Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ilmenau and Groningen

For one person, living is cheaper in Ilmenau: $2,071 a month against $2,282 in Groningen, rent and utilities included – about $2,500 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

100

Cost of Living Index in Ilmenau
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Ilmenau Living Index
110

Cost of Living Index in Groningen
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Groningen Living Index

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Ilmenau

🇩🇪 Germany

$2,071

/mo nomad

Groningen

🇳🇱 Netherlands

$2,282

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Ilmenau and in Groningen

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,071 in Ilmenau versus $2,282 in Groningen.

Ilmenau $2,071
Groningen $2,282

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,525 in Ilmenau versus $3,443 in Groningen.

Ilmenau $2,525
Groningen $3,443

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,980 in Ilmenau versus $4,603 in Groningen.

Ilmenau $2,980
Groningen $4,603

Living in Ilmenau costs roughly 9% less than in Groningen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Ilmenau 53% above, Groningen 69% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.96 €9.75

$19.82 €17.63

-44.70%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$66.5 €59.2

$102 €91.0

-34.99%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.27 €10.02

$15.34 €13.65

-26.53%

Cappuccino

$3.41 €3.04

$4.60 €4.10

-25.87%

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

$4.26 €3.79

$3.94 €3.50

8.12%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.97 €7.09

$3.18 €2.83

150.63%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.41 €3.92

$5.69 €5.06

-22.50%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.99 €4.44

$5.47 €4.87

-8.78%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.13 €1.01

$1.49 €1.32

-24.16%

White Bread (500g)

$2.14 €1.90

$2.63 €2.34

-18.63%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.24 €2.88

$2.61 €2.32

24.14%

Eggs

$3.23 €2.87

$4.55 €4.05

-29.01%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$14.33 €12.75

$12.72 €11.31

12.66%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.24 €9.11

$13.16 €11.71

-22.19%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.76 €15.79

$18.17 €16.16

-2.26%

Apples (1kg)

$2.87 €2.55

$2.99 €2.66

-4.01%

Banana (1kg)

$1.40 €1.24

$2.39 €2.13

-41.42%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.50 €3.11

$2.50 €2.22

40.00%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.82 €3.40

$4.76 €4.23

-19.75%

Potato (1kg)

$2.11 €1.88

$2.04 €1.82

3.43%

Onion (1kg)

$1.36 €1.21

$1.57 €1.40

-13.38%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.63 €1.45

$1.30 €1.16

25.38%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.88 €0.78

$1.27 €1.13

-30.71%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$9.22 €8.20

$14.45 €12.86

-36.19%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.22 €5.53

$6.54 €5.82

-4.89%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.11 €0.99

$1.38 €1.22

-19.57%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.48 €1.32

$2.51 €2.23

-41.04%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.14 €3.68

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$65.3 €58.1

$67.5 €60.0

-3.25%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.23 €4.65

$6.78 €6.03

-22.86%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$4.21 €3.75

$2.73 €2.43

54.21%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$43.78 €38.94

$28.38 €25.24

54.26%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.14 €1.90

$2.52 €2.24

-15.08%

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

$32.3K €28.7K

$42.0K €37.3K

-23.11%

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

$37.8K €33.6K

$39.1K €34.7K

-3.30%

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

$675 €600

$230 €204

194.03%

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

$27.38 €24.36

$20.48 €18.21

33.69%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.08 €30.32

$48.87 €43.47

-30.26%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$48.13 €42.81

$39.10 €34.78

23.09%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.07 €13.40

Cinema Ticket

$13.20 €11.74

$16.69 €14.84

-20.91%

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

$454 €404

$1,756 €1,562

-74.13%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,621 €6,779

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$93.0 €82.8

$105 €93.3

-11.31%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.50 €28.02

$44.13 €39.25

-28.62%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 €107

$103 €91.8

16.97%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$113 €101

$196 €174

-42.20%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$471 €419

$1,342 €1,194

-64.92%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$455 €404

$931 €828

-51.17%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$828 €737

$1,965 €1,748

-57.85%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,473 €1,310

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,191 €4,618

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,906 €3,474

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,254 €2,894

$3,025 €2,691

7.56%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.95

3.43

15.16%

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

Last update for Ilmenau: October 11, 2026

Last update for Groningen: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ilmenau

$736 35.6%

Groningen

$299 13.1% 59.4% $437

Accommodation & Living

Ilmenau

$455 22%

Groningen

$931 40.8% 105% $476

Groceries & Markets

Ilmenau

$309 14.9%

Groningen

$346 15.2% 12% $37

Eating Out

Ilmenau

$243 11.8%

Groningen

$328 14.4% 34.6% $84

Clothing & Footwear

Ilmenau

$161 7.8%

Groningen

$202 8.8% 25% $40

Getting Around

Ilmenau

$92 * 4.4%

Groningen

$104 4.6% 14.1% $13

Sport & Entertainment

Ilmenau

$75 3.6%

Groningen

$72 3.2% 2.8% $2.1

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 $471 in Ilmenau and $1,342 in Groningen. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Ilmenau pays 8% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $67.0 in Ilmenau vs $102 in Groningen for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $309 vs $346 per month, with Ilmenau cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇩🇪 Ilmenau

🇳🇱 Groningen

🕒 Local time

18:19 6:19 PM

Same time as Ilmenau

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

39,000

201,242

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

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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

Ilmenau vs Groningen: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Ilmenau wins on cost – living expenses run 10% lower than in Groningen. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Ilmenau the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 8% higher in Ilmenau, 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: $471 in Ilmenau versus $1,342 in Groningen. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 12% higher in Groningen. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Ilmenau – a meal for two runs $67.0 versus $102 in Groningen. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $2,071 in Ilmenau versus $2,282 in Groningen, a $3,000 budget is realistic in Ilmenau but tight or insufficient in Groningen. The gap between the two cities makes Ilmenau the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Ilmenau delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $2,071 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Ilmenau hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Ilmenau and Groningen 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 Ilmenau gentler on the wallet – expenses run 10% less than in Groningen. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.