Cost of living comparison
compared to
Mongolia vs. California Cost of Living Summary
Mongolia is 61.8% cheaper than California.
Mongolia vs. California Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Mongolia instead of California, you would:
pay 69.1% less for restaurants
|
California
|
Mongolia
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$22.31
|
$5.56
MNT20,000.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$12.78
|
$5.56
MNT20,000.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.96
|
$0.86
MNT3,083.33
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.26
|
$0.59
MNT2,125.00
|
|
California vs. Mongolia - Cost of restaurants
pay 48.4% less for groceries
|
California
|
Mongolia
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$4.33
|
$1.00
MNT3,588.33
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$7.51
|
$6.18
MNT22,248.75
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.92
|
$5.49
MNT19,758.34
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$5.18
|
$2.10
MNT7,573.96
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$6.10
|
$2.22
MNT7,975.68
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.32
|
$1.39
MNT5,003.76
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.94
|
$1.09
MNT3,926.41
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.02
|
$1.69
MNT6,091.75
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.60
|
$1.37
MNT4,944.16
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.61
|
$0.33
MNT1,188.41
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.39
|
$0.48
MNT1,730.24
|
|
California vs. Mongolia - Cost of groceries
pay 48.0% less for transportation
|
California
|
Mongolia
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$5.53
|
$4.32
MNT15,549.41
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$64.45
|
$16.67
MNT60,000.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$35,604.61
|
$26,896.36
MNT97M
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$20.97
|
$4.86
MNT17,500.00
|
|
California vs. Mongolia - Cost of transportation
pay 76.5% less for housing
|
California
|
Mongolia
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$69.16
|
$13.63
MNT49,062.50
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$2,414.89
|
$569.30
MNT2M
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$2,061.17
|
$444.50
MNT2M
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$172.98
|
$54.38
MNT196K
|
|
California vs. Mongolia - Cost of housing
pay 63.6% less for childcare
|
California
|
Mongolia
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,659.26
|
$817.79
MNT3M
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$30,706.19
|
$8,262.71
MNT30M
|
|
California vs. Mongolia - Cost of childcare
pay 59.1% less for entertainment and sports
|
California
|
Mongolia
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$7.15
|
$2.36
MNT8,500.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.63
|
$2.42
MNT8,692.31
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$11.42
|
$1.68
MNT6,044.89
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$65.06
|
$67.73
MNT244K
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$15.07
|
$4.17
MNT15,000.00
|
|
California vs. Mongolia - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 23.4% more for clothing
|
California
|
Mongolia
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$58.89
|
$81.73
MNT294K
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$43.96
|
$45.38
MNT163K
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$91.63
|
$102.93
MNT370K
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$130.37
|
$187.55
MNT675K
|
|
California vs. Mongolia - 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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Compare further: California vs. Mongolia
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Moving from California to Mongolia · Cost, visas & climate
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cost of living in United States vs. Mongolia.
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