Cost of Living Comparison

  1. Cost of Living
  2. United States
  3. South Africa
  4. Comparison
USD
COMPARED TO
ZAR

South Africa is 45.2% cheaper than United States.

If you lived in South Africa instead of United States, you would:
local_dining

pay 52.9% less for restaurants

  United States help_outline South Africa help_outline  
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $14.02 $7.46
R98.56
-46.8%
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
 $7.68 $3.77
R49.87
-50.8%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $1.89 $0.83
R10.91
-56.4%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) $1.53 $0.65
R8.53
-57.7%
Average -52.9%
United States vs. South Africa - Cost of restaurants
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local_grocery_store

pay 49.2% less for groceries

  United States help_outline South Africa help_outline  
Bread
1 loaf
 $2.69 $0.80
R10.63
-70.1%
Local cheese (8 oz) $5.53 $3.07
R40.62
-44.4%
Milk (1 gallon) $3.20 $3.49
R46.12
+9.0%
Eggs
1 dozen
 $2.34 $1.74
R22.93
-25.8%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) $4.12 $2.08
R27.47
-49.5%
Apples (1 lb) $2.11 $0.64
R8.44
-69.7%
Bananas (1 lb) $0.77 $0.59
R7.74
-23.5%
Oranges (1 lb) $1.93 $0.67
R8.87
-65.2%
Tomatoes (1 lb) $1.97 $0.58
R7.61
-70.8%
Potatoes (1 lb) $1.30 $0.49
R6.41
-62.5%
Onions (1 lb) $1.29 $0.40
R5.28
-68.9%
Average -49.2%
United States vs. South Africa - Cost of groceries
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drive_eta

pay 22.0% less for transportation

  United States help_outline South Africa help_outline  
Gasoline (1 gallon) $2.62 $3.58
R47.35
+37.0%
Monthly public transit pass $63.87 $40.96
R541.12
-35.9%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $23,180.29 $17,588.39
R232,370.81
-24.1%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) $17.33 $6.07
R80.18
-65.0%
Average -22.0%
United States vs. South Africa - Cost of transportation
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home

pay 48.8% less for housing

  United States help_outline South Africa help_outline  
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
 $67.35 $55.17
R728.94
-18.1%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $1,222.86 $417.96
R5,521.96
-65.8%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $1,029.07 $350.52
R4,630.96
-65.9%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
 $127.79 $69.65
R920.22
-45.5%
Average -48.8%
United States vs. South Africa - Cost of housing
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child_care

pay 79.5% less for childcare

  United States help_outline South Africa help_outline  
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $886.13 $164.08
R2,167.71
-81.5%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $15,193.33 $3,424.43
R45,242.21
-77.5%
Average -79.5%
United States vs. South Africa - Cost of childcare
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gamepad

pay 53.1% less for entertainment and sports

  United States help_outline South Africa help_outline  
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $4.50 $1.73
R22.89
-61.5%
Cappuccino in mid-range area $4.17 $1.58
R20.81
-62.2%
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
 $7.76 $2.58
R34.12
-66.7%
Monthly membership at local gym $39.15 $30.59
R404.10
-21.9%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema $11.52 $5.39
R71.19
-53.2%
Average -53.1%
United States vs. South Africa - Cost of entertainment and sports
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store

pay 11.1% less for clothing

  United States help_outline South Africa help_outline  
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
 $43.40 $45.82
R605.32
+5.6%
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
 $36.02 $28.11
R371.40
-22.0%
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
 $75.12 $74.53
R984.67
-0.8%
Men's business shoes (leather) $95.18 $69.06
R912.33
-27.4%
Average -11.1%
United States vs. South Africa - 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: March 2021
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