Cost of living comparison
compared to
South Dakota vs. New Jersey Cost of Living Summary
South Dakota is 31.6% cheaper than New Jersey.
- Restaurants
-
pay 20.4% less in South Dakota
- Groceries
-
pay 24.1% less in South Dakota
- Transportation
-
pay 31.6% less in South Dakota
- Housing
-
pay 37.9% less in South Dakota
- Childcare
-
pay 63.0% less in South Dakota
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 25.4% less in South Dakota
- Clothing
-
pay 7.6% less in South Dakota
South Dakota vs. New Jersey Cost Breakdown
If you lived in South Dakota instead of New Jersey, you would:
pay 20.4% less for restaurants
|
New Jersey
|
South Dakota
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$19.81
|
$13.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$12.13
|
$10.33
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.49
|
$2.53
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.74
|
$2.05
|
|
New Jersey vs. South Dakota - Cost of restaurants
pay 24.1% less for groceries
|
New Jersey
|
South Dakota
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$4.23
|
$2.80
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$6.84
|
$5.94
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.80
|
$3.55
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$5.09
|
$4.65
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$5.59
|
$4.17
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.66
|
$1.85
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.09
|
$0.81
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.20
|
$1.51
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.41
|
$1.69
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.51
|
$1.22
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.57
|
$1.30
|
|
New Jersey vs. South Dakota - Cost of groceries
pay 31.6% less for transportation
|
New Jersey
|
South Dakota
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.89
|
$3.52
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$114.22
|
$30.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$33,697.81
|
$35,246.50
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$19.06
|
$15.02
|
|
New Jersey vs. South Dakota - Cost of transportation
pay 37.9% less for housing
|
New Jersey
|
South Dakota
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$58.90
|
$58.99
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$2,298.53
|
$1,145.83
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,927.67
|
$1,105.14
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$142.49
|
$168.11
|
|
New Jersey vs. South Dakota - Cost of housing
pay 63.0% less for childcare
|
New Jersey
|
South Dakota
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,975.92
|
$833.31
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$24,015.26
|
$7,800.00
|
|
New Jersey vs. South Dakota - Cost of childcare
pay 25.4% less for entertainment and sports
|
New Jersey
|
South Dakota
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$7.10
|
$4.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.33
|
$4.71
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$13.31
|
$9.54
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$55.80
|
$47.44
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$16.84
|
$12.25
|
|
New Jersey vs. South Dakota - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 7.6% less for clothing
|
New Jersey
|
South Dakota
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$52.33
|
$46.56
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$53.93
|
$43.33
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$90.27
|
$91.03
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$121.55
|
$123.17
|
|
New Jersey vs. South Dakota - 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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