Cost of living comparison

Ethiopia

compared to

United States

New York City vs. Addis Ababa Cost of Living Summary

New York City is 3.5 times more expensive than Addis Ababa.

Restaurants: pay 4.3 times more in New York City
Groceries: pay 3.2 times more in New York City
Transportation: pay 79.8% more in New York City
Housing: pay 4.6 times more in New York City
Childcare: pay 7.1 times more in New York City
Entertainment and Sports: pay 5.2 times more in New York City
Clothing: pay 44.0% more in New York City

The cost of childcare, entertainment and sports, housing, restaurants, groceries, and transportation in New York City are more expensive than in Addis Ababa. Notably, childcare, entertainment and sports, and housing are significantly more expensive in New York City.

Planning a move to United States? Get up to 5 free, no-obligation quotes from vetted international movers. Get free quotes →

New York City vs. Addis Ababa Cost Breakdown

If you lived in New York City instead of Addis Ababa, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 4.3 times more for restaurants

	Addis Ababa	New York City
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.00 ETB654.34	$26.50	+562.5%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$6.50 ETB1,063.31	$14.50	+123.1%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.61 ETB99.06	$3.95	+552.3%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.66 ETB107.50	$2.97	+351.4%
Average			+334.9%

Addis Ababa vs. New York City - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 3.2 times more for groceries

	Addis Ababa	New York City
Bread 1 loaf	$1.19 ETB194.58	$4.78	+301.8%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.70 ETB604.57	$9.47	+156.2%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.09 ETB669.40	$5.13	+25.3%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.77 ETB289.63	$6.03	+240.5%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$4.59 ETB750.34	$7.93	+72.9%
Apples (1 lb)	$2.44 ETB399.44	$3.11	+27.6%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.30 ETB48.73	$0.96	+223.5%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.99 ETB161.65	$2.83	+186.7%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.31 ETB50.42	$3.08	+899.2%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.22 ETB35.99	$1.83	+729.9%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.49 ETB79.77	$2.04	+318.5%
Average			+215.8%

Addis Ababa vs. New York City - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 79.8% more for transportation

	Addis Ababa	New York City
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$3.53 ETB577.22	$4.31	+22.0%
Monthly public transit pass	$21.11 ETB3,453.30	$140.00	+563.2%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$55,000.00 ETB9M	$35,458.00	-35.5%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$3.53 ETB576.64	$20.44	+479.9%
Average			+79.8%

Addis Ababa vs. New York City - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 4.6 times more for housing

	Addis Ababa	New York City
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$212.33 ETB34,734.76	$71.57	-66.3%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$706.95 ETB116K	$4,447.32	+529.1%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$394.55 ETB64,542.82	$3,217.65	+715.5%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$156.76 ETB25,644.51	$164.80	+5.1%
Average			+361.0%

Addis Ababa vs. New York City - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 7.1 times more for childcare

	Addis Ababa	New York City
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$136.41 ETB22,314.75	$3,379.10	+2377.2%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$30,187.50 ETB5M	$60,882.67	+101.7%
Average			+606.8%

Addis Ababa vs. New York City - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 5.2 times more for entertainment and sports

	Addis Ababa	New York City
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$0.80 ETB130.87	$8.50	+962.5%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$0.92 ETB150.32	$6.50	+607.4%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$8.00 ETB1,308.69	$19.00	+137.5%
Monthly membership at local gym	$44.15 ETB7,221.55	$121.41	+175.0%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$3.75 ETB613.45	$22.50	+500.0%
Average			+421.4%

Addis Ababa vs. New York City - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 44.0% more for clothing

	Addis Ababa	New York City
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$33.14 ETB5,421.12	$75.86	+128.9%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$70.86 ETB11,591.24	$54.45	-23.1%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$78.65 ETB12,865.68	$120.38	+53.1%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$82.70 ETB13,529.26	$132.00	+59.6%
Average			+44.0%

Addis Ababa vs. New York City - Cost of clothing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated October 2026). How we calculate this

Compare further: Addis Ababa vs. New York City

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in New York City?

More cost comparisons

Addis Ababa vs.

Berlin

Addis Ababa vs.

Paris

Addis Ababa vs.

Reykjavik

Addis Ababa vs.

Shanghai

Addis Ababa vs.

Toronto

Addis Ababa vs.

Athens

Addis Ababa vs.

Madrid

Addis Ababa vs.

Vienna

Share this

Compare countries by overall cost of living

See the cost of living in Ethiopia vs. United States. This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within Ethiopia and United States.

Help us improve these prices

MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate. Learn more

Add prices for Addis Ababa

Add prices for New York City

Ask the Elsewhere Community

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about New York City or Addis Ababa. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.