How Much Does Chicago Cost?
A week for two runs about $2,434 door to door from New York. Day to day, a hotel night usually costs $152, and daily spend is $33–$110 a person.
Fare, hotel night and daily spend for Chicago, USA, line by line, from where you fly — from backpacker to luxury.
What a trip to Chicago costs
The fare from where you fly, the usual hotel night and daily spend. Change the travellers, nights or travel style.
- Fare · New York to Chicago × 2Economy round trip, usually about $300 eachPricier than every one of the 18 days we checked fares on this route, by our own fare checks since Jun 2026. How we know$600
- Hotel night · $152 × 7 nightsWhat a night here usually costs, from hotel prices we check every week. 2 travellers share a room.$1,064
- Daily spend · $55 × 2 travellers × 7 daysRestaurants, transport and paid sights, per person per day. The hotel isn't in it.$770
7 nights, 2 travellers, mid-range, flying from New York. Usual prices we track ourselves, not a price you can book.
How we know
- Fare: the middle price of the economy round trips we found from New York on our latest check (half were cheaper, half dearer), for departures in the coming weeks.
- Hotel night: the middle nightly price of the Chicago hotels we check three times a week (see our hotel price index).
- Daily spend: food, local transport and sights per person, from our city guide, by travel style. The hotel isn't in it.
- Total: fare × travellers + hotel night × nights × rooms + daily spend × travellers × days. Prices move, so treat it as a guide, not a quote.
Daily spend by travel style
Per person per day: food, getting around and something worth doing. The hotel isn't in it; a hotel night usually costs $152.
- Budget, per day
- $33A week for two with the hotel: $1,526, before flights
- Mid-range, per day
- $55A week for two with the hotel: $1,834, before flights
- Luxury, per day
- $110A week for two with the hotel: $2,604, before flights
Where a day's spend goes
Pick a travel style to see how a day's spend splits in Chicago. The hotel is separate.
- FoodCasual restaurants$23
- TransportMetro + occasional taxi$14
- Sights & activitiesPaid attractions, tours$18
- Daily spend, per person$55
Chicago on our hotel price index
Where the usual night sits against every city we track.
Across the 242 destinations we track, Chicago is the 59th priciest for hotels — one of the priciest on our index — with a typical night of $152.
Pricier than Philadelphia ($151).
See the full hotel price indexWondering whether to book now? The price check, our 4-week forecast and the cheapest dates to fly are in the Chicago guide.
Money-saving tips for Chicago
- Get a Chicago Card or use Ventra — CTA trains and buses cover nearly everything including O'Hare
- Deep-dish is a tourist ritual but locals eat thin-crust tavern-style: try Vito & Nick's or Pat's
- The Chicago Riverwalk is free and stunning — join an architecture boat tour departing from it
- Museum Campus groups the Field Museum, Shedd Aquarium, and Adler Planetarium — buy a CityPASS to save 40%
- Visit during shoulder season (May to June, September to October) for the best balance of weather and prices
Get a Custom Chicago Trip Cost
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