Cost of living comparison

South Africa

compared to

United States

Mountain View vs. Stellenbosch Cost of Living Summary

Mountain View is 2.9 times more expensive than Stellenbosch.

Restaurants: pay 2.8 times more in Mountain View
Groceries: pay 2.4 times more in Mountain View
Transportation: pay 25.1% more in Mountain View
Housing: pay 4.5 times more in Mountain View
Childcare: pay 9.5 times more in Mountain View
Entertainment and Sports: pay 2.5 times more in Mountain View
Clothing: pay 62.7% more in Mountain View

The cost of childcare, housing, restaurants, entertainment and sports, groceries, and clothing in Mountain View are more expensive than in Stellenbosch. Notably, childcare, housing, and restaurants are significantly more expensive in Mountain View.

Planning a move to United States? Get up to 5 free, no-obligation quotes from vetted international movers. Get free quotes →

Mountain View vs. Stellenbosch Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Mountain View instead of Stellenbosch, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 2.8 times more for restaurants

	Stellenbosch	Mountain View
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$7.21 ZAR119.12	$20.00	+177.4%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.81 ZAR79.41	$12.00	+149.6%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.96 ZAR15.88	$2.75	+185.8%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.74 ZAR12.24	$2.70	+264.0%
Average			+175.5%

Stellenbosch vs. Mountain View - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 2.4 times more for groceries

	Stellenbosch	Mountain View
Bread 1 loaf	$1.13 ZAR18.61	$4.30	+281.4%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.39 ZAR72.52	$8.27	+88.3%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.99 ZAR82.49	$4.90	-1.9%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.88 ZAR47.51	$5.38	+86.9%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.63 ZAR43.53	$5.33	+102.3%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.79 ZAR13.06	$2.50	+216.0%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.65 ZAR10.80	$0.88	+33.8%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.77 ZAR12.74	$2.00	+159.4%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.71 ZAR11.71	$2.66	+275.4%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.48 ZAR7.88	$1.75	+267.0%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.68 ZAR11.25	$2.60	+281.2%
Average			+140.2%

Stellenbosch vs. Mountain View - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 25.1% more for transportation

	Stellenbosch	Mountain View
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.30 ZAR87.64	$5.78	+9.0%
Monthly public transit pass	??	??
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$35,391.94 ZAR585K	$36,998.00	+4.5%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$12.62 ZAR208.46	$43.77	+246.9%
Average			+25.1%

Stellenbosch vs. Mountain View - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 4.5 times more for housing

	Stellenbosch	Mountain View
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$34.05 ZAR562.59	$63.00	+85.0%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$681.00 ZAR11,250.14	$2,898.75	+325.7%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$480.71 ZAR7,941.28	$3,028.33	+530.0%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$77.26 ZAR1,276.28	$224.96	+191.2%
Average			+351.2%

Stellenbosch vs. Mountain View - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 9.5 times more for childcare

	Stellenbosch	Mountain View
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$261.38 ZAR4,318.07	$2,285.25	+774.3%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$2,343.44 ZAR38,713.73	$24,000.00	+924.1%
Average			+846.3%

Stellenbosch vs. Mountain View - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 2.5 times more for entertainment and sports

	Stellenbosch	Mountain View
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.70 ZAR44.67	$7.00	+158.9%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.06 ZAR34.00	$5.33	+159.1%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.61 ZAR59.56	$11.71	+224.8%
Monthly membership at local gym	$28.54 ZAR471.51	$72.25	+153.1%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.71 ZAR143.94	$17.00	+95.1%
Average			+145.4%

Stellenbosch vs. Mountain View - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 62.7% more for clothing

	Stellenbosch	Mountain View
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$52.84 ZAR872.89	$51.67	-2.2%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$29.04 ZAR479.79	$100.00	+244.3%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$119.84 ZAR1,979.80	$150.00	+25.2%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$90.13 ZAR1,488.99	$150.00	+66.4%
Average			+62.7%

Stellenbosch vs. Mountain View - Cost of clothing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

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

Compare further: Stellenbosch vs. Mountain View

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in Mountain View?

More cost comparisons

Stellenbosch vs.

Canberra

Stellenbosch vs.

Reykjavik

Stellenbosch vs.

Berlin

Stellenbosch vs.

Cairo

Stellenbosch vs.

Quito

Stellenbosch vs.

Bangkok

Stellenbosch vs.

London

Stellenbosch vs.

Washington

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 Stellenbosch

Add prices for Mountain View

Ask the Elsewhere Community

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