Cost of living comparison

Malaysia

compared to

United States

Houston vs. Kuala Lumpur Cost of Living Summary

Houston is 2.1 times more expensive than Kuala Lumpur.

Restaurants: pay 3.3 times more in Houston
Groceries: pay 39.5% more in Houston
Transportation: pay 60.0% more in Houston
Housing: pay 3.2 times more in Houston
Childcare: pay 3.5 times more in Houston
Entertainment and Sports: pay 60.4% more in Houston
Clothing: pay 1.5% less in Houston

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

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Houston vs. Kuala Lumpur Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 3.3 times more for restaurants

	Kuala Lumpur	Houston
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.89 MYR19.99	$20.38	+316.4%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.89 MYR19.99	$10.14	+107.3%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.81 MYR3.30	$2.70	+234.3%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.46 MYR1.88	$2.32	+403.8%
Average			+225.3%

Kuala Lumpur vs. Houston - Cost of restaurants

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pay 39.5% more for groceries

	Kuala Lumpur	Houston
Bread 1 loaf	$1.09 MYR4.47	$3.33	+204.0%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$7.00 MYR28.60	$5.66	-19.1%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.96 MYR32.53	$3.25	-59.1%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.53 MYR10.33	$3.48	+37.6%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.02 MYR8.25	$5.78	+186.2%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.55 MYR6.32	$1.82	+17.8%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.82 MYR3.35	$0.65	-20.5%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.04 MYR4.23	$1.38	+32.8%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.71 MYR2.91	$1.71	+140.1%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.59 MYR2.42	$0.98	+65.0%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.62 MYR2.54	$1.24	+98.9%
Average			+39.5%

Kuala Lumpur vs. Houston - Cost of groceries

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pay 60.0% more for transportation

	Kuala Lumpur	Houston
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$3.22 MYR13.15	$3.53	+9.6%
Monthly public transit pass	$12.24 MYR49.99	$75.00	+513.0%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$41,736.41 MYR171K	$36,232.00	-13.2%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$11.01 MYR44.99	$14.39	+30.7%
Average			+60.0%

Kuala Lumpur vs. Houston - Cost of transportation

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pay 3.2 times more for housing

	Kuala Lumpur	Houston
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$26.27 MYR107.33	$74.61	+184.0%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$617.87 MYR2,524.32	$1,678.93	+171.7%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$371.37 MYR1,517.24	$1,381.10	+271.9%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$47.56 MYR194.32	$160.23	+236.9%
Average			+218.9%

Kuala Lumpur vs. Houston - Cost of housing

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pay 3.5 times more for childcare

	Kuala Lumpur	Houston
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$299.09 MYR1,221.92	$2,193.79	+633.5%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$13,124.70 MYR53,620.95	$22,233.33	+69.4%
Average			+252.5%

Kuala Lumpur vs. Houston - Cost of childcare

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pay 60.4% more for entertainment and sports

	Kuala Lumpur	Houston
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$4.40 MYR18.00	$6.00	+36.2%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.10 MYR12.65	$5.27	+70.3%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$4.40 MYR18.00	$9.73	+120.9%
Monthly membership at local gym	$48.89 MYR199.73	$40.21	-17.8%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$5.02 MYR20.49	$15.00	+199.0%
Average			+60.4%

Kuala Lumpur vs. Houston - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 1.5% less for clothing

	Kuala Lumpur	Houston
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$71.46 MYR291.94	$49.91	-30.2%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$41.92 MYR171.28	$47.00	+12.1%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$86.22 MYR352.25	$104.92	+21.7%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$96.07 MYR392.51	$94.80	-1.3%
Average			-1.5%

Kuala Lumpur vs. Houston - 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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