How to Budget for a Trip to Chicago

A trip to Chicago can be as cheap or as luxe as you want, within limits. You don't have much control over the price of your flight or your hotel room, but you do control what you eat and what you pay to see. The city also got a lot more expensive after we first wrote this page in 2010. A Chicago CityPASS cost $69 then and costs $144 now. Here's how to build a realistic daily budget in 2026, with the numbers that matter.

Prices below come from the official sources linked and were current in September 2026.

Getting here

Getting to Chicago is the biggest variable in your budget, and it depends on where you're coming from, when you travel and how far ahead you book. Airfare swings too much to give a useful average. Start watching fares a few months out and book when the price drops below what you've been seeing. Our pages on flights to Chicago and getting to Chicago cover the airlines, the trains and the buses.

If you live in the Midwest, you might be tempted to drive. Don't, unless you're staying outside the city or heading somewhere else afterward. Downtown garages and hotel valet are expensive, the city adds a parking tax, and you won't need a car once you're here. A train or bus is usually cheaper once you count parking.

Once you land, the L is the cheap way into town. The Blue Line from O'Hare costs $5, and the Orange Line from Midway costs the regular $2.50. A cab from O'Hare is far more. The airport quotes an average of about $50 to downtown, and that figure predates the July 2026 meter increase. Our airports page has the details.

Where you'll sleep

Hotel prices in Chicago follow the season and the convention calendar. There's no official average rate, but the federal government's per diem for Chicago, which is the most it pays for a federal employee's hotel room, is a fair guide to a decent downtown room. For October 2026 to September 2027, the GSA's rate is $148 a night from December through March, $238 from April through June, $213 in July and August, and $232 in September, October and November. Those rates don't include tax. You'll pay more on a convention week or during Lollapalooza, and less at an off-season deal.

Then add the tax, which is the part people forget. The combined hotel tax in Chicago is about 17.5%, and since May 2026, hotels with 100 or more rooms downtown and in a few other districts add another 1.5%, which takes most big downtown hotels to around 19%. A $238 room at a big downtown hotel comes to about $283 a night. Our accommodation guide explains the tax and which neighborhoods to consider.

To spend less, stay in the neighborhoods near an L line, or look at a hostel. HI Chicago, in the Loop, is the one most budget travelers should book. It has dorm beds and private rooms, a guest kitchen and free Wi-Fi. See our guide to hostels and other alternatives, and Chicago hotels for our picks. Short-term rentals pay extra tax, and a legal listing has to show a city registration number.

Getting around

This is the easy part to keep cheap. Do what locals do and get around mostly on foot, the L and the bus, with the odd cab or rideshare. The CTA charges $2.50 a ride on the L and $2.25 on the bus, and you can tap a contactless bank card or phone to pay. If you'll ride more than twice a day, get a pass:

• 1-Day pass: $5
• 3-Day pass: $15
• 7-Day pass: $20

A 3-Day pass covers the $5 O'Hare fare, and the O'Hare and Midway station vending machines sell it, so buy one when you land. For a day trip, Metra's All-Day Pass costs $10 for unlimited rides on every line. A Divvy bike day pass is $19.90 and covers unlimited three-hour rides on classic bikes, which is the way to do the Lakefront Trail. Cabs start at $3.25 plus about $2.79 a mile, with surcharges at rush hour and overnight. Our transportation page covers it all.

Eating and drinking

Food, along with sightseeing, is where you have the most control. You could spend thousands on one weekend of tasting menus. Chicago has 19 Michelin-starred restaurants, and the two-star Kasama's dinner menu alone costs $325 before drinks. The same federal per diem that sets the hotel yardstick allows $92 a day for meals and incidentals in Chicago, split as $23 for breakfast, $26 for lunch, $38 for dinner and $5 for tips and extras. That's a fair budget for sit-down meals at ordinary restaurants.

You can eat very well for much less. On Time Out Chicago's late-2025 cheap eats list, a Portillo's hot dog was $5.29, a Chinatown BBQ pork bun at Chiu Quon was $1.85, an Italian beef at Al's on Taylor Street was $11.25, and carnitas tacos in Pilsen were $4.50 each. Kasama's daytime breakfast sandwich was $10, which is the cheapest way into a Michelin kitchen. A day of breakfast at Kasama, a beef at Al's and three tacos for dinner comes to about $35 before drinks and tips. Our cheap eats list has more.

BYOB restaurants are the other big saver, since a bottle from the shop costs a fraction of the wine list. If you want a splurge, eat cheap for breakfast and lunch, grab a hot dog or a slice of deep dish, and save the money for one big dinner. See dining on a budget for more.

Sightseeing

The big attractions are expensive now. Adult tickets at the major museums run $25 to $55, and several use date-based pricing, so a summer Saturday costs more than a February Tuesday. Here's what you'll pay at the door:

• Art Institute of Chicago: $32 for out-of-state adults, and kids under 14 are free
• Field Museum: from $30
• Shedd Aquarium: roughly $45 to $55 for adults
• Griffin Museum of Science and Industry: $25.95 for adults
• Skydeck at Willis Tower: from $32
• 360 CHICAGO: from $30
• Chicago Architecture Center river cruise: from $57

If you want four or five of the big ones, a pass can save money. CityPASS costs $144 for five attractions over nine days, and for adults who want the big five, it usually comes out ahead. Our CityPASS vs. Go City comparison runs the numbers, and museums in Chicago has the details on each one. Illinois residents should check the free museum days first.

Plenty of the best things in Chicago are still free. You can walk the lakefront and the beaches, stroll through Grant Park past the Bean and Buckingham Fountain, or visit the Lincoln Park Zoo. For a cheap look at the river, take the water taxi from Michigan Avenue to Chinatown instead of a cruise. See free and cheap things to do in Chicago and our attractions page.

Two sample days

These use the figures above, per person, for two people sharing a room.

Mid-range, in May. Half of a $238 room at a big downtown hotel with 19% tax is about $142. Add a $5 CTA day pass, $92 for meals and one big attraction at $30 to $55. That's about $270 to $295 a day.

Low-cost, in February. Half of a $148 room with 17.5% tax is about $87. Add the $5 day pass, about $35 for the cheap-eats day above and free sightseeing (the zoo, the Cultural Center, the lakefront). That's about $127 a day, before drinks.

Either way, add your flight or train fare, a few drinks and a cushion for the things you'll want to do once you're here. For more ways to cut costs, read how to save money on your trip to Chicago.

Photos by yark64, Houstonian