Cost of living comparison
compared to
New York City vs. Bucharest Cost of Living Summary
New York City is 2.9 times more expensive than Bucharest.
- Restaurants
-
pay 79.1% more in New York City
- Groceries
-
pay 2.7 times more in New York City
- Transportation
-
pay 61.1% more in New York City
- Housing
-
pay 5.2 times more in New York City
- Childcare
-
pay 4.8 times more in New York City
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 2.4 times more in New York City
- Clothing
-
pay 28.1% more in New York City
New York City vs. Bucharest Cost Breakdown
If you lived in New York City instead of Bucharest, you would:
pay 79.1% more for restaurants
|
Bucharest
|
New York City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$14.64
RON69.97
|
$26.50
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$7.32
RON34.99
|
$14.50
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.42
RON11.56
|
$3.95
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.25
RON10.76
|
$2.97
|
|
Bucharest vs. New York City - Cost of restaurants
pay 2.7 times more for groceries
|
Bucharest
|
New York City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.32
RON6.31
|
$4.78
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$4.36
RON20.84
|
$9.47
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$6.22
RON29.71
|
$5.13
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$3.67
RON17.53
|
$6.03
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$3.05
RON14.60
|
$7.93
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$0.57
RON2.73
|
$3.11
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.72
RON3.46
|
$0.96
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$0.69
RON3.29
|
$2.83
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.15
RON5.47
|
$3.08
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.36
RON1.74
|
$1.83
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.34
RON1.64
|
$2.04
|
|
Bucharest vs. New York City - Cost of groceries
pay 61.1% more for transportation
|
Bucharest
|
New York City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$7.45
RON35.62
|
$4.31
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$20.91
RON99.96
|
$140.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$28,531.98
RON136K
|
$35,458.00
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$5.65
RON26.99
|
$20.44
|
|
Bucharest vs. New York City - Cost of transportation
pay 5.2 times more for housing
|
Bucharest
|
New York City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$9.27
RON44.29
|
$71.57
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$677.15
RON3,236.66
|
$4,447.32
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$451.32
RON2,157.22
|
$3,217.65
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$147.83
RON706.60
|
$164.80
|
|
Bucharest vs. New York City - Cost of housing
pay 4.8 times more for childcare
|
Bucharest
|
New York City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$627.11
RON2,997.45
|
$3,379.10
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$14,371.87
RON68,694.63
|
$60,882.67
|
|
Bucharest vs. New York City - Cost of childcare
pay 2.4 times more for entertainment and sports
|
Bucharest
|
New York City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$3.76
RON17.99
|
$8.50
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$3.51
RON16.76
|
$6.50
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$6.43
RON30.74
|
$19.00
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$49.22
RON235.25
|
$121.41
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$8.37
RON39.98
|
$22.50
|
|
Bucharest vs. New York City - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 28.1% more for clothing
|
Bucharest
|
New York City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$88.76
RON424.27
|
$75.86
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$38.43
RON183.70
|
$54.45
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$77.83
RON372.03
|
$120.38
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$91.69
RON438.26
|
$132.00
|
|
Bucharest vs. New York City - Cost of clothing
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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