.1% $44

Sport & Entertainment

Ellicott City, MD

$144 4.2%

Calgary

$82 3.6% 43.1% $62

Clothing & Footwear

Ellicott City, MD

$140 4.1%

Calgary

$135 6% 3.7% $5.2

Getting Around

Ellicott City, MD

$8.5 * 0.3%

Calgary

$112 5% 1223% $104

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

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $2,470 in Ellicott City, MD and $1,207 in Calgary. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Ellicott City, MD pays 58% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $96.0 in Ellicott City, MD vs $69.0 in Calgary for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $436 vs $392 per month, with Calgary cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇺🇸 Ellicott City, MD

🇨🇦 Calgary

🕒 Local time

20:50 8:50 PM

18:50 6:50 PM

2 h behind Ellicott City, MD

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

65,834

1,267,344

💱 Currency

United States Dollar USD $

Canadian Dollar CAD $

📈 Exchange rate

1 USD = 0.89 EUR

1 CAD = 0.707 USD

1 CAD = 0.629 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CAD, EUR to USD – United States Dollar Converter

🇨🇦 Canadian Dollar ($)

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

United States Dollar exchange rates as of October 21, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.89 EUR).

Canadian Dollar exchange rates as of October 21, 2026: 1 USD = 1.41 CAD (1 CAD = 0.707 USD). 1 EUR = 1.59 CAD (1 CAD = 0.629 EUR).

CAD to USD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Ellicott City, MD Calgary 3,160 km ≈ 4 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Ellicott City, MD
Calgary

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

Ellicott City, MD vs Calgary: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Calgary is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and leisure. The 53% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 58% higher in Ellicott City, MD, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $2,470 in Ellicott City, MD versus $1,207 in Calgary. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $1,971 in Ellicott City, MD versus $797 in Calgary. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Calgary – a meal for two runs $69.0 versus $96.0 in Ellicott City, MD. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $2,255 in Calgary versus $3,456 in Ellicott City, MD, a $2,500 budget is realistic in Calgary but tight or insufficient in Ellicott City, MD. The gap between the two cities makes Calgary 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.

Expats usually find Calgary gentler on the wallet – expenses run 53% less than in Ellicott City, MD. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.