Cost of living comparison

compared to

South Africa vs. Connecticut Cost of Living Summary

South Africa is 49.8% cheaper than Connecticut.

Restaurants: pay 60.4% less in South Africa
Groceries: pay 55.8% less in South Africa
Transportation: pay 9.0% less in South Africa
Housing: pay 61.3% less in South Africa
Childcare: pay 86.6% less in South Africa
Entertainment and Sports: pay 63.1% less in South Africa
Clothing: pay 12.4% less in South Africa

Expenses including childcare, entertainment and sports, housing, restaurants, groceries, and clothing are lower in South Africa.

South Africa vs. Connecticut Cost Breakdown

If you lived in South Africa instead of Connecticut, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 60.4% less for restaurants

	Connecticut	South Africa
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$25.15	$9.33 ZAR157.99	-62.9%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$11.65	$5.11 ZAR86.54	-56.1%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.67	$1.03 ZAR17.46	-61.3%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$2.08	$0.80 ZAR13.59	-61.3%
Average			-60.4%

Connecticut vs. South Africa - Cost of restaurants

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pay 55.8% less for groceries

	Connecticut	South Africa
Bread 1 loaf	$4.23	$1.00 ZAR16.97	-76.3%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$7.82	$3.88 ZAR65.75	-50.3%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.42	$4.37 ZAR73.98	-1.0%
Eggs 1 dozen	$4.92	$2.33 ZAR39.49	-52.6%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$6.12	$2.13 ZAR36.12	-65.1%
Apples (1 lb)	$2.72	$0.73 ZAR12.33	-73.2%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.92	$0.65 ZAR11.04	-29.2%
Oranges (1 lb)	$2.23	$0.68 ZAR11.57	-69.3%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.53	$0.71 ZAR12.00	-71.9%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.64	$0.59 ZAR9.91	-64.3%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.52	$0.60 ZAR10.16	-60.5%
Average			-55.8%

Connecticut vs. South Africa - Cost of groceries

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pay 9.0% less for transportation

	Connecticut	South Africa
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$3.26	$4.92 ZAR83.33	+51.0%
Monthly public transit pass	$56.38	$56.18 ZAR950.86	-0.4%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$32,569.77	$21,394.82 ZAR362,135.06	-34.3%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$19.52	$9.34 ZAR158.05	-52.2%
Average			-9.0%

Connecticut vs. South Africa - Cost of transportation

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pay 61.3% less for housing

	Connecticut	South Africa
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$62.37	$39.36 ZAR666.17	-36.9%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$2,310.48	$404.16 ZAR6,840.92	-82.5%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,957.50	$361.59 ZAR6,120.39	-81.5%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$157.89	$88.13 ZAR1,491.68	-44.2%
Average			-61.3%

Connecticut vs. South Africa - Cost of housing

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pay 86.6% less for childcare

	Connecticut	South Africa
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,606.87	$173.48 ZAR2,936.29	-89.2%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$24,583.33	$3,962.11 ZAR67,063.83	-83.9%
Average			-86.6%

Connecticut vs. South Africa - Cost of childcare

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pay 63.1% less for entertainment and sports

	Connecticut	South Africa
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$7.30	$2.18 ZAR36.86	-70.2%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$5.07	$2.05 ZAR34.68	-59.6%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$12.48	$2.96 ZAR50.17	-76.3%
Monthly membership at local gym	$61.90	$30.26 ZAR512.21	-51.1%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$16.43	$6.85 ZAR115.92	-58.3%
Average			-63.1%

Connecticut vs. South Africa - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 12.4% less for clothing

	Connecticut	South Africa
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$51.81	$50.74 ZAR858.89	-2.1%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$47.40	$32.75 ZAR554.38	-30.9%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$80.29	$94.19 ZAR1,594.31	+17.3%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$124.01	$81.80 ZAR1,384.49	-34.0%
Average			-12.4%

Connecticut vs. South Africa - 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: December 2025

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