Cost of living comparison

United States

compared to

South Africa

Johannesburg vs. Plano Cost of Living Summary

Johannesburg is 43.3% cheaper than Plano.

Restaurants: pay 40.3% less in Johannesburg
Groceries: pay 33.4% less in Johannesburg
Transportation: pay 4.8% more in Johannesburg
Housing: pay 58.2% less in Johannesburg
Childcare: pay 79.8% less in Johannesburg
Entertainment and Sports: pay 59.0% less in Johannesburg
Clothing: pay 22.8% more in Johannesburg

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

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Johannesburg vs. Plano Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Johannesburg instead of Plano, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 40.3% less for restaurants

	Plano	Johannesburg
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$20.00	$12.02 ZAR199.18	-39.9%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$10.00	$7.21 ZAR119.51	-27.9%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.60	$1.20 ZAR19.85	-53.9%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$2.30	$0.89 ZAR14.77	-61.2%
Average			-40.3%

Plano vs. Johannesburg - Cost of restaurants

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pay 33.4% less for groceries

	Plano	Johannesburg
Bread 1 loaf	$3.17	$1.25 ZAR20.66	-60.6%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$6.56	$4.31 ZAR71.44	-34.3%
Milk (1 gallon)	$3.73	$5.00 ZAR82.93	+34.3%
Eggs 1 dozen	$4.80	$2.67 ZAR44.31	-44.3%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$5.09	$2.50 ZAR41.45	-50.9%
Apples (1 lb)	$2.09	$0.93 ZAR15.46	-55.4%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.72	$0.83 ZAR13.78	+16.1%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.23	$0.83 ZAR13.70	-32.8%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.39	$0.94 ZAR15.57	-32.6%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.07	$0.76 ZAR12.63	-28.4%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.16	$0.84 ZAR13.87	-27.9%
Average			-33.4%

Plano vs. Johannesburg - Cost of groceries

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pay 4.8% more for transportation

	Plano	Johannesburg
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$3.58	$5.77 ZAR95.64	+61.1%
Monthly public transit pass	$105.00	$90.13 ZAR1,493.83	-14.2%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$36,232.00	$35,391.94 ZAR587K	-2.3%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$17.00	$8.05 ZAR133.45	-52.6%
Average			+4.8%

Plano vs. Johannesburg - Cost of transportation

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pay 58.2% less for housing

	Plano	Johannesburg
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$55.00	$35.90 ZAR594.96	-34.7%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,544.00	$498.84 ZAR8,267.69	-67.7%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,228.00	$425.42 ZAR7,050.87	-65.4%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$148.61	$174.98 ZAR2,900.02	+17.7%
Average			-58.2%

Plano vs. Johannesburg - Cost of housing

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pay 79.8% less for childcare

	Plano	Johannesburg
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,333.33	$242.74 ZAR4,023.12	-81.8%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$24,380.00	$5,468.16 ZAR90,627.77	-77.6%
Average			-79.8%

Plano vs. Johannesburg - Cost of childcare

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pay 59.0% less for entertainment and sports

	Plano	Johannesburg
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$6.90	$2.25 ZAR37.35	-67.3%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$5.64	$2.44 ZAR40.47	-56.7%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$9.46	$3.30 ZAR54.77	-65.1%
Monthly membership at local gym	$93.00	$36.60 ZAR606.65	-60.6%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$15.00	$7.81 ZAR129.47	-47.9%
Average			-59.0%

Plano vs. Johannesburg - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 22.8% more for clothing

	Plano	Johannesburg
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$59.60	$57.63 ZAR955.14	-3.3%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$38.33	$45.77 ZAR758.63	+19.4%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$86.25	$108.45 ZAR1,797.37	+25.7%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$67.50	$105.86 ZAR1,754.57	+56.8%
Average			+22.8%

Plano vs. Johannesburg - 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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