Cost of living comparison
compared to
Malaysia vs. Johor Bahru Cost of Living Summary
Malaysia is 3.8% more expensive than Johor Bahru.
- Restaurants
-
pay 10.0% less in Malaysia
- Groceries
-
pay 7.2% more in Malaysia
- Transportation
-
pay 7.0% more in Malaysia
- Housing
-
pay 16.1% less in Malaysia
- Childcare
-
pay 5.3% more in Malaysia
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 1.6% less in Malaysia
- Clothing
-
pay 34.8% more in Malaysia
The cost of clothing, groceries, transportation, and childcare in Malaysia are more expensive than in Johor Bahru. Expenses including housing, restaurants, and entertainment and sports are lower in Malaysia.
Malaysia vs. Johor Bahru Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Malaysia instead of Johor Bahru, you would:
pay 10.0% less for restaurants
|
Johor Bahru
|
Malaysia
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$3.55
MYR14.61
|
$3.22
MYR13.24
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$4.74
MYR19.48
|
$4.41
MYR18.14
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$0.78
MYR3.23
|
$0.73
MYR3.00
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$0.47
MYR1.94
|
$0.39
MYR1.62
|
|
Johor Bahru vs. Malaysia - Cost of restaurants
pay 7.2% more for groceries
|
Johor Bahru
|
Malaysia
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$0.98
MYR4.03
|
$1.02
MYR4.18
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$5.33
MYR21.92
|
$7.79
MYR32.02
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$7.01
MYR28.83
|
$6.67
MYR27.41
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$1.86
MYR7.66
|
$1.99
MYR8.17
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$2.20
MYR9.04
|
$1.93
MYR7.95
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.24
MYR5.08
|
$1.28
MYR5.26
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.68
MYR2.79
|
$0.67
MYR2.74
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.15
MYR4.72
|
$1.29
MYR5.31
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$0.56
MYR2.31
|
$0.73
MYR3.01
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.53
MYR2.18
|
$0.53
MYR2.19
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.62
MYR2.55
|
$0.59
MYR2.41
|
|
Johor Bahru vs. Malaysia - Cost of groceries
pay 7.0% more for transportation
|
Johor Bahru
|
Malaysia
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$1.84
MYR7.58
|
$1.86
MYR7.63
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$11.85
MYR48.71
|
$15.26
MYR62.75
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$35,545.02
MYR146,125.59
|
$35,849.31
MYR147,376.52
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$6.69
MYR27.52
|
$6.52
MYR26.79
|
|
Johor Bahru vs. Malaysia - Cost of transportation
pay 16.1% less for housing
|
Johor Bahru
|
Malaysia
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$30.15
MYR123.96
|
$27.18
MYR111.74
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$494.94
MYR2,034.72
|
$349.73
MYR1,437.75
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$375.20
MYR1,542.44
|
$247.40
MYR1,017.08
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$31.51
MYR129.55
|
$34.37
MYR141.31
|
|
Johor Bahru vs. Malaysia - Cost of housing
pay 5.3% more for childcare
|
Johor Bahru
|
Malaysia
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$153.04
MYR629.15
|
$170.62
MYR701.42
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$6,279.62
MYR25,815.52
|
$6,229.51
MYR25,609.50
|
|
Johor Bahru vs. Malaysia - Cost of childcare
pay 1.6% less for entertainment and sports
|
Johor Bahru
|
Malaysia
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$3.55
MYR14.61
|
$3.72
MYR15.30
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$2.91
MYR11.95
|
$2.63
MYR10.79
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$4.25
MYR17.49
|
$4.18
MYR17.17
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$34.36
MYR141.25
|
$36.40
MYR149.64
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$4.98
MYR20.46
|
$4.62
MYR18.97
|
|
Johor Bahru vs. Malaysia - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 34.8% more for clothing
|
Johor Bahru
|
Malaysia
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$49.76
MYR204.58
|
$59.37
MYR244.08
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$16.59
MYR68.19
|
$29.69
MYR122.04
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$71.09
MYR292.25
|
$70.68
MYR290.55
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$40.23
MYR165.37
|
$56.86
MYR233.75
|
|
Johor Bahru vs. Malaysia - 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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