Cost of living comparison

United States

compared to

South Africa

Johannesburg vs. Atlanta Cost of Living Summary

Johannesburg is 51.3% cheaper than Atlanta.

Restaurants: pay 55.2% less in Johannesburg
Groceries: pay 46.1% less in Johannesburg
Transportation: pay 4.7% more in Johannesburg
Housing: pay 66.9% less in Johannesburg
Childcare: pay 82.2% less in Johannesburg
Entertainment and Sports: pay 48.3% less in Johannesburg
Clothing: pay 4.3% more in Johannesburg

The cost of transportation and clothing in Johannesburg are more expensive than in Atlanta. Expenses including childcare, housing, restaurants, entertainment and sports, and groceries are lower in Johannesburg.

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Johannesburg vs. Atlanta Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Johannesburg instead of Atlanta, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 55.2% less for restaurants

	Atlanta	Johannesburg
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$33.00	$12.02 ZAR198.53	-63.6%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$12.00	$7.21 ZAR119.12	-39.9%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.81	$1.20 ZAR19.78	-57.4%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$2.10	$0.89 ZAR14.72	-57.5%
Average			-55.2%

Atlanta vs. Johannesburg - Cost of restaurants

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pay 46.1% less for groceries

	Atlanta	Johannesburg
Bread 1 loaf	$3.48	$1.25 ZAR20.60	-64.2%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$6.91	$4.31 ZAR71.21	-37.6%
Milk (1 gallon)	$3.36	$5.00 ZAR82.66	+48.8%
Eggs 1 dozen	$4.84	$2.67 ZAR44.17	-44.8%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$6.65	$2.50 ZAR41.31	-62.4%
Apples (1 lb)	$2.69	$0.93 ZAR15.41	-65.3%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.67	$0.83 ZAR13.73	+23.5%
Oranges (1 lb)	$2.71	$0.83 ZAR13.65	-69.6%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.42	$0.94 ZAR15.52	-61.2%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.65	$0.76 ZAR12.59	-53.7%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.22	$0.84 ZAR13.83	-31.2%
Average			-46.1%

Atlanta vs. Johannesburg - Cost of groceries

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pay 4.7% more for transportation

	Atlanta	Johannesburg
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$3.86	$5.77 ZAR95.33	+49.7%
Monthly public transit pass	$97.00	$90.13 ZAR1,488.99	-7.1%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$36,812.00	$35,391.94 ZAR585K	-3.9%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$15.43	$8.05 ZAR133.02	-47.8%
Average			+4.7%

Atlanta vs. Johannesburg - Cost of transportation

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pay 66.9% less for housing

	Atlanta	Johannesburg
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$84.46	$35.90 ZAR593.03	-57.5%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$2,089.00	$498.84 ZAR8,240.91	-76.1%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,521.67	$425.42 ZAR7,028.03	-72.0%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$153.48	$174.98 ZAR2,890.63	+14.0%
Average			-66.9%

Atlanta vs. Johannesburg - Cost of housing

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pay 82.2% less for childcare

	Atlanta	Johannesburg
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,850.00	$242.74 ZAR4,010.09	-86.9%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$22,530.88	$5,468.16 ZAR90,334.24	-75.7%
Average			-82.2%

Atlanta vs. Johannesburg - Cost of childcare

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pay 48.3% less for entertainment and sports

	Atlanta	Johannesburg
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$7.50	$2.25 ZAR37.22	-70.0%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$5.55	$2.44 ZAR40.34	-56.0%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$8.47	$3.30 ZAR54.60	-61.0%
Monthly membership at local gym	$32.00	$36.60 ZAR604.68	+14.4%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$17.00	$7.81 ZAR129.05	-54.1%
Average			-48.3%

Atlanta vs. Johannesburg - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 4.3% more for clothing

	Atlanta	Johannesburg
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$53.27	$57.63 ZAR952.05	+8.2%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$44.80	$45.77 ZAR756.18	+2.2%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$98.12	$108.45 ZAR1,791.55	+10.5%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$109.27	$105.86 ZAR1,748.89	-3.1%
Average			+4.3%

Atlanta vs. Johannesburg - Cost of clothing

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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

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