Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Galway and Chelmsford

For one person, living is cheaper in Chelmsford: $2,509 a month against $3,270 in Galway, rent and utilities included – about $9,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

160

Cost of Living Index in Galway
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Galway Living Index
122

Cost of Living Index in Chelmsford
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Chelmsford Living Index

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Galway

🇮🇪 Ireland

$3,270

/mo nomad

Chelmsford

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,509

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Galway and in Chelmsford

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $3,270 in Galway versus $2,509 in Chelmsford.

Galway $3,270
Chelmsford $2,509

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,565 in Galway versus $3,892 in Chelmsford.

Galway $4,565
Chelmsford $3,892

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,860 in Galway versus $5,275 in Chelmsford.

Galway $5,860
Chelmsford $5,275

Living in Galway is roughly 30% more expensive than in Chelmsford, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Galway 142% above, Chelmsford 86% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$22.70 €20.19

$26.94 £20.21

-15.74%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$110 €97.6

$59.0 £44.23

86.02%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$16.68 €14.84

$9.14 £6.86

82.49%

Cappuccino

$4.79 €4.26

$4.65 £3.49

3.01%

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

$2.87 €2.56

$3.07 £2.31

-6.51%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.30 €2.05

$1.71 £1.28

34.50%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$8.04 €7.16

$7.19 £5.39

11.82%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.88 €6.12

$7.06 £5.30

-2.55%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.58 €1.40

$1.67 £1.26

-5.39%

White Bread (500g)

$2.37 €2.11

$2.26 £1.70

4.87%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.26 €2.01

$2.79 £2.09

-19.00%

Eggs

$4.38 €3.89

$3.48 £2.61

25.86%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.67 €14.83

$8.13 £6.10

105.04%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.04 €9.82

$8.38 £6.29

31.74%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.18 €11.72

$14.15 £10.62

-6.86%

Apples (1kg)

$3.05 €2.72

$2.26 £1.70

34.96%

Banana (1kg)

$2.23 €1.98

$1.46 £1.09

52.74%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.97 €2.65

$3.66 £2.74

-18.85%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.17 €3.71

$3.31 £2.48

25.98%

Potato (1kg)

$2.05 €1.82

$1.80 £1.35

13.89%

Onion (1kg)

$1.52 €1.36

$1.52 £1.14

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.29 €1.15

$1.16 £0.87

11.21%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.81 €1.61

$1.81 £1.36

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$20.14 €17.91

$22.50 £16.88

-10.49%

Wine (Bottle)

$14.04 €12.49

$12.01 £9.01

16.90%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.96 €3.52

$2.88 £2.16

37.50%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.46 €3.97

$3.46 £2.60

28.90%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.10 €1.87

$3.95 £2.96

-46.84%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$62.4 €55.5

$69.1 £51.8

-9.59%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.07 €4.51

$4.77 £3.58

6.29%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.43 €1.27

$1.69 £1.26

-15.38%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$56.9 €50.6

$26.93 £20.20

111.14%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.09 €1.86

$2.03 £1.52

2.96%

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

$39.1K €34.8K

$37.8K £28.4K

3.36%

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

$36.4K €32.4K

$40.2K £30.2K

-9.55%

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

$246 €219

$261 £196

-5.88%

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

$20.84 €18.54

$14.64 £10.98

42.35%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$50.3 €44.71

$34.74 £26.07

44.70%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$43.60 €38.78

$50.6 £37.93

-13.75%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$22.58 €20.09

Cinema Ticket

$16.54 €14.71

$17.12 £12.84

-3.39%

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

$1,010 €898

$1,881 £1,412

-46.34%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$13.2K £9,885

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$99.4 €88.5

$98.9 £74.2

0.51%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$48.19 €42.86

$43.37 £32.53

11.11%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$111 €98.4

$95.6 £71.8

15.69%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$114 €101

$86.0 £64.5

32.55%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,234 €1,987

$1,575 £1,182

41.81%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,897 €1,687

$1,197 £898

58.41%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,654 €3,251

$2,698 £2,024

35.44%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,698 €2,400

$2,510 £1,883

7.51%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,965 €5,306

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,623 €4,112

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,905 €2,584

$2,933 £2,200

-0.94%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.68

5.21

-29.37%

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

Last update for Galway: October 12, 2026

Last update for Chelmsford: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Galway

$1.9K 58%

Chelmsford

$1.2K 47.7% 36.9% $699

Groceries & Markets

Galway

$365 11.2%

Chelmsford

$305 12.1% 16.5% $60

Eating Out

Galway

$364 11.1%

Chelmsford

$368 14.7% 1.1% $4.1

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Galway

$317 9.7%

Chelmsford

$311 12.4% 2% $6.3

Clothing & Footwear

Galway

$168 5.1%

Chelmsford

$146 5.8% 13% $22

Getting Around

Galway

$83 2.5%

Chelmsford

$98 3.9% 18% $15

Sport & Entertainment

Galway

$77 2.3%

Chelmsford

$85 3.4% 10.6% $8.1

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $2,234 in Galway and $1,575 in Chelmsford. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Chelmsford pays 1% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $110 in Galway vs $59.0 in Chelmsford for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $365 vs $305 per month, with Chelmsford cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇮🇪 Galway

🇬🇧 Chelmsford

🕒 Local time

10:29 10:29 AM

Same time as Galway

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

75,529

176,194

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

British Pound GBP £

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1 GBP = 1.33 USD

1 GBP = 1.19 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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Between locations

Galway Chelmsford 670 km ≈ 1 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Galway
Chelmsford

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

Galway vs Chelmsford: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Galway and Chelmsford differ by about 30% in total monthly costs ($3,270 vs $2,509 including rent). Chelmsford is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 1% lower in Chelmsford. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $2,234 in Galway versus $1,575 in Chelmsford. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $1,010 in Galway versus $1,881 in Chelmsford. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 20% higher in Galway. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Both cities are expensive relative to $3,000. Chelmsford is the more realistic option, but even there you'll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

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, Galway and Chelmsford 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 Chelmsford gentler on the wallet – expenses run 30% less than in Galway. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.