Cost of living comparison
compared to
Charleston vs. Istanbul Cost of Living Summary
Charleston is 83.3% more expensive than Istanbul.
Charleston vs. Istanbul Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Charleston instead of Istanbul, you would:
pay 64.9% more for restaurants
|
Istanbul
|
Charleston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$12.19
TRY611.44
|
$20.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$9.35
TRY468.77
|
$12.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$1.73
TRY86.80
|
$2.92
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$0.58
TRY29.01
|
$2.31
|
|
Istanbul vs. Charleston - Cost of restaurants
pay 2.9 times more for groceries
|
Istanbul
|
Charleston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$0.92
TRY46.16
|
$4.12
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$5.28
TRY264.59
|
$11.45
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.69
TRY234.91
|
$4.29
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$2.41
TRY120.90
|
$5.41
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$2.54
TRY127.30
|
$6.58
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$0.85
TRY42.69
|
$3.66
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.03
TRY51.51
|
$0.82
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$0.57
TRY28.70
|
$2.30
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$0.84
TRY41.89
|
$3.15
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.31
TRY15.56
|
$2.32
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.29
TRY14.35
|
$1.70
|
|
Istanbul vs. Charleston - Cost of groceries
pay 21.1% less for transportation
|
Istanbul
|
Charleston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$5.43
TRY272.44
|
$3.76
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$67.03
TRY3,360.91
|
$57.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$50,810.11
TRY3M
|
$35,112.00
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$8.40
TRY421.37
|
$12.94
|
|
Istanbul vs. Charleston - Cost of transportation
pay 2.6 times more for housing
|
Istanbul
|
Charleston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$16.15
TRY809.55
|
$84.89
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$996.85
TRY49,983.16
|
$2,324.88
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$647.83
TRY32,482.99
|
$1,708.67
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$68.87
TRY3,453.27
|
$176.85
|
|
Istanbul vs. Charleston - Cost of housing
pay 14.5% more for childcare
|
Istanbul
|
Charleston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,021.62
TRY51,225.46
|
$1,264.00
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$25,999.20
TRY1M
|
$27,566.67
|
|
Istanbul vs. Charleston - Cost of childcare
pay 31.9% more for entertainment and sports
|
Istanbul
|
Charleston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$4.78
TRY239.48
|
$6.50
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$4.31
TRY216.34
|
$5.88
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$2.34
TRY117.19
|
$10.00
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$76.22
TRY3,821.53
|
$45.71
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$8.13
TRY407.63
|
$14.00
|
|
Istanbul vs. Charleston - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 28.1% more for clothing
|
Istanbul
|
Charleston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$53.35
TRY2,674.81
|
$77.50
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$39.62
TRY1,986.48
|
$46.25
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$99.91
TRY5,009.73
|
$112.33
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$95.52
TRY4,789.65
|
$135.00
|
|
Istanbul vs. Charleston - 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 November 2026). How we calculate this
Change currency:
Compare further: Istanbul vs. Charleston
Compare countries by overall cost of living
See the
cost of living in Turkey vs. United States.
This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within Turkey and United States.
Help us improve these prices
MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate.
Learn more
Ask the Elsewhere Community
Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Charleston or Istanbul. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.