Cost of living comparison
compared to
Des Moines vs. Kuala Lumpur Cost of Living Summary
Des Moines is 86.3% more expensive than Kuala Lumpur.
Des Moines vs. Kuala Lumpur Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Des Moines instead of Kuala Lumpur, you would:
pay 3.5 times more for restaurants
|
Kuala Lumpur
|
Des Moines
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$4.89
MYR19.99
|
$20.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$4.89
MYR19.99
|
$12.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$0.81
MYR3.30
|
$3.00
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$0.46
MYR1.88
|
$2.49
|
|
Kuala Lumpur vs. Des Moines - Cost of restaurants
pay 43.3% more for groceries
|
Kuala Lumpur
|
Des Moines
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.09
MYR4.47
|
$2.95
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$7.00
MYR28.60
|
$4.77
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$7.96
MYR32.53
|
$3.38
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$2.53
MYR10.33
|
$3.93
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$2.02
MYR8.25
|
$4.39
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.55
MYR6.32
|
$2.01
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.82
MYR3.35
|
$0.70
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.04
MYR4.23
|
$2.01
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$0.71
MYR2.91
|
$1.70
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.59
MYR2.42
|
$1.43
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.62
MYR2.54
|
$1.00
|
|
Kuala Lumpur vs. Des Moines - Cost of groceries
pay 48.3% more for transportation
|
Kuala Lumpur
|
Des Moines
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.22
MYR13.15
|
$3.71
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$12.24
MYR49.99
|
$58.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$41,736.41
MYR171K
|
$35,052.00
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$11.01
MYR44.99
|
$11.94
|
|
Kuala Lumpur vs. Des Moines - Cost of transportation
pay 2.2 times more for housing
|
Kuala Lumpur
|
Des Moines
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$26.27
MYR107.33
|
$71.15
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$617.87
MYR2,524.32
|
$1,161.80
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$371.37
MYR1,517.24
|
$864.75
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$47.56
MYR194.32
|
$143.28
|
|
Kuala Lumpur vs. Des Moines - Cost of housing
pay 88.7% more for childcare
|
Kuala Lumpur
|
Des Moines
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$299.09
MYR1,221.92
|
$1,183.50
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$13,124.70
MYR53,620.95
|
$11,812.00
|
|
Kuala Lumpur vs. Des Moines - Cost of childcare
pay 74.7% more for entertainment and sports
|
Kuala Lumpur
|
Des Moines
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$4.40
MYR18.00
|
$5.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$3.10
MYR12.65
|
$6.00
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$4.40
MYR18.00
|
$8.03
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$48.89
MYR199.73
|
$63.75
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$5.02
MYR20.49
|
$15.00
|
|
Kuala Lumpur vs. Des Moines - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 12.3% more for clothing
|
Kuala Lumpur
|
Des Moines
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$71.46
MYR291.94
|
$60.68
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$41.92
MYR171.28
|
$43.33
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$86.22
MYR352.25
|
$103.00
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$96.07
MYR392.51
|
$145.78
|
|
Kuala Lumpur vs. Des Moines - 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 October 2026). How we calculate this
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Compare further: Kuala Lumpur vs. Des Moines
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