Cost of living comparison

Malaysia

compared to

United States

Helena vs. Kuala Lumpur Cost of Living Summary

Helena is 2.4 times more expensive than Kuala Lumpur.

Restaurants: pay 3.9 times more in Helena
Groceries: pay 49.3% more in Helena
Transportation: pay 69.8% more in Helena
Housing: pay 3.8 times more in Helena
Childcare: pay 3.7 times more in Helena
Entertainment and Sports: pay 56.5% more in Helena
Clothing: pay 33.1% more in Helena

The cost of restaurants, housing, childcare, transportation, entertainment and sports, and groceries in Helena are more expensive than in Kuala Lumpur. Notably, restaurants, housing, and childcare are significantly more expensive in Helena.

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Helena vs. Kuala Lumpur Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Helena instead of Kuala Lumpur, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 3.9 times more for restaurants

	Kuala Lumpur	Helena
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.89 MYR19.98	$21.50	+339.3%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.89 MYR19.98	$18.00	+267.8%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.81 MYR3.30	$2.22	+174.8%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.46 MYR1.88	$1.75	+278.8%
Average			+288.1%

Kuala Lumpur vs. Helena - Cost of restaurants

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pay 49.3% more for groceries

	Kuala Lumpur	Helena
Bread 1 loaf	$1.09 MYR4.47	$3.78	+245.1%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$7.00 MYR28.58	$9.00	+28.6%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.96 MYR32.51	$3.96	-50.3%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.53 MYR10.32	$3.67	+45.2%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.02 MYR8.25	$4.08	+102.1%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.55 MYR6.32	$2.14	+38.2%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.82 MYR3.34	$0.81	-1.1%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.04 MYR4.23	$2.04	+97.2%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.71 MYR2.91	$1.84	+158.6%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.59 MYR2.41	$0.99	+66.6%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.62 MYR2.54	$0.68	+9.4%
Average			+49.3%

Kuala Lumpur vs. Helena - Cost of groceries

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pay 69.8% more for transportation

	Kuala Lumpur	Helena
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$3.22 MYR13.14	$3.77	+17.3%
Monthly public transit pass	$12.24 MYR49.96	$60.00	+390.4%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$41,736.41 MYR170K	$35,850.00	-14.1%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$11.01 MYR44.96	$37.34	+239.1%
Average			+69.8%

Kuala Lumpur vs. Helena - Cost of transportation

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pay 3.8 times more for housing

	Kuala Lumpur	Helena
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$26.27 MYR107.27	$91.74	+249.2%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$617.87 MYR2,522.90	$1,786.67	+189.2%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$371.37 MYR1,516.38	$1,533.33	+312.9%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$47.56 MYR194.21	$287.72	+504.9%
Average			+276.0%

Kuala Lumpur vs. Helena - Cost of housing

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pay 3.7 times more for childcare

	Kuala Lumpur	Helena
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$299.09 MYR1,221.23	$1,937.00	+547.6%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$13,124.70 MYR53,590.76	$27,700.00	+111.1%
Average			+269.7%

Kuala Lumpur vs. Helena - Cost of childcare

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pay 56.5% more for entertainment and sports

	Kuala Lumpur	Helena
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$4.40 MYR17.99	$5.00	+13.5%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.10 MYR12.64	$5.12	+65.5%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$4.40 MYR17.99	$10.38	+135.7%
Monthly membership at local gym	$48.89 MYR199.62	$52.50	+7.4%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$5.02 MYR20.48	$12.00	+139.2%
Average			+56.5%

Kuala Lumpur vs. Helena - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 33.1% more for clothing

	Kuala Lumpur	Helena
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$71.46 MYR291.78	$64.75	-9.4%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$41.92 MYR171.18	$118.33	+182.3%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$86.22 MYR352.05	$82.25	-4.6%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$96.07 MYR392.29	$123.50	+28.5%
Average			+33.1%

Kuala Lumpur vs. Helena - 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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