Afghanistan vs United States - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

Afghanistan United States
🚶 Cost of living one person
$494
$2522
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$1075
$5757
🏠 One person rent
$219
$1593
🏘️ Family rent
$305
$2642
🍽️ Food expenses
$172
$656
🚐 Transport expenses
$65.7
$103
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$127
$4550
💸 GDP per capita
$414
$84534
😃 Human freedom index
4
8.71
❤️ Life expectancy
66
78.4
👮 Corruption perceptions index
16
64
🌐 English speaking %
6%
95.9%
🎓 Higher education
26
100
😀 Quality of life
13
88
🏙️ Population
42.6M
340M

The average cost of living in Afghanistan ($494) is 80% less expensive than in the United States ($2522). Afghanistan ranked 189th vs 9th for the United States in the list of the most expensive countries in the world.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 0.3 months in Afghanistan compared to 1.8 months in the United States. Ranked 188th and 22nd best countries to live in the world.

Salary adjustment calculator
the estimated difference in money purchasing power

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Prices in Afghanistan vs the United States

We calculate prices for Afghanistan and the United States as a population-weighted mean of 12 and 2202 cities, respectively. Since large cities tend to have a higher cost of living, it's better to visit specific city pages below for more relevant information.

Afghanistan United States
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu
$3.12
$19.8
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$9.77
$77
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$5.43
$11.7
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$3.76
$6.39
 Cappuccino
$1.49
$5.44
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$0.42
$2.76
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$116
$1682
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$74.1
$1337
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$270
$2997
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$154
$2414
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$45
$130
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$69.8
$200
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$94.9
$68.9
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
13.55%
6.16%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$618
$4871
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$313
$3394
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$0.26
$2.34
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$17.1
$71.1
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$6.27
$18
 Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$1.09
$1.02
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.87
$1.11
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$0.3
$3.58
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.71
$4.47
🥚 Eggs, x12
$1.66
$4.73
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$5.53
$13.2
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$4.24
$12.3
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$6.54
$17.3
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.68
$5.06
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.94
$1.82
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.94
$4.57
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.6
$4.83
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.52
$2.88
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.45
$2.97
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.25
$1.52
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$1.06
$2.75
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$2.45
$15
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$1
$2.45
🚬 Cigarette pack
$2.68
$11.1
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$3.61
$10.5
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$4.17
$6.66
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$1.2
$4.59
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$1.62
$2.24
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$13.5
$52.6
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$2.71
$14.7
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$13.9
$127
💇 Haircut, simple
$3.25
$22.1
👖 Brand Jeans
$17.5
$55.3
👟 Brand Sneakers
$45.2
$94.7
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$26.9
$1520
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$1289
$20019

Cost of living in other countries

Cost of living

Cities Comparison in Afghanistan vs the United States

More countries to compare

Cost of Living in Popular cities

In Afghanistan

City Cost of living Population
Kabul
$504
5.33M
Kandahar
$473
614K
Herat
$556
556K
Mazar-i-Sharif
$493
469K
Kunduz
$468
357K
Jalalabad
$381
263K
Lashkargah
$469
202K
Sheberghan
$470
176K
Khost
$438
160K
Ghazni
$447
143K
Puli Khumri
$447
114K
Gardez
$456
70K

In the United States

City Cost of living Population
New York City
$4202
8.8M
Los Angeles
$3420
3.9M
Chicago
$2851
2.75M
Houston
$2261
2.3M
San Diego
$3486
1.39M
Philadelphia
$2597
1.6M
San Francisco
$4110
874K
Phoenix
$2423
1.61M
Dallas
$2472
1.3M
San Jose
$3957
1.01M
San Antonio
$2071
1.43M
Washington
$3350
690K
Seattle
$3183
737K
Austin
$2475
962K
Boston
$3680
676K
Fort Worth
$2259
919K
Hempstead
$2710
793K
Indianapolis
$2405
888K
Charlotte
$2470
875K
Jacksonville
$2192
950K
Columbus
$2140
906K
Denver
$2848
716K
Portland
$2785
653K
Nashville
$2451
689K
Atlanta
$2628
499K
Oklahoma City
$1931
681K
Baltimore
$2224
586K
Las Vegas
$2294
642K
Sacramento
$2682
525K
Memphis
$1917
633K