Cost of living comparison

compared to

Knoxville vs. Istanbul Cost of Living Summary

Knoxville is 49.4% more expensive than Istanbul.

Restaurants
pay 47.2% more in Knoxville
Groceries
pay 2.1 times more in Knoxville
Transportation
pay 29.6% less in Knoxville
Housing
pay 2.0 times more in Knoxville
Childcare
pay 5.8% more in Knoxville
Entertainment and Sports
pay 19.5% more in Knoxville
Clothing
pay 10.9% more in Knoxville

The cost of groceries, housing, restaurants, entertainment and sports, clothing, and childcare in Knoxville are more expensive than in Istanbul. Notably, groceries and housing are significantly more expensive in Knoxville.

Knoxville vs. Istanbul Cost Breakdown

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

pay 47.2% more for restaurants

 
Istanbul
Knoxville
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $12.19
TRY611.44
$17.50
 
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$9.35
TRY468.77
$10.00
 
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $1.73
TRY86.80
$2.77
 

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pay 2.1 times more for groceries

 
Istanbul
Knoxville
Bread
1 loaf
$0.92
TRY46.16
$3.44
 
Local cheese (8 oz) $5.28
TRY264.59
$5.05
 
Milk (1 gallon) $4.69
TRY234.91
$4.07
 

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pay 29.6% less for transportation

 
Istanbul
Knoxville
Gasoline (1 gallon) $5.43
TRY272.44
$3.74
 
Monthly public transit pass $67.03
TRY3,360.91
$30.00
 
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $50,810.11
TRY3M
$37,359.00
 

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pay 2.0 times more for housing

 
Istanbul
Knoxville
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$16.15
TRY809.55
$53.79
 
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $996.85
TRY49,983.16
$1,788.75
 
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $647.83
TRY32,482.99
$1,267.50
 

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pay 5.8% more for childcare

 
Istanbul
Knoxville
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $1,021.62
TRY51,225.46
$1,225.00
 
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $25,999.20
TRY1M
$24,250.00
 

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pay 19.5% more for entertainment and sports

 
Istanbul
Knoxville
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $4.78
TRY239.48
$6.50
 
Cappuccino in mid-range area $4.31
TRY216.34
$5.44
 
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$2.34
TRY117.19
$9.86
 

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pay 10.9% more for clothing

 
Istanbul
Knoxville
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$53.35
TRY2,674.81
$50.00
 
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$39.62
TRY1,986.48
$44.75
 
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$99.91
TRY5,009.73
$109.83
 

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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 November 2026). How we calculate this

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