Cost of living comparison

United States

compared to

Israel

Jerusalem vs. United States Cost of Living Summary

Jerusalem is 17.2% more expensive than United States overall.

Restaurants: pay 37.3% more in Jerusalem
Groceries: pay 4.3% less in Jerusalem
Transportation: pay 58.6% more in Jerusalem
Housing: pay 2.8% more in Jerusalem
Childcare: pay 7.5% more in Jerusalem
Entertainment and Sports: pay 19.2% more in Jerusalem
Clothing: pay 75.8% more in Jerusalem

The cost of clothing, transportation, restaurants, entertainment and sports, childcare, and housing in Jerusalem are more expensive than in United States. Notably, clothing is significantly more expensive in Jerusalem.

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Jerusalem vs. United States Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 37.3% more for restaurants

	United States	Jerusalem
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$19.86	$23.11 ₪71.52	+16.4%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$11.42	$19.53 ₪60.44	+71.0%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.67	$3.52 ₪10.89	+32.0%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$2.05	$2.86 ₪8.84	+39.3%
Average			+37.3%

United States vs. Jerusalem - Cost of restaurants

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pay 4.3% less for groceries

	United States	Jerusalem
Bread 1 loaf	$3.63	$3.32 ₪10.26	-8.5%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$6.52	$8.64 ₪26.72	+32.5%
Milk (1 gallon)	$3.98	$9.02 ₪27.92	+126.6%
Eggs 1 dozen	$4.30	$4.85 ₪15.01	+12.9%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$5.46	$6.59 ₪20.39	+20.6%
Apples (1 lb)	$2.34	$1.96 ₪6.08	-15.9%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.80	$1.51 ₪4.67	+89.8%
Oranges (1 lb)	$2.02	$1.20 ₪3.70	-40.7%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.19	$1.09 ₪3.37	-50.3%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.34	$0.86 ₪2.65	-36.3%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.39	$0.76 ₪2.36	-45.1%
Average			-4.3%

United States vs. Jerusalem - Cost of groceries

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pay 58.6% more for transportation

	United States	Jerusalem
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.01	$9.96 ₪30.84	+148.7%
Monthly public transit pass	$66.70	$69.33 ₪214.57	+3.9%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$34,164.82	$57,582.76 ₪178K	+68.5%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$18.02	$14.19 ₪43.92	-21.3%
Average			+58.6%

United States vs. Jerusalem - Cost of transportation

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pay 2.8% more for housing

	United States	Jerusalem
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$70.22	$41.92 ₪129.73	-40.3%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,681.01	$1,862.84 ₪5,764.93	+10.8%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,404.28	$1,279.70 ₪3,960.28	-8.9%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$157.64	$219.72 ₪679.98	+39.4%
Average			+2.8%

United States vs. Jerusalem - Cost of housing

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pay 7.5% more for childcare

	United States	Jerusalem
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,450.99	$1,411.37 ₪4,367.75	-2.7%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$24,361.50	$28,921.58 ₪89,503.63	+18.7%
Average			+7.5%

United States vs. Jerusalem - Cost of childcare

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pay 19.2% more for entertainment and sports

	United States	Jerusalem
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$6.00	$8.14 ₪25.18	+35.6%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$5.31	$4.89 ₪15.14	-7.9%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$10.42	$13.54 ₪41.91	+29.9%
Monthly membership at local gym	$50.68	$73.40 ₪227.16	+44.8%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$13.95	$14.65 ₪45.33	+5.0%
Average			+19.2%

United States vs. Jerusalem - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 75.8% more for clothing

	United States	Jerusalem
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$53.15	$117.06 ₪362.25	+120.2%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$41.88	$75.86 ₪234.78	+81.1%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$89.76	$151.21 ₪467.96	+68.5%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$114.01	$161.99 ₪501.31	+42.1%
Average			+75.8%

United States vs. Jerusalem - Cost of clothing

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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

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