Madagascar vs. United States Cost of Living Summary
Madagascar vs. United States Cost Breakdown

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

pay 68.3% less for restaurants

 
United States
Madagascar
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $18.59
 
$2.90
MGA13,605
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$10.47
 
$4.30
MGA20,155
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $2.50
 
$0.92
MGA4,317

Improve prices ·

pay 58.0% less for groceries

 
United States
Madagascar
Bread
1 loaf
$3.49
 
$0.92
MGA4,310
Local cheese (8 oz) $6.33
 
$5.17
MGA24,246
Milk (1 gallon) $3.91
 
$3.71
MGA17,398

Improve prices ·

pay 24.7% less for transportation

 
United States
Madagascar
Gasoline (1 gallon) $3.61
 
$4.28
MGA20,075
Monthly public transit pass $65.15
 
??
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $31,583.67
 
$11,817.99
MGA55,426,375

Improve prices ·

pay 67.5% less for housing

 
United States
Madagascar
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$67.50
 
$58.38
MGA273,821
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $1,655.99
 
$241.73
MGA1,133,721
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $1,423.40
 
$65.00
MGA304,871

Improve prices ·

pay 71.3% less for childcare

 
United States
Madagascar
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $1,351.84
 
$89.71
MGA420,737
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $22,265.44
 
$11,292.35
MGA52,961,118

Improve prices ·

pay 65.4% less for entertainment and sports

 
United States
Madagascar
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $5.78
 
$0.91
MGA4,283
Cappuccino in mid-range area $5.04
 
$1.13
MGA5,308
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$9.68
 
$2.46
MGA11,539

Improve prices ·

pay 49.4% less for clothing

 
United States
Madagascar
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$50.38
 
$14.15
MGA66,375
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$40.66
 
$15.67
MGA73,482
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$85.52
 
$71.98
MGA337,597

Improve prices ·
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: February 2025
Share this

Compare by city

For example, try comparing the cost of living in Washington vs. Antananarivo

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

ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY

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