Cost of living comparison
compared to
South Africa vs. Houston Cost of Living Summary
South Africa is 44.7% cheaper than Houston.
- Restaurants
-
pay 57.2% less in South Africa
- Groceries
-
pay 39.9% less in South Africa
- Transportation
-
pay 6.5% less in South Africa
- Housing
-
pay 57.9% less in South Africa
- Childcare
-
pay 85.5% less in South Africa
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 53.8% less in South Africa
- Clothing
-
pay 12.2% less in South Africa
Expenses including childcare, housing, restaurants, entertainment and sports, groceries, and clothing are lower in South Africa.
South Africa vs. Houston Cost Breakdown
If you lived in South Africa instead of Houston, you would:
pay 57.2% less for restaurants
|
Houston
|
South Africa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$20.00
|
$9.33
ZAR157.99
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$10.00
|
$5.11
ZAR86.54
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.76
|
$1.03
ZAR17.46
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.23
|
$0.80
ZAR13.59
|
|
Houston vs. South Africa - Cost of restaurants
pay 39.9% less for groceries
|
Houston
|
South Africa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$3.23
|
$1.00
ZAR16.97
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$6.32
|
$3.88
ZAR65.75
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$3.44
|
$4.37
ZAR73.98
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.35
|
$2.33
ZAR39.49
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$5.20
|
$2.13
ZAR36.12
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.88
|
$0.73
ZAR12.33
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.67
|
$0.65
ZAR11.04
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.67
|
$0.68
ZAR11.57
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.12
|
$0.71
ZAR12.00
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.20
|
$0.59
ZAR9.91
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.05
|
$0.60
ZAR10.16
|
|
Houston vs. South Africa - Cost of groceries
pay 6.5% less for transportation
|
Houston
|
South Africa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$2.81
|
$4.92
ZAR83.33
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$75.00
|
$56.18
ZAR950.86
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$36,278.39
|
$21,394.82
ZAR362,135.06
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$14.39
|
$9.34
ZAR158.05
|
|
Houston vs. South Africa - Cost of transportation
pay 57.9% less for housing
|
Houston
|
South Africa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$70.76
|
$39.36
ZAR666.17
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,660.33
|
$404.16
ZAR6,840.92
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,287.77
|
$361.59
ZAR6,120.39
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$145.65
|
$88.13
ZAR1,491.68
|
|
Houston vs. South Africa - Cost of housing
pay 85.5% less for childcare
|
Houston
|
South Africa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,258.33
|
$173.48
ZAR2,936.29
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$26,120.00
|
$3,962.11
ZAR67,063.83
|
|
Houston vs. South Africa - Cost of childcare
pay 53.8% less for entertainment and sports
|
Houston
|
South Africa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$6.00
|
$2.18
ZAR36.86
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.41
|
$2.05
ZAR34.68
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$9.95
|
$2.96
ZAR50.17
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$37.29
|
$30.26
ZAR512.21
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$15.00
|
$6.85
ZAR115.92
|
|
Houston vs. South Africa - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 12.2% less for clothing
|
Houston
|
South Africa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$45.57
|
$50.74
ZAR858.89
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$44.00
|
$32.75
ZAR554.38
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$98.95
|
$94.19
ZAR1,594.31
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$116.43
|
$81.80
ZAR1,384.49
|
|
Houston vs. South Africa - 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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