Cost of living comparison
compared to
Turkmenistan vs. California Cost of Living Summary
Turkmenistan is 23.3% cheaper than California.
- Restaurants
-
pay 0.4% less in Turkmenistan
- Groceries
-
pay 22.5% more in Turkmenistan
- Transportation
-
pay 59.7% less in Turkmenistan
- Housing
-
pay 29.1% less in Turkmenistan
- Childcare
-
pay 89.5% less in Turkmenistan
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 23.0% more in Turkmenistan
- Clothing
-
pay 95.0% more in Turkmenistan
Turkmenistan vs. California Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Turkmenistan instead of California, you would:
pay 0.4% less for restaurants
|
California
|
Turkmenistan
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$22.31
|
$31.43
TMT110.31
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$12.78
|
$12.86
TMT45.13
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.96
|
$1.57
TMT5.52
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.26
|
$0.86
TMT3.01
|
|
California vs. Turkmenistan - Cost of restaurants
pay 22.5% more for groceries
|
California
|
Turkmenistan
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$4.33
|
$2.04
TMT7.15
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$7.51
|
$18.82
TMT66.06
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.92
|
$17.09
TMT59.98
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$5.18
|
$6.00
TMT21.06
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$6.10
|
$9.07
TMT31.84
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.32
|
$2.30
TMT8.07
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.94
|
$3.84
TMT13.49
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.02
|
$3.40
TMT11.94
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.60
|
$1.67
TMT5.87
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.61
|
$1.04
TMT3.64
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.39
|
$0.65
TMT2.27
|
|
California vs. Turkmenistan - Cost of groceries
pay 59.7% less for transportation
|
California
|
Turkmenistan
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$5.53
|
$1.62
TMT5.69
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$64.45
|
$10.00
TMT35.10
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$35,604.61
|
$43,928.57
TMT154K
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$20.97
|
$9.71
TMT34.10
|
|
California vs. Turkmenistan - Cost of transportation
pay 29.1% less for housing
|
California
|
Turkmenistan
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$69.16
|
$102.86
TMT361.03
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$2,414.89
|
$1,414.29
TMT4,964.14
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$2,061.17
|
$1,000.00
TMT3,510.00
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$172.98
|
$436.97
TMT1,533.78
|
|
California vs. Turkmenistan - Cost of housing
pay 89.5% less for childcare
|
California
|
Turkmenistan
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,659.26
|
$22.86
TMT80.23
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$30,706.19
|
$24,807.14
TMT87,073.07
|
|
California vs. Turkmenistan - Cost of childcare
pay 23.0% more for entertainment and sports
|
California
|
Turkmenistan
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$7.15
|
$5.71
TMT20.06
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.63
|
$6.79
TMT23.82
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$11.42
|
$25.71
TMT90.26
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$65.06
|
$195.24
TMT685.29
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$15.07
|
$8.57
TMT30.09
|
|
California vs. Turkmenistan - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 95.0% more for clothing
|
California
|
Turkmenistan
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$58.89
|
$55.71
TMT195.56
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$43.96
|
$114.29
TMT401.14
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$91.63
|
$364.29
TMT1,278.64
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$130.37
|
$192.86
TMT676.93
|
|
California vs. Turkmenistan - 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. Turkmenistan
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Size Comparison · See true size
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Moving from California to Turkmenistan · Cost, visas & climate
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