Cape Town vs New York City - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

Cape Town New York City
🚶 Cost of living one person
$1071
$4441
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$2522
$10033
🏠 One person rent
$582
$2960
🏘️ Family rent
$1083
$5380
🍽️ Food expenses
$273
$886
🚐 Transport expenses
$124
$364
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$1532
$5544
😷 Air quality
Excellent
Good
✈️ Airport proximity
7 km
13 km
🎓 Higher education
56
100
😀 Quality of life
58
95
🏙️ Population
3.78M
8.8M

The cost of living in Cape Town is 76% less expensive than in New York City. Cities ranked 5016th and 3rd ($1071 vs $4441) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 3rd and 1st in South Africa and the United States, respectively. Check South Africa vs the United States comparison.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 1.4 months in Cape Town compared to 1.2 months in New York City. Cape Town ranked 1st best city to live in South Africa vs New York City ranked 2nd in the United States, while ranked 5491st and 22nd among best cities to live in the world.

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Cost of living in Cape Town vs New York City infographic

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Prices in Cape Town vs New York City

Prices for goods and services in Cape Town and New York City are partly crowdsourced by our visitors, just like yourself. Please consider telling us about your city.

Cape Town New York City
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu
$8.4
$29.7
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$32.1
$133
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$4.87
$12
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$2.58
$8.94
 Cappuccino
$2.03
$5.95
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$1.03
$3.2
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$677
$3501
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$435
$2603
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$1304
$4776
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$863
$5236
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$59.9
$112
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$93.1
$171
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$38.9
$65.5
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
11.89%
6.55%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$1804
$17935
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$1180
$12929
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$1.09
$2.91
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$39
$132
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$8.47
$22.5
 Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$1.23
$1
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.08
$1.53
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$1.03
$5.04
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.48
$7.95
🥚 Eggs, x12
$2.58
$5.54
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$8.33
$17.6
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$5.42
$15.4
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$7.24
$20
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.53
$7.6
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.45
$2.37
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.47
$6.05
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.57
$6.2
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.33
$3.66
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.13
$3.84
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.62
$1.72
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$1.43
$3.41
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$5.48
$20
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$1.39
$2.89
🚬 Cigarette pack
$3.02
$18.1
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$4.02
$9.89
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$3.17
$5.44
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$2.11
$6.94
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$1.49
$1.95
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$34.4
$71
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$6.22
$20.1
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$35.7
$173
💇 Haircut, simple
$8.05
$36.1
👖 Brand Jeans
$51
$67.3
👟 Brand Sneakers
$104
$113
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$204
$1784
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$4806
$21465

Cost of living in other countries

Cape TownNew York City

Cost of living

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Cost of Living in the nearest cities

Cities near Cape Town

Distance City Cost of living
54 km or 33 mi Paarl
$1147
99 km or 62 mi Worcester
$619
371 km or 231 mi George
$743
644 km or 400 mi Uitenhage
$840
662 km or 411 mi Port Elizabeth
$901
664 km or 413 mi Upington
$699
754 km or 468 mi Makhanda
$763
821 km or 510 mi Komani
$915
833 km or 518 mi Kimberley
$814
845 km or 525 mi Bhisho
$1332
882 km or 548 mi East London
$766
912 km or 567 mi Bloemfontein
$657
950 km or 590 mi Mafeteng
$567
999 km or 621 mi Maseru
$621
1002 km or 622 mi Mthatha
$852
1029 km or 639 mi Teyateyaneng
$500
1030 km or 640 mi Welkom
$748
1034 km or 643 mi Mariental
$827
1092 km or 679 mi Butha-Buthe
$535
1092 km or 679 mi Kroonstad
$768
1113 km or 692 mi Klerksdorp
$722
1135 km or 705 mi Mmabatho
$780
1155 km or 718 mi Potchefstroom
$695
1187 km or 737 mi Rehoboth
$792
1194 km or 742 mi Lobatse
$665
1198 km or 745 mi Kanye
$664
1208 km or 751 mi Vanderbijlpark
$773
1217 km or 756 mi Vereeniging
$672
1231 km or 765 mi Pietermaritzburg
$640
1244 km or 773 mi Soweto
$923
1250 km or 777 mi Rustenburg
$889
1260 km or 783 mi Gaborone
$691
1261 km or 783 mi Molepolole
$628
1261 km or 784 mi Johannesburg
$993
1267 km or 788 mi Randburg
$837
1269 km or 789 mi Windhoek
$862
1270 km or 789 mi Sandton
$953
1271 km or 790 mi Durban
$809
1277 km or 794 mi Gobabis
$813
1279 km or 795 mi Walvis Bay
$740

Cities near New York City

Distance City Cost of living
11 km or 6.6 mi Astoria
$2534
11 km or 6.8 mi Hoboken
$3271
11 km or 7.1 mi Jersey
$3040
13 km or 8.3 mi Union
$2886
14 km or 8.8 mi West New York
$2703
14 km or 8.9 mi Bayonne
$3302
15 km or 9.6 mi North Bergen
$2701
17 km or 10 mi Secaucus
$2756
17 km or 11 mi Cliffside Park
$2698
18 km or 11 mi Kearny
$2720
20 km or 12 mi Valley Stream
$2730
20 km or 13 mi Fort Lee
$2792
20 km or 13 mi Lyndhurst
$2667
22 km or 14 mi Newark
$2729
23 km or 14 mi Elizabeth
$2740
23 km or 14 mi Belleville
$2512
25 km or 15 mi Hillside
$2693
25 km or 15 mi Long Beach
$2732
25 km or 15 mi Nutley
$2531
25 km or 16 mi East Orange
$2587
25 km or 16 mi Irvington
$2637
26 km or 16 mi Rockville Centre
$2614
26 km or 16 mi Linden
$2749
26 km or 16 mi Hackensack
$2664
26 km or 16 mi Bloomfield
$2480
26 km or 16 mi Teaneck
$2715
26 km or 16 mi Carteret
$2722
26 km or 16 mi Passaic
$2676
27 km or 17 mi Roselle
$2747
27 km or 17 mi Hempstead
$2664
28 km or 17 mi Union Township
$2716
28 km or 18 mi Clifton
$2745
28 km or 18 mi Maplewood
$2611
29 km or 18 mi Montclair
$2456
29 km or 18 mi Bergenfield
$2674
29 km or 18 mi Mount Vernon
$2772
30 km or 18 mi Rahway
$2730
30 km or 18 mi Uniondale
$2610
30 km or 18 mi West Orange
$2456
30 km or 18 mi New Rochelle
$3111