Cost of living comparison
compared to
South Africa vs. Florida Cost of Living Summary
South Africa is 54.6% cheaper than Florida.
- Restaurants
-
pay 53.5% less in South Africa
- Groceries
-
pay 48.7% less in South Africa
- Transportation
-
pay 4.8% more in South Africa
- Housing
-
pay 71.7% less in South Africa
- Childcare
-
pay 80.3% less in South Africa
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 50.6% less in South Africa
- Clothing
-
pay 9.5% less in South Africa
South Africa vs. Florida Cost Breakdown
If you lived in South Africa instead of Florida, you would:
pay 53.5% less for restaurants
|
Florida
|
South Africa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$22.12
|
$10.21
ZAR169.26
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$11.51
|
$5.91
ZAR97.96
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.72
|
$1.08
ZAR17.96
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.13
|
$0.84
ZAR13.84
|
|
Florida vs. South Africa - Cost of restaurants
pay 48.7% less for groceries
|
Florida
|
South Africa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$3.68
|
$1.07
ZAR17.68
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$6.24
|
$4.08
ZAR67.65
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.01
|
$4.58
ZAR75.86
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.08
|
$2.56
ZAR42.48
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$5.39
|
$2.31
ZAR38.34
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.37
|
$0.81
ZAR13.47
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.74
|
$0.74
ZAR12.19
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.86
|
$0.79
ZAR13.01
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.06
|
$0.77
ZAR12.77
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.40
|
$0.64
ZAR10.68
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.47
|
$0.66
ZAR10.90
|
|
Florida vs. South Africa - Cost of groceries
pay 4.8% more for transportation
|
Florida
|
South Africa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.67
|
$5.49
ZAR90.97
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$61.90
|
$65.15
ZAR1,079.75
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$35,017.93
|
$32,517.32
ZAR539K
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$16.97
|
$7.35
ZAR121.78
|
|
Florida vs. South Africa - Cost of transportation
pay 71.7% less for housing
|
Florida
|
South Africa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$73.00
|
$38.93
ZAR645.27
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,897.60
|
$421.37
ZAR6,983.69
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,578.21
|
$369.24
ZAR6,119.76
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$146.96
|
$105.57
ZAR1,749.66
|
|
Florida vs. South Africa - Cost of housing
pay 80.3% less for childcare
|
Florida
|
South Africa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,132.71
|
$199.53
ZAR3,307.02
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$22,290.86
|
$4,917.78
ZAR81,505.89
|
|
Florida vs. South Africa - Cost of childcare
pay 50.6% less for entertainment and sports
|
Florida
|
South Africa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$5.89
|
$2.25
ZAR37.31
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.16
|
$2.25
ZAR37.36
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$8.78
|
$3.16
ZAR52.38
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$42.25
|
$31.59
ZAR523.57
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$14.64
|
$7.32
ZAR121.28
|
|
Florida vs. South Africa - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 9.5% less for clothing
|
Florida
|
South Africa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$53.85
|
$52.66
ZAR872.75
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$42.77
|
$34.13
ZAR565.64
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$90.40
|
$99.75
ZAR1,653.25
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$111.20
|
$86.61
ZAR1,435.40
|
|
Florida vs. South Africa - 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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cost of living in United States vs. South Africa.
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