Cost of living comparison

compared to

Puerto Rico vs. South Africa Cost of Living Summary

Puerto Rico is 77.8% more expensive than South Africa overall.

Restaurants: pay 69.6% more in Puerto Rico
Groceries: pay 2.2 times more in Puerto Rico
Transportation: pay 0.5% less in Puerto Rico
Housing: pay 98.0% more in Puerto Rico
Childcare: pay 2.5 times more in Puerto Rico
Entertainment and Sports: pay 87.2% more in Puerto Rico
Clothing: pay 13.4% more in Puerto Rico

The cost of childcare, groceries, housing, entertainment and sports, restaurants, and clothing in Puerto Rico are more expensive than in South Africa. Notably, childcare, groceries, and housing are significantly more expensive in Puerto Rico.

Puerto Rico vs. South Africa Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Puerto Rico instead of South Africa, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 69.6% more for restaurants

	South Africa	Puerto Rico
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$9.33 ZAR159.73	$15.10	+61.8%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.11 ZAR87.49	$10.01	+95.7%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.03 ZAR17.65	$1.58	+53.1%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.80 ZAR13.74	$1.35	+67.7%
Average			+69.6%

South Africa vs. Puerto Rico - Cost of restaurants

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pay 2.2 times more for groceries

	South Africa	Puerto Rico
Bread 1 loaf	$1.00 ZAR17.16	$3.18	+216.9%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.88 ZAR66.47	$4.16	+7.1%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.37 ZAR74.79	$8.11	+85.6%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.33 ZAR39.93	$5.34	+129.1%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.13 ZAR36.52	$3.76	+76.2%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.73 ZAR12.46	$2.50	+243.9%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.65 ZAR11.16	$1.06	+62.0%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.68 ZAR11.70	$1.54	+124.9%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.71 ZAR12.14	$1.84	+159.0%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.59 ZAR10.02	$1.65	+181.0%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.60 ZAR10.27	$1.04	+73.1%
Average			+123.5%

South Africa vs. Puerto Rico - Cost of groceries

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pay 0.5% less for transportation

	South Africa	Puerto Rico
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.92 ZAR84.25	$3.65	-25.8%
Monthly public transit pass	$56.18 ZAR961.29	$35.20	-37.3%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$21,394.82 ZAR366,106.47	$34,700.00	+62.2%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$9.34 ZAR159.79	$9.22	-1.3%
Average			-0.5%

South Africa vs. Puerto Rico - Cost of transportation

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pay 98.0% more for housing

	South Africa	Puerto Rico
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$39.36 ZAR673.48	$62.46	+58.7%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$404.16 ZAR6,915.94	$800.93	+98.2%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$361.59 ZAR6,187.51	$580.00	+60.4%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$88.13 ZAR1,508.04	$242.07	+174.7%
Average			+98.0%

South Africa vs. Puerto Rico - Cost of housing

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pay 2.5 times more for childcare

	South Africa	Puerto Rico
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$173.48 ZAR2,968.50	$453.00	+161.1%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$3,962.11 ZAR67,799.29	$9,760.00	+146.3%
Average			+153.7%

South Africa vs. Puerto Rico - Cost of childcare

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pay 87.2% more for entertainment and sports

	South Africa	Puerto Rico
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.18 ZAR37.27	$2.73	+25.1%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.05 ZAR35.06	$3.38	+64.9%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.96 ZAR50.72	$11.21	+278.1%
Monthly membership at local gym	$30.26 ZAR517.83	$37.37	+23.5%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$6.85 ZAR117.19	$9.90	+44.6%
Average			+87.2%

South Africa vs. Puerto Rico - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 13.4% more for clothing

	South Africa	Puerto Rico
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$50.74 ZAR868.31	$42.97	-15.3%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$32.75 ZAR560.46	$54.22	+65.6%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$94.19 ZAR1,611.79	$81.06	-13.9%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$81.80 ZAR1,399.67	$96.00	+17.4%
Average			+13.4%

South Africa vs. Puerto Rico - Cost of clothing

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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

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