Cost of living comparison

compared to

San Salvador vs. Asmara Cost of Living Summary

San Salvador is 2.0 times more expensive than Asmara.

Restaurants: pay 10.7% less in San Salvador
Groceries: pay 37.0% more in San Salvador
Transportation: pay 9.8% less in San Salvador
Housing: pay 97.9% more in San Salvador
Childcare: pay 5.2 times more in San Salvador
Entertainment and Sports: pay 3.1 times more in San Salvador
Clothing: pay 20.6% less in San Salvador

The cost of childcare, entertainment and sports, housing, and groceries in San Salvador are more expensive than in Asmara. Expenses including clothing, restaurants, and transportation are lower in San Salvador. Notably, childcare, entertainment and sports, and housing are significantly more expensive in San Salvador.

San Salvador vs. Asmara Cost Breakdown

If you lived in San Salvador instead of Asmara, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 10.7% less for restaurants

	Asmara	San Salvador
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$12.00 ERN180.00	$7.00 SVC61.08	-41.7%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.99 ERN89.85	$7.00 SVC61.08	+16.9%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.25 ERN18.75	$1.14 SVC9.90	-9.2%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.00 ERN15.00	$0.91 SVC7.95	-8.8%
Average			-10.7%

Asmara vs. San Salvador - Cost of restaurants

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pay 37.0% more for groceries

	Asmara	San Salvador
Bread 1 loaf	??	$1.95 SVC17.01
Local cheese (8 oz)	$1.50 ERN22.50	$3.77 SVC32.86	+151.0%
Milk (1 gallon)	$5.30 ERN79.49	$6.84 SVC59.68	+29.1%
Eggs 1 dozen	$4.38 ERN65.70	$3.01 SVC26.26	-31.3%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$12.17 ERN182.57	$2.99 SVC26.05	-75.5%
Apples (1 lb)	$5.54 ERN83.16	$1.77 SVC15.46	-68.0%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.58 ERN8.69	$0.76 SVC6.60	+30.5%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.91 ERN13.61	$1.17 SVC10.17	+28.4%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.50 ERN7.56	$1.22 SVC10.61	+141.2%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.70 ERN10.43	$0.97 SVC8.44	+39.1%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.43 ERN6.50	$0.98 SVC8.51	+125.0%
Average			+37.0%

Asmara vs. San Salvador - Cost of groceries

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pay 9.8% less for transportation

	Asmara	San Salvador
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$8.52 ERN127.76	$3.82 SVC33.34	-55.1%
Monthly public transit pass	$8.00 ERN120.00	$15.00 SVC130.88	+87.5%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$66,666.00 ERN999,990.00	$25,500.00 SVC222,494.28	-61.7%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	??	$29.93 SVC261.12
Average			-9.8%

Asmara vs. San Salvador - Cost of transportation

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pay 97.9% more for housing

	Asmara	San Salvador
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$200.00 ERN3,000.00	$43.33 SVC378.09	-78.3%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$475.00 ERN7,125.00	$900.00 SVC7,852.74	+89.5%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$400.00 ERN6,000.00	$758.33 SVC6,616.66	+89.6%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$21.03 ERN315.44	$82.16 SVC716.84	+290.7%
Average			+97.9%

Asmara vs. San Salvador - Cost of housing

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pay 5.2 times more for childcare

	Asmara	San Salvador
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$25.00 ERN375.00	$162.67 SVC1,419.31	+550.7%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$1,675.00 ERN25,125.00	$6,420.00 SVC56,016.21	+283.3%
Average			+417.0%

Asmara vs. San Salvador - Cost of childcare

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pay 3.1 times more for entertainment and sports

	Asmara	San Salvador
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$0.80 ERN12.00	$2.00 SVC17.45	+150.0%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$0.82 ERN12.38	$3.25 SVC28.35	+293.8%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	??	$4.00 SVC34.90
Monthly membership at local gym	$27.00 ERN405.00	$30.80 SVC268.74	+14.1%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$1.10 ERN16.50	$5.25 SVC45.81	+377.3%
Average			+208.8%

Asmara vs. San Salvador - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 20.6% less for clothing

	Asmara	San Salvador
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$82.50 ERN1,237.50	$62.60 SVC546.20	-24.1%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$75.00 ERN1,125.00	$45.83 SVC399.91	-38.9%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$200.00 ERN3,000.00	$131.80 SVC1,149.99	-34.1%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$95.00 ERN1,425.00	$109.17 SVC952.51	+14.9%
Average			-20.6%

Asmara vs. San Salvador - Cost of clothing

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The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you. We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: December 2025

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