Cost of living comparison

Romania

compared to

United States

Riverside vs. Bucharest Cost of Living Summary

Riverside is 83.1% more expensive than Bucharest.

Restaurants: pay 27.8% more in Riverside
Groceries: pay 87.9% more in Riverside
Transportation: pay 89.8% more in Riverside
Housing: pay 3.5 times more in Riverside
Childcare: pay 89.3% more in Riverside
Entertainment and Sports: pay 58.7% more in Riverside
Clothing: pay 20.8% less in Riverside

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

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Riverside vs. Bucharest Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Riverside instead of Bucharest, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 27.8% more for restaurants

	Bucharest	Riverside
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$13.80 RON65.43	$21.00	+52.2%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$8.05 RON38.17	$12.00	+49.1%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.27 RON10.79	$2.65	+16.5%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$2.15 RON10.18	$2.00	-6.8%
Average			+27.8%

Bucharest vs. Riverside - Cost of restaurants

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pay 87.9% more for groceries

	Bucharest	Riverside
Bread 1 loaf	$1.44 RON6.84	$4.17	+188.9%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.98 RON23.63	$5.32	+6.8%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.67 RON31.62	$4.15	-37.7%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.62 RON17.16	$5.84	+61.5%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.38 RON16.04	$4.74	+40.2%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.64 RON3.05	$1.57	+143.6%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.79 RON3.73	$0.78	-0.8%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.80 RON3.80	$1.84	+130.1%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.18 RON5.62	$2.26	+90.9%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.46 RON2.20	$1.42	+204.5%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.47 RON2.23	$1.12	+139.1%
Average			+87.9%

Bucharest vs. Riverside - Cost of groceries

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pay 89.8% more for transportation

	Bucharest	Riverside
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$6.36 RON30.14	$4.74	-25.5%
Monthly public transit pass	$23.00 RON109.05	$60.00	+160.9%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$28,745.54 RON136K	$31,965.00	+11.2%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$6.21 RON29.44	$19.40	+212.5%
Average			+89.8%

Bucharest vs. Riverside - Cost of transportation

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pay 3.5 times more for housing

	Bucharest	Riverside
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$11.39 RON54.00	$62.33	+447.3%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$647.24 RON3,069.20	$2,068.50	+219.6%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$432.85 RON2,052.57	$1,649.17	+281.0%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$139.60 RON661.97	$205.84	+47.5%
Average			+248.8%

Bucharest vs. Riverside - Cost of housing

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pay 89.3% more for childcare

	Bucharest	Riverside
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$664.86 RON3,152.75	$1,206.00	+81.4%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$14,582.52 RON69,149.57	$28,750.00	+97.2%
Average			+89.3%

Bucharest vs. Riverside - Cost of childcare

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pay 58.7% more for entertainment and sports

	Bucharest	Riverside
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.45 RON16.36	$7.00	+102.9%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.28 RON15.56	$5.90	+79.7%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$6.67 RON31.62	$11.00	+64.9%
Monthly membership at local gym	$52.49 RON248.92	$35.00	-33.3%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$9.20 RON43.62	$16.50	+79.4%
Average			+58.7%

Bucharest vs. Riverside - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 20.8% less for clothing

	Bucharest	Riverside
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$80.54 RON381.92	$54.27	-32.6%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$45.47 RON215.63	$34.67	-23.8%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$93.98 RON445.63	$90.25	-4.0%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$109.75 RON520.43	$85.00	-22.6%
Average			-20.8%

Bucharest vs. Riverside - 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: October 2026

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