Cost of living comparison

Turkey

compared to

United States

Bethlehem vs. Istanbul Cost of Living Summary

Bethlehem is 49.9% more expensive than Istanbul.

Restaurants: pay 59.4% more in Bethlehem
Groceries: pay 2.1 times more in Bethlehem
Transportation: pay 28.8% less in Bethlehem
Housing: pay 95.7% more in Bethlehem
Childcare: pay 56.4% more in Bethlehem
Entertainment and Sports: pay 17.2% more in Bethlehem
Clothing: pay 18.2% less in Bethlehem

The cost of groceries, housing, restaurants, childcare, and entertainment and sports in Bethlehem are more expensive than in Istanbul. Expenses including transportation and clothing are lower in Bethlehem. Notably, groceries and housing are significantly more expensive in Bethlehem.

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Bethlehem vs. Istanbul Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Bethlehem instead of Istanbul, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 59.4% more for restaurants

	Istanbul	Bethlehem
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$12.19 TRY603.79	$18.00	+47.6%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$9.35 TRY462.91	$13.00	+39.1%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.73 TRY85.71	$3.00	+73.3%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.58 TRY28.65	$1.94	+234.8%
Average			+59.4%

Istanbul vs. Bethlehem - Cost of restaurants

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pay 2.1 times more for groceries

	Istanbul	Bethlehem
Bread 1 loaf	$0.92 TRY45.58	$3.99	+333.4%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.28 TRY261.28	$6.06	+14.8%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.69 TRY231.97	$4.37	-6.8%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.41 TRY119.39	$4.17	+72.8%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.54 TRY125.71	$7.40	+191.7%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.85 TRY42.16	$2.83	+232.2%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.03 TRY50.86	$0.59	-42.6%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.57 TRY28.34	$1.86	+225.4%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.84 TRY41.37	$1.90	+128.0%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.31 TRY15.36	$0.99	+218.0%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.29 TRY14.17	$1.22	+326.5%
Average			+114.8%

Istanbul vs. Bethlehem - Cost of groceries

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pay 28.8% less for transportation

	Istanbul	Bethlehem
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.43 TRY269.03	$3.63	-33.2%
Monthly public transit pass	$67.03 TRY3,318.85	??
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$50,810.11 TRY3M	$23,000.00	-54.7%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$8.40 TRY416.09	$29.00	+245.1%
Average			-28.8%

Istanbul vs. Bethlehem - Cost of transportation

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pay 95.7% more for housing

	Istanbul	Bethlehem
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$16.15 TRY799.42	$77.80	+381.9%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$996.85 TRY49,357.64	$1,547.50	+55.2%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$647.83 TRY32,076.47	$1,346.00	+107.8%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$68.87 TRY3,410.06	$158.04	+129.5%
Average			+95.7%

Istanbul vs. Bethlehem - Cost of housing

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pay 56.4% more for childcare

	Istanbul	Bethlehem
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,021.62 TRY50,584.39	$1,000.00	-2.1%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$25,999.20 TRY1M	$65,000.00	+150.0%
Average			+56.4%

Istanbul vs. Bethlehem - Cost of childcare

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pay 17.2% more for entertainment and sports

	Istanbul	Bethlehem
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$4.78 TRY236.49	$5.25	+9.9%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$4.31 TRY213.63	$5.00	+15.9%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.34 TRY115.73	$9.50	+306.5%
Monthly membership at local gym	$76.22 TRY3,773.70	$36.67	-51.9%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.13 TRY402.53	$15.00	+84.5%
Average			+17.2%

Istanbul vs. Bethlehem - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 18.2% less for clothing

	Istanbul	Bethlehem
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$53.35 TRY2,641.33	$53.00	-0.6%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$39.62 TRY1,961.62	$30.00	-24.3%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$99.91 TRY4,947.03	$66.67	-33.3%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$95.52 TRY4,729.71	$85.00	-11.0%
Average			-18.2%

Istanbul vs. Bethlehem - Cost of clothing

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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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