Cost of living comparison
compared to
California vs. Turkmenistan Cost of Living Summary
California is 6.4 times more expensive than Turkmenistan overall.
- Restaurants
-
pay 36.8% more in California
- Groceries
-
pay 2.2% more in California
- Transportation
-
pay 3.3 times more in California
- Housing
-
pay 47.3% more in California
- Childcare
-
pay 36.3 times more in California
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 19.3% less in California
- Clothing
-
pay 46.8% less in California
The cost of childcare, transportation, housing, restaurants, and groceries in California are more expensive than in Turkmenistan. Expenses including clothing and entertainment and sports are lower in California. Notably, childcare and transportation are significantly more expensive in California.
California vs. Turkmenistan Cost Breakdown
If you lived in California instead of Turkmenistan, you would:
pay 36.8% more for restaurants
|
Turkmenistan
|
California
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$34.29
TMT120.34
|
$21.84
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$13.57
TMT47.64
|
$12.33
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.32
TMT8.13
|
$2.79
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$0.80
TMT2.81
|
$2.17
|
|
Turkmenistan vs. California - Cost of restaurants
pay 2.2% more for groceries
|
Turkmenistan
|
California
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.68
TMT5.89
|
$4.20
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$20.00
TMT70.20
|
$6.77
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$18.21
TMT63.90
|
$4.73
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$6.17
TMT21.66
|
$5.14
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$8.42
TMT29.57
|
$6.05
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.46
TMT8.64
|
$2.30
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$4.00
TMT14.06
|
$0.92
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$3.47
TMT12.17
|
$1.91
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.60
TMT5.63
|
$2.38
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.91
TMT3.18
|
$1.50
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.81
TMT2.84
|
$1.41
|
|
Turkmenistan vs. California - Cost of groceries
pay 3.3 times more for transportation
|
Turkmenistan
|
California
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$1.62
TMT5.69
|
$4.72
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$8.57
TMT30.09
|
$63.04
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$43,928.57
TMT154,189.29
|
$30,529.84
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$9.71
TMT34.10
|
$21.43
|
|
Turkmenistan vs. California - Cost of transportation
pay 47.3% more for housing
|
Turkmenistan
|
California
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$102.86
TMT361.03
|
$67.96
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,128.57
TMT3,961.29
|
$2,385.40
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$750.00
TMT2,632.50
|
$2,043.56
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$436.97
TMT1,533.78
|
$171.94
|
|
Turkmenistan vs. California - Cost of housing
pay 36.3 times more for childcare
|
Turkmenistan
|
California
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$22.86
TMT80.23
|
$1,633.13
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$25,714.29
TMT90,257.14
|
$30,339.97
|
|
Turkmenistan vs. California - Cost of childcare
pay 19.3% less for entertainment and sports
|
Turkmenistan
|
California
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$5.14
TMT18.05
|
$7.31
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$7.05
TMT24.75
|
$5.58
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$25.71
TMT90.26
|
$10.92
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$195.24
TMT685.29
|
$68.02
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$14.29
TMT50.14
|
$14.99
|
|
Turkmenistan vs. California - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 46.8% less for clothing
|
Turkmenistan
|
California
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$65.71
TMT230.66
|
$56.47
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$121.43
TMT426.21
|
$40.47
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$300.00
TMT1,053.00
|
$87.50
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$185.71
TMT651.86
|
$119.94
|
|
Turkmenistan vs. California - Cost of clothing
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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cost of living in Turkmenistan vs. United States.
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