Cost of living comparison

Malaysia

compared to

United States

New York City vs. Shah Alam Cost of Living Summary

New York City is 4.5 times more expensive than Shah Alam.

Restaurants: pay 5.4 times more in New York City
Groceries: pay 2.3 times more in New York City
Transportation: pay 2.1 times more in New York City
Housing: pay 9.7 times more in New York City
Childcare: pay 15.2 times more in New York City
Entertainment and Sports: pay 2.9 times more in New York City
Clothing: pay 57.9% more in New York City

The cost of childcare, housing, restaurants, entertainment and sports, groceries, and transportation in New York City are more expensive than in Shah Alam. Notably, childcare, housing, and restaurants are significantly more expensive in New York City.

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New York City vs. Shah Alam Cost Breakdown

If you lived in New York City instead of Shah Alam, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 5.4 times more for restaurants

	Shah Alam	New York City
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$3.67 MYR14.99	$26.50	+622.0%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.16 MYR16.99	$14.50	+248.6%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.74 MYR3.03	$3.95	+432.5%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.40 MYR1.63	$2.97	+642.2%
Average			+444.3%

Shah Alam vs. New York City - Cost of restaurants

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pay 2.3 times more for groceries

	Shah Alam	New York City
Bread 1 loaf	$1.07 MYR4.35	$4.78	+348.6%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$6.82 MYR27.84	$9.47	+38.9%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.95 MYR28.37	$5.13	-26.2%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.19 MYR8.94	$6.03	+175.2%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.00 MYR8.15	$7.93	+297.1%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.58 MYR6.46	$3.11	+96.9%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.75 MYR3.08	$0.96	+27.9%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.22 MYR4.99	$2.83	+131.9%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.81 MYR3.30	$3.08	+281.2%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.55 MYR2.27	$1.83	+229.0%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.90 MYR3.70	$2.04	+125.5%
Average			+127.1%

Shah Alam vs. New York City - Cost of groceries

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pay 2.1 times more for transportation

	Shah Alam	New York City
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$3.19 MYR13.01	$4.31	+35.1%
Monthly public transit pass	$15.91 MYR64.95	$140.00	+780.2%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$41,736.41 MYR170K	$35,458.00	-15.0%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$4.36 MYR17.79	$20.44	+369.3%
Average			+112.7%

Shah Alam vs. New York City - Cost of transportation

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pay 9.7 times more for housing

	Shah Alam	New York City
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$28.91 MYR118.04	$71.57	+147.6%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$340.14 MYR1,388.84	$4,447.32	+1207.5%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$312.00 MYR1,273.94	$3,217.65	+931.3%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$28.39 MYR115.93	$164.80	+480.5%
Average			+868.7%

Shah Alam vs. New York City - Cost of housing

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pay 15.2 times more for childcare

	Shah Alam	New York City
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$195.76 MYR799.33	$3,379.10	+1626.1%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$4,567.77 MYR18,651.14	$60,882.67	+1232.9%
Average			+1416.8%

Shah Alam vs. New York City - Cost of childcare

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pay 2.9 times more for entertainment and sports

	Shah Alam	New York City
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.43 MYR13.99	$8.50	+148.1%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.95 MYR12.04	$6.50	+120.4%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$4.26 MYR17.39	$19.00	+346.2%
Monthly membership at local gym	$39.76 MYR162.36	$121.41	+205.3%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$6.48 MYR26.48	$22.50	+247.0%
Average			+194.3%

Shah Alam vs. New York City - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 57.9% more for clothing

	Shah Alam	New York City
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$57.26 MYR233.81	$75.86	+32.5%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$39.76 MYR162.36	$54.45	+36.9%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$66.51 MYR271.57	$120.38	+81.0%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$69.71 MYR284.65	$132.00	+89.4%
Average			+57.9%

Shah Alam vs. New York City - 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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