Cost of living comparison

Dominican Republic

compared to

El Salvador

San Salvador vs. Santo Domingo Cost of Living Summary

San Salvador is 25.7% more expensive than Santo Domingo.

Restaurants: pay 14.2% less in San Salvador
Groceries: pay 41.7% more in San Salvador
Transportation: pay 21.4% more in San Salvador
Housing: pay 58.6% more in San Salvador
Childcare: pay 35.9% less in San Salvador
Entertainment and Sports: pay 6.5% less in San Salvador
Clothing: pay 17.2% more in San Salvador

The cost of housing, groceries, transportation, and clothing in San Salvador are more expensive than in Santo Domingo. Expenses including childcare, restaurants, and entertainment and sports are lower in San Salvador.

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San Salvador vs. Santo Domingo Cost Breakdown

If you lived in San Salvador instead of Santo Domingo, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 14.2% less for restaurants

	Santo Domingo	San Salvador
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$9.95 DOP611.16	$6.75 SVC59.06	-32.1%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$7.54 DOP463.46	$7.00 SVC61.25	-7.2%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.04 DOP63.95	$1.14 SVC10.01	+9.9%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.57 DOP35.01	$0.83 SVC7.29	+46.2%
Average			-14.2%

Santo Domingo vs. San Salvador - Cost of restaurants

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pay 41.7% more for groceries

	Santo Domingo	San Salvador
Bread 1 loaf	$1.51 DOP93.03	$2.85 SVC24.94	+88.2%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.62 DOP222.50	$3.85 SVC33.72	+6.4%
Milk (1 gallon)	$5.19 DOP318.59	$6.95 SVC60.81	+34.0%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.34 DOP143.71	$3.02 SVC26.39	+28.9%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.53 DOP155.32	$3.16 SVC27.66	+25.0%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.45 DOP88.96	$2.29 SVC20.07	+58.4%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.37 DOP22.53	$0.63 SVC5.54	+72.6%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.24 DOP75.89	$1.18 SVC10.35	-4.3%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.83 DOP51.09	$1.56 SVC13.68	+88.0%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.91 DOP56.14	$1.33 SVC11.65	+45.7%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.00 DOP61.45	$1.49 SVC13.05	+49.1%
Average			+41.7%

Santo Domingo vs. San Salvador - Cost of groceries

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pay 21.4% more for transportation

	Santo Domingo	San Salvador
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.38 DOP330.30	$4.75 SVC41.60	-11.6%
Monthly public transit pass	$18.24 DOP1,120.45	$37.50 SVC328.13	+105.6%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$23,212.79 DOP1M	$25,000.00 SVC219K	+7.7%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$21.22 DOP1,303.80	$30.00 SVC262.50	+41.4%
Average			+21.4%

Santo Domingo vs. San Salvador - Cost of transportation

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pay 58.6% more for housing

	Santo Domingo	San Salvador
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$36.30 DOP2,230.04	$42.50 SVC371.88	+17.1%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$721.96 DOP44,352.33	$898.99 SVC7,866.27	+24.5%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$350.20 DOP21,513.82	$770.00 SVC6,737.58	+119.9%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$70.91 DOP4,356.44	$99.35 SVC869.35	+40.1%
Average			+58.6%

Santo Domingo vs. San Salvador - Cost of housing

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pay 35.9% less for childcare

	Santo Domingo	San Salvador
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$252.26 DOP15,497.20	$162.67 SVC1,423.35	-35.5%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$7,399.96 DOP455K	$4,720.00 SVC41,300.50	-36.2%
Average			-35.9%

Santo Domingo vs. San Salvador - Cost of childcare

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pay 6.5% less for entertainment and sports

	Santo Domingo	San Salvador
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.49 DOP152.79	$2.00 SVC17.50	-19.6%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.27 DOP139.64	$3.55 SVC31.02	+56.0%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$5.32 DOP326.97	$4.00 SVC35.00	-24.8%
Monthly membership at local gym	$29.64 DOP1,820.74	$31.60 SVC276.50	+6.6%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$7.46 DOP458.37	$5.00 SVC43.75	-33.0%
Average			-6.5%

Santo Domingo vs. San Salvador - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 17.2% more for clothing

	Santo Domingo	San Salvador
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$45.80 DOP2,813.91	$67.15 SVC587.57	+46.6%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$46.66 DOP2,866.62	$47.00 SVC411.25	+0.7%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$87.04 DOP5,346.99	$118.33 SVC1,035.43	+36.0%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$124.34 DOP7,638.61	$117.00 SVC1,023.76	-5.9%
Average			+17.2%

Santo Domingo vs. San Salvador - 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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