Cost of living comparison

compared to

United States vs. Brunei Cost of Living Summary

United States is 2.1 times more expensive than Brunei overall.

Restaurants
pay 2.6 times more in United States
Groceries
pay 26.9% more in United States
Transportation
pay 4.0 times more in United States
Housing
pay 2.4 times more in United States
Childcare
pay 4.1 times more in United States
Entertainment and Sports
pay 50.1% more in United States
Clothing
pay 24.1% less in United States

The cost of childcare, transportation, restaurants, housing, entertainment and sports, and groceries in United States are more expensive than in Brunei. Notably, childcare, transportation, and restaurants are significantly more expensive in United States.

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United States vs. Brunei Cost Breakdown

If you lived in United States instead of Brunei, you would:

pay 2.6 times more for restaurants

 
Brunei
United States
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $5.86
BND7.51
$19.86
 
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
 $6.92
BND8.86
$11.42
 
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $0.92
BND1.18
$2.67
 
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pay 26.9% more for groceries

 
Brunei
United States
Bread
1 loaf
 $2.10
BND2.68
$3.63
 
Local cheese (8 oz) $7.08
BND9.06
$6.52
 
Milk (1 gallon) $7.05
BND9.03
$3.98
 
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pay 4.0 times more for transportation

 
Brunei
United States
Gasoline (1 gallon) $1.47
BND1.89
$4.01
 
Monthly public transit pass $0.78
BND1.00
$66.70
 
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $37,115.17
BND47,549.96
$34,164.82
 
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pay 2.4 times more for housing

 
Brunei
United States
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
 $65.11
BND83.42
$70.22
 
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $731.42
BND937.05
$1,681.01
 
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $627.34
BND803.71
$1,404.28
 
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pay 4.1 times more for childcare

 
Brunei
United States
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $216.82
BND277.78
$1,450.99
 
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $9,524.22
BND12,201.92
$24,361.50
 
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pay 50.1% more for entertainment and sports

 
Brunei
United States
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $1.95
BND2.50
$6.00
 
Cappuccino in mid-range area $4.22
BND5.40
$5.31
 
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
 $11.72
BND15.01
$10.42
 
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pay 24.1% less for clothing

 
Brunei
United States
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
 $76.18
BND97.60
$53.15
 
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
 $97.53
BND124.95
$41.88
 
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
 $128.15
BND164.18
$89.76
 
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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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Compare further: Brunei vs. United States

Salary Calculator · Free tool
What salary would you need in United States?
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Quality of Life Comparison · 19 statistics
Make 2.8 times more money in United States
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Size Comparison · See true size
Brunei is about 1,706 times smaller than United States.
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Moving from Brunei to United States · OECD 2023
10 people moved from Brunei to United States.
→
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