Cost of living comparison

compared to

South Carolina vs. Zambia Cost of Living Summary

South Carolina is 3.5 times more expensive than Zambia overall.

Restaurants: pay 4.8 times more in South Carolina
Groceries: pay 2.5 times more in South Carolina
Transportation: pay 84.8% more in South Carolina
Housing: pay 6.0 times more in South Carolina
Childcare: pay 4.6 times more in South Carolina
Entertainment and Sports: pay 2.7 times more in South Carolina
Clothing: pay 82.5% more in South Carolina

The cost of housing, restaurants, childcare, entertainment and sports, groceries, and transportation in South Carolina are more expensive than in Zambia. Notably, housing, restaurants, and childcare are significantly more expensive in South Carolina.

South Carolina vs. Zambia Cost Breakdown

If you lived in South Carolina instead of Zambia, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 4.8 times more for restaurants

	Zambia	South Carolina
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$7.35 ZMW169.38	$19.17	+160.7%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$3.72 ZMW85.64	$11.16	+200.2%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.49 ZMW11.29	$2.65	+441.2%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.26 ZMW5.98	$2.13	+719.8%
Average			+380.5%

Zambia vs. South Carolina - Cost of restaurants

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pay 2.5 times more for groceries

	Zambia	South Carolina
Bread 1 loaf	$0.77 ZMW17.68	$3.44	+348.6%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.76 ZMW86.67	$5.99	+59.2%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.89 ZMW112.68	$3.54	-27.5%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.53 ZMW35.32	$4.18	+172.6%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.78 ZMW41.10	$5.64	+215.9%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.90 ZMW20.66	$2.64	+195.0%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.73 ZMW16.78	$0.76	+4.2%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.22 ZMW28.17	$2.49	+103.3%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.50 ZMW11.51	$2.31	+361.9%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.89 ZMW20.41	$1.63	+84.0%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.67 ZMW15.42	$1.38	+106.3%
Average			+147.6%

Zambia vs. South Carolina - Cost of groceries

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pay 84.8% more for transportation

	Zambia	South Carolina
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.58 ZMW105.43	$2.88	-37.1%
Monthly public transit pass	$38.52 ZMW887.40	$46.17	+19.9%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$8,004.53 ZMW184,413.22	$33,190.90	+314.7%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$11.53 ZMW265.70	$16.34	+41.7%
Average			+84.8%

Zambia vs. South Carolina - Cost of transportation

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pay 6.0 times more for housing

	Zambia	South Carolina
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$118.37 ZMW2,727.07	$66.47	-43.8%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$176.52 ZMW4,066.81	$1,589.94	+800.7%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$115.74 ZMW2,666.38	$1,366.92	+1081.1%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$52.70 ZMW1,214.22	$141.20	+167.9%
Average			+501.5%

Zambia vs. South Carolina - Cost of housing

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pay 4.6 times more for childcare

	Zambia	South Carolina
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$176.79 ZMW4,072.98	$1,346.85	+661.8%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$11,677.88 ZMW269,042.15	$19,168.15	+64.1%
Average			+362.9%

Zambia vs. South Carolina - Cost of childcare

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pay 2.7 times more for entertainment and sports

	Zambia	South Carolina
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$0.98 ZMW22.50	$5.29	+441.9%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.05 ZMW47.16	$5.17	+152.7%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.67 ZMW84.66	$7.67	+108.9%
Monthly membership at local gym	$50.47 ZMW1,162.72	$32.75	-35.1%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$4.18 ZMW96.41	$12.71	+203.7%
Average			+174.4%

Zambia vs. South Carolina - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 82.5% more for clothing

	Zambia	South Carolina
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$18.93 ZMW436.06	$50.06	+164.5%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$16.99 ZMW391.43	$35.86	+111.1%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$84.33 ZMW1,942.82	$84.43	+0.1%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$73.12 ZMW1,684.67	$112.81	+54.3%
Average			+82.5%

Zambia vs. South Carolina - 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: December 2025

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