Cost of living comparison
Malaysia is 51.1% cheaper than Illinois.
If you lived in Malaysia instead of Illinois, you would:
pay 73.2% less for restaurants
Illinois
|
Malaysia
|
||
---|---|---|---|
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$16.52
|
$2.36
RM11.23
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$8.98
|
$3.63
RM17.31
|
|
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.01
|
$0.63
RM3.02
|
|
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.64
|
$0.34
RM1.63
|
|
pay 37.5% less for groceries
Illinois
|
Malaysia
|
||
---|---|---|---|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$2.88
|
$0.85
RM4.03
|
|
Local cheese (8 oz) |
$4.96
|
$6.41
RM30.55
|
|
Milk (1 gallon) |
$3.39
|
$5.71
RM27.22
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$3.83
|
$1.40
RM6.69
|
|
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$4.36
|
$1.88
RM8.96
|
|
Apples (1 lb) |
$1.96
|
$0.99
RM4.70
|
|
Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.70
|
$0.52
RM2.47
|
|
Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.84
|
$1.04
RM4.94
|
|
Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.75
|
$0.55
RM2.61
|
|
Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.12
|
$0.35
RM1.66
|
|
Onions (1 lb) |
$1.27
|
$0.48
RM2.31
|
|
pay 40.9% less for transportation
Illinois
|
Malaysia
|
||
---|---|---|---|
Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.73
|
$1.79
RM8.53
|
|
Monthly public transit pass |
$85.20
|
$18.01
RM85.88
|
|
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$25,072.52
|
$34,228.03
RM163,216.36
|
|
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$16.37
|
$5.07
RM24.17
|
|
pay 70.9% less for housing
Illinois
|
Malaysia
|
||
---|---|---|---|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$63.28
|
$26.77
RM127.63
|
|
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,273.55
|
$326.71
RM1,557.94
|
|
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,019.22
|
$217.05
RM1,035.00
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$127.01
|
$34.40
RM164.05
|
|
pay 70.6% less for childcare
Illinois
|
Malaysia
|
||
---|---|---|---|
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,216.39
|
$144.81
RM690.52
|
|
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$13,033.13
|
$6,108.87
RM29,130.13
|
|
pay 42.0% less for entertainment and sports
Illinois
|
Malaysia
|
||
---|---|---|---|
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$4.94
|
$3.43
RM16.33
|
|
Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$3.95
|
$2.46
RM11.75
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$9.52
|
$4.06
RM19.35
|
|
Monthly membership at local gym |
$39.16
|
$32.59
RM155.41
|
|
Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$11.22
|
$3.62
RM17.27
|
|
pay 22.4% less for clothing
Illinois
|
Malaysia
|
||
---|---|---|---|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$45.75
|
$47.09
RM224.54
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$33.86
|
$24.30
RM115.87
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$75.45
|
$62.25
RM296.82
|
|
Men's business shoes (leather) |
$105.59
|
$56.25
RM268.21
|
|
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