Cost of living comparison

compared to

Republic of the Congo vs. California Cost of Living Summary

Republic of the Congo is 28.4% cheaper than California.

Restaurants: pay 29.3% less in Republic of the Congo
Groceries: pay 20.9% less in Republic of the Congo
Transportation: pay 19.1% less in Republic of the Congo
Housing: pay 8.7% more in Republic of the Congo
Childcare: pay 85.4% less in Republic of the Congo
Entertainment and Sports: pay 40.0% less in Republic of the Congo
Clothing: pay 12.8% less in Republic of the Congo

Expenses including childcare, entertainment and sports, restaurants, groceries, transportation, and clothing are lower in Republic of the Congo.

Republic of the Congo vs. California Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Republic of the Congo instead of California, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 29.3% less for restaurants

	California	Republic of the Congo
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$21.02	$13.96 FCFA8,139	-33.6%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$11.52	$8.94 FCFA5,210	-22.4%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.71	$1.88 FCFA1,098	-30.6%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$2.16	$1.50 FCFA873	-30.5%
Average			-29.3%

California vs. Republic of the Congo - Cost of restaurants

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pay 20.9% less for groceries

	California	Republic of the Congo
Bread 1 loaf	$4.14	$2.56 FCFA1,494	-38.1%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$6.95	$4.20 FCFA2,450	-39.5%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.61	$7.87 FCFA4,589	+70.8%
Eggs 1 dozen	$4.33	$3.39 FCFA1,978	-21.7%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$5.70	$2.20 FCFA1,281	-61.5%
Apples (1 lb)	$2.34	$1.18 FCFA688	-49.6%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.92	$0.91 FCFA531	-1.5%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.91	$1.98 FCFA1,152	+3.6%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.38	$1.21 FCFA705	-49.2%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.39	$1.16 FCFA679	-16.4%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.44	$1.05 FCFA613	-27.0%
Average			-20.9%

California vs. Republic of the Congo - Cost of groceries

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pay 19.1% less for transportation

	California	Republic of the Congo
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.83	$5.18 FCFA3,022	+7.4%
Monthly public transit pass	$62.05	$22.59 FCFA13,171	-63.6%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$30,005.28	$32,895.05 FCFA19,179,364	+9.6%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$20.07	$14.09 FCFA8,218	-29.8%
Average			-19.1%

California vs. Republic of the Congo - Cost of transportation

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pay 8.7% more for housing

	California	Republic of the Congo
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$68.54	$75.50 FCFA44,019	+10.2%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$2,371.29	$971.39 FCFA566,363	-59.0%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$2,055.18	$357.68 FCFA208,542	-82.6%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$171.68	$456.95 FCFA266,425	+166.2%
Average			+8.7%

California vs. Republic of the Congo - Cost of housing

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pay 85.4% less for childcare

	California	Republic of the Congo
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,682.51	$214.14 FCFA124,856	-87.3%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$30,905.75	$5,100.00 FCFA2,973,541	-83.5%
Average			-85.4%

California vs. Republic of the Congo - Cost of childcare

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pay 40.0% less for entertainment and sports

	California	Republic of the Congo
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$7.00	$2.76 FCFA1,612	-60.5%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$5.34	$4.13 FCFA2,410	-22.7%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$10.91	$3.75 FCFA2,186	-65.6%
Monthly membership at local gym	$66.35	$61.25 FCFA35,711	-7.7%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$14.41	$8.17 FCFA4,764	-43.3%
Average			-40.0%

California vs. Republic of the Congo - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 12.8% less for clothing

	California	Republic of the Congo
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$52.77	$35.83 FCFA20,893	-32.1%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$40.15	$37.92 FCFA22,107	-5.6%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$85.15	$92.22 FCFA53,770	+8.3%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$117.31	$91.67 FCFA53,446	-21.9%
Average			-12.8%

California vs. Republic of the Congo - 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: May 2025

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