Quality of life comparison

compared to

If you lived in California instead of Turkey, you would:

Economy

be 40.1% less likely to be unemployed

In Turkey, 8.5% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In California, that number is 5.1% as of 2025.

View global rankings →

be 10.0% less likely to live below the poverty line

In Turkey, 13.0% live below the poverty line as of 2024. In California, however, that number is 11.7% as of 2023.

View global rankings →

make 4.5 times more money

Turkey has a GDP per capita of $18,599 as of 2025, while in California, the GDP per capita is $84,028 as of 2024.

View global rankings →

Sources: World Bank (2024–2025), Bureau of Labor Statistics (2025), US Census Bureau (American Community Survey) (2023), Bureau of Economic Analysis (2024). How we calculate this

Compare further: Turkey vs. California

Cost of Living Comparison · 7 categories - 2026 data
California is 2.8 times more expensive than Turkey overall
→
Size Comparison · See true size
Turkey is about 1.9 times bigger than California.
→
Moving from Turkey to California · Cost, visas & climate
Compare cost of living, salary and climate.
→
City Size Comparison · See true size
Compare the size of Istanbul vs Los Angeles
→
Share this

Ask the Elsewhere Community

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about United States or Turkey. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.