Cost of living comparison

compared to

United States vs. Romania Cost of Living Summary

United States is 2.4 times more expensive than Romania overall.

Restaurants
pay 71.6% more in United States
Groceries
pay 2.3 times more in United States
Transportation
pay 29.6% more in United States
Housing
pay 4.1 times more in United States
Childcare
pay 3.2 times more in United States
Entertainment and Sports
pay 92.0% more in United States
Clothing
pay 12.0% more in United States

The cost of housing, childcare, groceries, entertainment and sports, restaurants, and transportation in United States are more expensive than in Romania. Notably, housing, childcare, and groceries are significantly more expensive in United States.

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United States vs. Romania Cost Breakdown

If you lived in United States instead of Romania, you would:

pay 71.6% more for restaurants

 
Romania
United States
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $9.82
RON46.44
$19.86
 
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
 $7.22
RON34.13
$11.42
 
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $1.87
RON8.86
$2.67
 
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pay 2.3 times more for groceries

 
Romania
United States
Bread
1 loaf
 $1.10
RON5.19
$3.63
 
Local cheese (8 oz) $3.76
RON17.78
$6.52
 
Milk (1 gallon) $5.36
RON25.36
$3.98
 
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pay 29.6% more for transportation

 
Romania
United States
Gasoline (1 gallon) $6.55
RON30.98
$4.01
 
Monthly public transit pass $23.38
RON110.58
$66.70
 
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $27,083.66
RON128K
$34,164.82
 
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pay 4.1 times more for housing

 
Romania
United States
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
 $8.56
RON40.50
$70.22
 
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $371.73
RON1,758.50
$1,681.01
 
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $281.26
RON1,330.53
$1,404.28
 
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pay 3.2 times more for childcare

 
Romania
United States
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $482.75
RON2,283.68
$1,450.99
 
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $7,125.14
RON33,706.19
$24,361.50
 
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pay 92.0% more for entertainment and sports

 
Romania
United States
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $2.18
RON10.31
$6.00
 
Cappuccino in mid-range area $2.45
RON11.57
$5.31
 
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
 $5.71
RON27.03
$10.42
 
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pay 12.0% more for clothing

 
Romania
United States
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
 $62.00
RON293.30
$53.15
 
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
 $35.53
RON168.09
$41.88
 
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
 $77.18
RON365.11
$89.76
 
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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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Compare further: Romania vs. United States

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Moving from Romania to United States · OECD 2023
1,700 people moved from Romania to United States.
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