Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Santiago and Merrillville, IN

For one person, living is cheaper in Santiago: $1,183 a month against $2,597 in Merrillville, IN, rent and utilities included – about $17,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

57

Cost of Living Index in Santiago
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Santiago Living Index
122

Cost of Living Index in Merrillville, IN
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Merrillville, IN Living Index

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Santiago

🇨🇱 Chile

$1,183

/mo nomad

Merrillville, IN

🇺🇸 United States

$2,597

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Santiago and in Merrillville, IN

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,183 in Santiago versus $2,597 in Merrillville, IN.

Santiago $1,183
Merrillville, IN $2,597

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,882 in Santiago versus $3,672 in Merrillville, IN.

Santiago $1,882
Merrillville, IN $3,672

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,581 in Santiago versus $4,748 in Merrillville, IN.

Santiago $2,581
Merrillville, IN $4,748

Living in Santiago costs roughly 54% less than in Merrillville, IN, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Santiago is 13% below, Merrillville, IN is 92% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.15 CLP 9,995

$14.93 $14.93

-32.02%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$51.9 CLP 51.1K

$55.9 $55.9

-7.17%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.56 CLP 8,423

$9.88 $9.88

-13.36%

Cappuccino

$3.15 CLP 3,101

$4.63 $4.63

-31.97%

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

$1.71 CLP 1,685

$2.19 $2.19

-21.92%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.28 CLP 1,255

$2.24 $2.24

-42.86%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.18 CLP 4,118

$4.54 $4.54

-7.93%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.46 CLP 4,390

$5.90 $5.90

-24.41%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.29 CLP 1,269

$0.74 $0.74

74.32%

White Bread (500g)

$1.76 CLP 1,737

$3.19 $3.19

-44.83%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.66 CLP 1,630

$4.54 $4.54

-63.44%

Eggs

$4.21 CLP 4,140

$4.63 $4.63

-9.07%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.08 CLP 10.9K

$11.10 $11.10

-0.18%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.75 CLP 6,641

$9.61 $9.61

-29.76%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.76 CLP 10.6K

$21.94 $21.94

-50.96%

Apples (1kg)

$1.96 CLP 1,927

$5.75 $5.75

-65.91%

Banana (1kg)

$1.54 CLP 1,518

$1.12 $1.12

37.50%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.58 CLP 1,560

$4.39 $4.39

-64.01%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.74 CLP 1,713

$5.49 $5.49

-68.31%

Potato (1kg)

$1.09 CLP 1,075

$3.68 $3.68

-70.38%

Onion (1kg)

$1.53 CLP 1,509

$4.40 $4.40

-65.23%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.18 CLP 1,163

$2.45 $2.45

-51.84%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.08 CLP 1,060

$1.27 $1.27

-14.96%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.18 CLP 5,101

$11.36 $11.36

-54.40%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.17 CLP 6,070

$12.22 $12.22

-49.51%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.53 CLP 1,511

$2.08 $2.08

-26.44%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.36 CLP 2,325

$3.43 $3.43

-31.20%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.84 CLP 824

$2.02 $2.02

-58.42%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$41.44 CLP 40.8K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.42 CLP 416

$4.95 $4.95

-91.52%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.88 CLP 869

$1.87 $1.87

-52.94%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$11.49 CLP 11.3K

$50.3 $50.3

-77.13%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.49 CLP 1,462

$0.93 $0.93

60.22%

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

$17.2K CLP 17.0M

$27.9K $27.9K

-38.12%

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

$25.6K CLP 25.2M

$27.0K $27.0K

-5.27%

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

$149 CLP 146.3K

$233 $233

-36.09%

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

$12.11 CLP 11.9K

$50.9 $50.9

-76.19%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$19.13 CLP 18.8K

$59.0 $59.0

-67.59%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$33.30 CLP 32.8K

$47.50 $47.50

-29.89%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.51 CLP 11.3K

Cinema Ticket

$7.32 CLP 7,208

$14.98 $14.98

-51.13%

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

$436 CLP 429.2K

$1,397 $1,397

-68.78%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.0K CLP 10.8M

$20.4K $20.4K

-46.34%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$49.17 CLP 48.4K

$53.3 $53.3

-7.77%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$29.11 CLP 28.7K

$40.39 $40.39

-27.93%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$65.5 CLP 64.5K

$106 $106

-38.46%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$80.1 CLP 78.9K

$95.7 $95.7

-16.27%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$554 CLP 545.8K

$1,510 $1,510

-63.28%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$383 CLP 376.6K

$1,374 $1,374

-72.16%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,002 CLP 986.5K

$2,410 $2,410

-58.42%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$775 CLP 762.5K

$2,148 $2,148

-63.94%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,708 CLP 2.7M

$2,523 $2,523

7.36%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,613 CLP 2.6M

$2,195 $2,195

19.04%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$778 CLP 766.3K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.39

6.53

-17.46%

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

Last update for Santiago: October 17, 2026

Last update for Merrillville, IN: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Santiago

$383 32.3%

Merrillville, IN

$1.4K 52.9% 259% $992

Groceries & Markets

Santiago

$236 20%

Merrillville, IN

$390 15% 65.3% $154

Eating Out

Santiago

$186 15.8%

Merrillville, IN

$257 9.9% 37.7% $70

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Santiago

$180 15.2%

Merrillville, IN

$342 13.2% 90.4% $163

Clothing & Footwear

Santiago

$101 8.5%

Merrillville, IN

$133 5.1% 32.1% $32

Getting Around

Santiago

$50 4.2%

Merrillville, IN

$22 * 0.9% 54.8% $27

Sport & Entertainment

Santiago

$48 4.1%

Merrillville, IN

$77 3% 61.6% $30

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 $554 in Santiago and $1,510 in Merrillville, IN. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $52.0 in Santiago vs $56.0 in Merrillville, IN for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $236 vs $390 per month, with Santiago cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇱 Santiago

🇺🇸 Merrillville, IN

🕒 Local time

18:36 6:36 PM

16:36 4:36 PM

2 h behind Santiago

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

6,139,087 Capital

36,444

💱 Currency

Chilean Peso CLP $

United States Dollar USD $

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 CLP = 10.16 USD

10,000 CLP = 9.04 EUR

1 USD = 0.89 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

USD, EUR to CLP – Chilean Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇱 Chilean Peso ($)

Chilean Peso exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 984 CLP (1,000 CLP = 1.02 USD). 1 EUR = 1,107 CLP (10,000 CLP = 9.04 EUR).

United States Dollar exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.89 EUR).

USD to CLP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Santiago Merrillville, IN 8,500 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Santiago
Merrillville, IN

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

Santiago vs Merrillville, IN: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Santiago and Merrillville, IN differ by about 119% in total monthly costs ($1,183 vs $2,597 including rent). Santiago is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $1,775 in Santiago and $3,895 in Merrillville, IN to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $554 in Santiago versus $1,510 in Merrillville, IN. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 65% higher in Merrillville, IN. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $1,183 per month in Santiago versus $2,597 in Merrillville, IN – a 119% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,183 in Santiago versus $2,597 in Merrillville, IN, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Santiago but tight or insufficient in Merrillville, IN. The gap between the two cities makes Santiago 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 Santiago gentler on the wallet – expenses run 119% less than in Merrillville, IN. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.