Cost of living comparison

compared to

New Jersey vs. South Africa Cost of Living Summary

New Jersey is 3.4 times more expensive than South Africa overall.

Restaurants: pay 2.4 times more in New Jersey
Groceries: pay 2.7 times more in New Jersey
Transportation: pay 59.4% more in New Jersey
Housing: pay 3.5 times more in New Jersey
Childcare: pay 9.3 times more in New Jersey
Entertainment and Sports: pay 2.8 times more in New Jersey
Clothing: pay 34.2% more in New Jersey

The cost of childcare, housing, entertainment and sports, groceries, restaurants, and transportation in New Jersey are more expensive than in South Africa. Notably, childcare, housing, and entertainment and sports are significantly more expensive in New Jersey.

New Jersey vs. South Africa Cost Breakdown

If you lived in New Jersey instead of South Africa, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 2.4 times more for restaurants

	South Africa	New Jersey
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$9.33 ZAR157.99	$19.95	+113.8%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.11 ZAR86.54	$12.40	+142.6%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.03 ZAR17.46	$2.60	+152.2%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.80 ZAR13.59	$2.04	+153.6%
Average			+140.5%

South Africa vs. New Jersey - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 2.7 times more for groceries

	South Africa	New Jersey
Bread 1 loaf	$1.00 ZAR16.97	$4.17	+316.1%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.88 ZAR65.75	$8.09	+108.3%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.37 ZAR73.98	$4.78	+9.3%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.33 ZAR39.49	$5.24	+124.7%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.13 ZAR36.12	$5.96	+179.5%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.73 ZAR12.33	$2.76	+278.7%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.65 ZAR11.04	$0.98	+50.2%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.68 ZAR11.57	$2.20	+222.4%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.71 ZAR12.00	$2.62	+269.4%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.59 ZAR9.91	$1.44	+145.2%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.60 ZAR10.16	$1.60	+166.9%
Average			+170.1%

South Africa vs. New Jersey - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 59.4% more for transportation

	South Africa	New Jersey
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.92 ZAR83.33	$3.24	-34.1%
Monthly public transit pass	$56.18 ZAR950.86	$116.02	+106.5%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$21,394.82 ZAR362,135.06	$32,841.50	+53.5%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$9.34 ZAR158.05	$19.75	+111.5%
Average			+59.4%

South Africa vs. New Jersey - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 3.5 times more for housing

	South Africa	New Jersey
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$39.36 ZAR666.17	$62.68	+59.3%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$404.16 ZAR6,840.92	$2,279.92	+464.1%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$361.59 ZAR6,120.39	$1,885.98	+421.6%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$88.13 ZAR1,491.68	$126.74	+43.8%
Average			+247.2%

South Africa vs. New Jersey - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 9.3 times more for childcare

	South Africa	New Jersey
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$173.48 ZAR2,936.29	$2,023.96	+1066.7%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$3,962.11 ZAR67,063.83	$27,267.62	+588.2%
Average			+827.5%

South Africa vs. New Jersey - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 2.8 times more for entertainment and sports

	South Africa	New Jersey
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.18 ZAR36.86	$6.95	+219.2%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.05 ZAR34.68	$5.20	+154.0%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.96 ZAR50.17	$12.79	+331.5%
Monthly membership at local gym	$30.26 ZAR512.21	$52.90	+74.8%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$6.85 ZAR115.92	$16.52	+141.2%
Average			+184.1%

South Africa vs. New Jersey - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 34.2% more for clothing

	South Africa	New Jersey
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$50.74 ZAR858.89	$57.64	+13.6%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$32.75 ZAR554.38	$49.26	+50.4%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$94.19 ZAR1,594.31	$99.28	+5.4%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$81.80 ZAR1,384.49	$136.81	+67.3%
Average			+34.2%

South Africa vs. New Jersey - Cost of clothing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you. We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: December 2025

More cost comparisons

South Africa vs.

Wisconsin

South Africa vs.

Louisiana

South Africa vs.

Mississippi

South Africa vs.

Washington

South Africa vs.

United Kingdom

South Africa vs.

Ireland

South Africa vs.

Canada

South Africa vs.

Germany

Share this

Compare countries by overall cost of living

See the cost of living in South Africa vs. United States. This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within South Africa and United States.

Help us improve these prices

MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate. Learn more

Add prices for South Africa

Add prices for New Jersey

ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about New Jersey or South Africa. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.