Singapore vs. New York Cost of Living Summary

Singapore is 12.8% more expensive than New York.

Restaurants
pay 38.1% less in Singapore
Groceries
pay 5.2% less in Singapore
Transportation
pay 97.2% more in Singapore
Housing
pay 18.4% more in Singapore
Childcare
pay 11.2% less in Singapore
Entertainment and Sports
pay 11.6% more in Singapore
Clothing
pay 24.4% more in Singapore

The cost of transportation, clothing, housing, and entertainment and sports in Singapore are more expensive than in New York. Expenses including restaurants, childcare, and groceries are lower in Singapore. Notably, transportation is significantly more expensive in Singapore.

Singapore vs. New York Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Singapore instead of New York, you would:

pay 38.1% less for restaurants

 
New York
Singapore
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $21.61
 
$11.72
SGD15.02
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$12.15
 
$8.59
SGD11.01
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $2.60
 
$1.81
SGD2.32

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pay 5.2% less for groceries

 
New York
Singapore
Bread
1 loaf
$3.79
 
$2.52
SGD3.23
Local cheese (8 oz) $6.62
 
$10.61
SGD13.60
Milk (1 gallon) $4.20
 
$11.31
SGD14.49

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pay 97.2% more for transportation

 
New York
Singapore
Gasoline (1 gallon) $4.00
 
$9.42
SGD12.07
Monthly public transit pass $99.85
 
$95.32
SGD122.14
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $34,323.33
 
$158K
SGD202K

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pay 18.4% more for housing

 
New York
Singapore
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$67.35
 
$26.68
SGD34.19
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $2,049.97
 
$2,972.36
SGD3,808.76
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $1,695.08
 
$2,133.71
SGD2,734.12

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pay 11.2% less for childcare

 
New York
Singapore
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $1,922.82
 
$1,466.84
SGD1,879.60
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $27,489.62
 
$28,413.66
SGD36,409.09

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pay 11.6% more for entertainment and sports

 
New York
Singapore
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $6.72
 
$8.20
SGD10.51
Cappuccino in mid-range area $5.48
 
$5.19
SGD6.65
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$14.10
 
$14.06
SGD18.02

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pay 24.4% more for clothing

 
New York
Singapore
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$51.80
 
$80.66
SGD103.36
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$44.51
 
$50.96
SGD65.30
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$92.29
 
$110.36
SGD141.41

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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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