Cost of living comparison

United States

compared to

Russia

Saint Petersburg vs. Manhattan Cost of Living Summary

Saint Petersburg is 35.6% cheaper than Manhattan.

Restaurants: pay 36.0% less in Saint Petersburg
Groceries: pay 55.1% less in Saint Petersburg
Transportation: pay 13.7% less in Saint Petersburg
Housing: pay 40.3% less in Saint Petersburg
Childcare: pay 0.3% more in Saint Petersburg
Entertainment and Sports: pay 51.2% less in Saint Petersburg
Clothing: pay 44.5% more in Saint Petersburg

The cost of clothing and childcare in Saint Petersburg are more expensive than in Manhattan. Expenses including groceries, entertainment and sports, housing, restaurants, and transportation are lower in Saint Petersburg.

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Saint Petersburg vs. Manhattan Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Saint Petersburg instead of Manhattan, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 36.0% less for restaurants

	Manhattan	Saint Petersburg
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$15.00	$11.46 RUB920.56	-23.6%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$12.00	$6.43 RUB516.64	-46.4%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.00	$1.49 RUB119.77	-25.4%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.50	$0.69 RUB55.04	-54.3%
Average			-36.0%

Manhattan vs. Saint Petersburg - Cost of restaurants

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pay 55.1% less for groceries

	Manhattan	Saint Petersburg
Bread 1 loaf	$3.12	$0.93 RUB74.68	-70.2%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.79	$6.02 RUB483.39	+4.0%
Milk (1 gallon)	$3.23	$4.17 RUB334.98	+29.3%
Eggs 1 dozen	$4.58	$1.64 RUB131.74	-64.2%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.84	$2.85 RUB228.70	-25.8%
Apples (1 lb)	$3.10	$0.77 RUB61.57	-75.2%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.97	$0.73 RUB58.34	-24.9%
Oranges (1 lb)	$2.69	$0.75 RUB60.41	-72.1%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.94	$1.38 RUB111.15	-28.5%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.58	$0.36 RUB28.81	-77.2%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.70	$0.28 RUB22.51	-83.5%
Average			-55.1%

Manhattan vs. Saint Petersburg - Cost of groceries

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pay 13.7% less for transportation

	Manhattan	Saint Petersburg
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$3.34	$3.25 RUB261.31	-2.7%
Monthly public transit pass	$60.00	$52.51 RUB4,216.72	-12.5%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$36,054.00	$35,093.40 RUB3M	-2.7%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$19.91	$7.60 RUB610.57	-61.8%
Average			-13.7%

Manhattan vs. Saint Petersburg - Cost of transportation

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pay 40.3% less for housing

	Manhattan	Saint Petersburg
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$65.33	$8.55 RUB686.90	-86.9%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$916.67	$730.46 RUB58,656.88	-20.3%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$987.50	$437.21 RUB35,108.02	-55.7%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$110.50	$112.08 RUB9,000.21	+1.4%
Average			-40.3%

Manhattan vs. Saint Petersburg - Cost of housing

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pay 0.3% more for childcare

	Manhattan	Saint Petersburg
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$823.33	$549.43 RUB44,119.79	-33.3%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$11,440.00	$17,234.08 RUB1M	+50.6%
Average			+0.3%

Manhattan vs. Saint Petersburg - Cost of childcare

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pay 51.2% less for entertainment and sports

	Manhattan	Saint Petersburg
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$5.00	$2.63 RUB211.35	-47.4%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$5.50	$3.03 RUB243.12	-44.9%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$9.80	$2.92 RUB234.84	-70.2%
Monthly membership at local gym	$75.00	$39.61 RUB3,180.84	-47.2%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$15.00	$7.02 RUB563.61	-53.2%
Average			-51.2%

Manhattan vs. Saint Petersburg - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 44.5% more for clothing

	Manhattan	Saint Petersburg
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$48.00	$92.36 RUB7,416.56	+92.4%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$35.00	$50.79 RUB4,078.74	+45.1%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$89.00	$134.52 RUB10,802.47	+51.2%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$117.25	$121.11 RUB9,724.98	+3.3%
Average			+44.5%

Manhattan vs. Saint Petersburg - 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 November 2026). How we calculate this

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