Cost of living comparison
compared to
United States vs. Cape Town Cost of Living Summary
United States is 2.3 times more expensive than Cape Town.
- Restaurants
-
pay 2.0 times more in United States
- Groceries
-
pay 2.1 times more in United States
- Transportation
-
pay 55.9% more in United States
- Housing
-
pay 93.8% more in United States
- Childcare
-
pay 5.3 times more in United States
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 2.2 times more in United States
- Clothing
-
pay 4.4% more in United States
The cost of childcare, entertainment and sports, groceries, restaurants, housing, and transportation in United States are more expensive than in Cape Town. Notably, childcare, entertainment and sports, and groceries are significantly more expensive in United States.
United States vs. Cape Town Cost Breakdown
If you lived in United States instead of Cape Town, you would:
pay 2.0 times more for restaurants
|
Cape Town
|
United States
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$11.47
ZAR194.18
|
$19.45
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$5.16
ZAR87.38
|
$11.12
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$1.20
ZAR20.35
|
$2.56
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$0.92
ZAR15.53
|
$2.00
|
|
Cape Town vs. United States - Cost of restaurants
pay 2.1 times more for groceries
|
Cape Town
|
United States
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.14
ZAR19.21
|
$3.56
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$4.37
ZAR73.94
|
$6.50
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.50
ZAR76.09
|
$3.97
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$2.49
ZAR42.19
|
$4.27
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$2.43
ZAR41.18
|
$5.41
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$0.78
ZAR13.27
|
$2.37
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.76
ZAR12.83
|
$0.78
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$0.74
ZAR12.54
|
$2.04
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$0.78
ZAR13.19
|
$2.21
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.60
ZAR10.08
|
$1.34
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.62
ZAR10.51
|
$1.38
|
|
Cape Town vs. United States - Cost of groceries
pay 55.9% more for transportation
|
Cape Town
|
United States
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.73
ZAR80.12
|
$3.41
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$28.68
ZAR485.44
|
$65.85
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$21,796.50
ZAR368,934.03
|
$32,336.38
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$10.15
ZAR171.85
|
$17.61
|
|
Cape Town vs. United States - Cost of transportation
pay 93.8% more for housing
|
Cape Town
|
United States
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$42.97
ZAR727.40
|
$68.97
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$838.02
ZAR14,184.54
|
$1,664.59
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$559.94
ZAR9,477.63
|
$1,416.15
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$91.96
ZAR1,556.46
|
$150.19
|
|
Cape Town vs. United States - Cost of housing
pay 5.3 times more for childcare
|
Cape Town
|
United States
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$228.00
ZAR3,859.24
|
$1,387.27
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$5,090.62
ZAR86,165.43
|
$23,196.46
|
|
Cape Town vs. United States - Cost of childcare
pay 2.2 times more for entertainment and sports
|
Cape Town
|
United States
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$2.87
ZAR48.54
|
$5.84
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$2.12
ZAR35.82
|
$5.15
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$3.15
ZAR53.40
|
$9.90
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$44.05
ZAR745.55
|
$51.45
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$6.88
ZAR116.51
|
$13.64
|
|
Cape Town vs. United States - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 4.4% more for clothing
|
Cape Town
|
United States
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$55.23
ZAR934.82
|
$51.08
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$33.91
ZAR573.94
|
$41.81
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$117.06
ZAR1,981.48
|
$87.56
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$88.13
ZAR1,491.79
|
$112.04
|
|
Cape Town vs. United States - Cost of clothing
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: December 2025
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