Cost of living comparison
compared to
Illinois vs. Malawi Cost of Living Summary
Illinois is 4.5 times more expensive than Malawi overall.
- Restaurants
-
pay 2.8 times more in Illinois
- Groceries
-
pay 96.3% more in Illinois
- Transportation
-
pay 4.6 times more in Illinois
- Housing
-
pay 6.5 times more in Illinois
- Childcare
-
pay 10.9 times more in Illinois
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 3.1 times more in Illinois
- Clothing
-
pay 45.2% more in Illinois
The cost of childcare, housing, transportation, entertainment and sports, restaurants, and groceries in Illinois are more expensive than in Malawi. Notably, childcare, housing, and transportation are significantly more expensive in Illinois.
Illinois vs. Malawi Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Illinois instead of Malawi, you would:
pay 2.8 times more for restaurants
|
Malawi
|
Illinois
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$4.94
MWK8,556.79
|
$16.12
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$9.59
MWK16,619.26
|
$10.72
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$0.88
MWK1,522.75
|
$2.52
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$0.45
MWK788.54
|
$1.88
|
|
Malawi vs. Illinois - Cost of restaurants
pay 96.3% more for groceries
|
Malawi
|
Illinois
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.25
MWK2,173.21
|
$3.11
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$4.83
MWK8,372.64
|
$6.06
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$3.70
MWK6,418.70
|
$3.41
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$2.18
MWK3,781.01
|
$3.89
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$2.00
MWK3,462.54
|
$5.13
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.09
MWK1,880.96
|
$2.38
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.81
MWK1,409.10
|
$0.74
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$0.90
MWK1,554.21
|
$2.20
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$0.59
MWK1,030.09
|
$1.89
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.61
MWK1,060.60
|
$1.05
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.59
MWK1,014.44
|
$1.24
|
|
Malawi vs. Illinois - Cost of groceries
pay 4.6 times more for transportation
|
Malawi
|
Illinois
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$6.04
MWK10,464.33
|
$3.32
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$4.32
MWK7,491.55
|
$69.58
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$35,205.31
MWK61,023,985.21
|
$31,159.60
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$20.15
MWK34,931.33
|
$18.08
|
|
Malawi vs. Illinois - Cost of transportation
pay 6.5 times more for housing
|
Malawi
|
Illinois
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$184.06
MWK319,040.94
|
$72.20
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$201.16
MWK348,693.54
|
$1,332.19
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$79.07
MWK137,052.73
|
$1,112.01
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$31.77
MWK55,075.77
|
$151.79
|
|
Malawi vs. Illinois - Cost of housing
pay 10.9 times more for childcare
|
Malawi
|
Illinois
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$354.19
MWK613,942.41
|
$1,386.42
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$1,471.60
MWK2,550,829.37
|
$26,426.10
|
|
Malawi vs. Illinois - Cost of childcare
pay 3.1 times more for entertainment and sports
|
Malawi
|
Illinois
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$1.48
MWK2,562.97
|
$5.38
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$2.85
MWK4,940.76
|
$5.01
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$1.98
MWK3,433.27
|
$10.78
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$48.41
MWK83,913.25
|
$54.91
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$3.95
MWK6,847.80
|
$13.02
|
|
Malawi vs. Illinois - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 45.2% more for clothing
|
Malawi
|
Illinois
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$44.72
MWK77,508.57
|
$55.71
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$34.73
MWK60,206.31
|
$43.50
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$58.69
MWK101,737.02
|
$91.99
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$70.38
MWK122,001.19
|
$122.66
|
|
Malawi vs. Illinois - 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: November 2025
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