Cost of living comparison

United States

compared to

Afghanistan

Afghanistan vs. United States Cost of Living Summary

Afghanistan is 63.6% cheaper than United States overall.

Restaurants: pay 81.1% less in Afghanistan
Groceries: pay 73.5% less in Afghanistan
Transportation: pay 42.8% less in Afghanistan
Housing: pay 16.9% less in Afghanistan
Childcare: pay 95.2% less in Afghanistan
Entertainment and Sports: pay 66.3% less in Afghanistan
Clothing: pay 69.1% less in Afghanistan

Expenses including childcare, restaurants, groceries, clothing, entertainment and sports, and transportation are lower in Afghanistan.

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Afghanistan vs. United States Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Afghanistan instead of United States, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 81.1% less for restaurants

	United States	Afghanistan
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$19.45	$2.44 AFN156	-87.5%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$11.12	$3.89 AFN249	-65.1%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.56	$0.45 AFN29	-82.2%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$2.00	$0.21 AFN13	-89.7%
Average			-81.1%

United States vs. Afghanistan - Cost of restaurants

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pay 73.5% less for groceries

	United States	Afghanistan
Bread 1 loaf	$3.56	$0.20 AFN13	-94.3%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$6.50	$2.26 AFN145	-65.3%
Milk (1 gallon)	$3.97	$2.59 AFN166	-34.8%
Eggs 1 dozen	$4.27	$1.53 AFN98	-64.3%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$5.41	$1.65 AFN106	-69.4%
Apples (1 lb)	$2.37	$0.26 AFN16	-89.2%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.78	$0.41 AFN26	-48.0%
Oranges (1 lb)	$2.04	$0.34 AFN22	-83.1%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.21	$0.24 AFN15	-89.1%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.34	$0.21 AFN14	-84.3%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.38	$0.19 AFN12	-86.4%
Average			-73.5%

United States vs. Afghanistan - Cost of groceries

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pay 42.8% less for transportation

	United States	Afghanistan
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$3.41	$4.06 AFN260	+18.8%
Monthly public transit pass	$65.85	$16.25 AFN1,040	-75.3%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$32,336.38	$9,043.81 AFN579K	-72.0%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$17.61	$10.12 AFN647	-42.6%
Average			-42.8%

United States vs. Afghanistan - Cost of transportation

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pay 16.9% less for housing

	United States	Afghanistan
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$68.97	$194.20 AFN12,429	+181.6%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,664.59	$87.87 AFN5,624	-94.7%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,416.15	$51.69 AFN3,308	-96.4%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$150.19	$63.00 AFN4,032	-58.1%
Average			-16.9%

United States vs. Afghanistan - Cost of housing

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pay 95.2% less for childcare

	United States	Afghanistan
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,387.27	$46.37 AFN2,968	-96.7%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$23,196.46	$1,476.83 AFN94,517	-93.6%
Average			-95.2%

United States vs. Afghanistan - Cost of childcare

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pay 66.3% less for entertainment and sports

	United States	Afghanistan
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$5.84	$4.87 AFN312	-16.5%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$5.15	$1.11 AFN71	-78.5%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$9.90	$1.92 AFN123	-80.6%
Monthly membership at local gym	$51.45	$10.12 AFN647	-80.3%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$13.64	$3.32 AFN213	-75.6%
Average			-66.3%

United States vs. Afghanistan - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 69.1% less for clothing

	United States	Afghanistan
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$51.08	$11.08 AFN709	-78.3%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$41.81	$17.72 AFN1,134	-57.6%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$87.56	$33.97 AFN2,174	-61.2%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$112.04	$23.20 AFN1,485	-79.3%
Average			-69.1%

United States vs. Afghanistan - 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: July 2026

Compare further: United States vs. Afghanistan

Salary Calculator · Free tool

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Quality of Life Comparison · 13 statistics

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Size Comparison · See true size

United States is about 15 times bigger than Afghanistan.

Moving from United States to Afghanistan · Cost, visas & climate

Compare cost of living, salary and climate.

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