Cape Town vs New York City - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

Cape Town New York City
🚶 Cost of living one person
$881
$4044
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$2144
$8222
🏠 One person rent
$484
$2662
🏘️ Family rent
$966
$3953
🍽️ Food expenses
$259
$794
🚐 Transport expenses
$56.2
$392
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$1518
$6298
😷 Air quality
Excellent
Excellent
✈️ Airport proximity
7 km
13 km
🎓 Higher education
55
100
😀 Quality of life
60
96
🏙️ Population
434K
8.8M

The cost of living in Cape Town is 78% less expensive than in New York City. Cities ranked 6078th and 6th ($881 vs $4044) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 3rd and 4th 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 1.7 months in Cape Town compared to 1.6 months in New York City. Cape Town ranked 3rd best city to live in South Africa vs New York City ranked 1st in the United States, while ranked 5406th and 8th 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
$7.47
$24.2
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$31.2
$108
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$4.87
$11.8
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$2.04
$8.64
 Cappuccino
$1.94
$5.71
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$0.86
$2.94
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$536
$3504
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$353
$2240
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$1202
$3748
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$749
$3719
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$56.2
$103
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$87
$162
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$39.2
$66.3
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
11.61%
6.65%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$1890
$16943
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$1307
$12588
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$1.04
$2.96
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$34.8
$135
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$7.17
$26.4
 Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$1.22
$1.05
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$1
$1.4
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$0.92
$4.11
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.38
$5.76
🥚 Eggs, x12
$2.39
$5.55
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$7.96
$16.5
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$5.26
$15.2
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$6.2
$19.9
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.4
$5.87
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.46
$2.03
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.39
$5.87
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.39
$6.18
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.36
$3.38
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.31
$3.81
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.58
$1.64
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$1.3
$3
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$4.51
$20
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$1.14
$2.67
🚬 Cigarette pack
$2.62
$16.7
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$4.8
$9.36
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$2.76
$7.02
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$2.22
$6.99
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$1.36
$2.37
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$31.3
$115
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$5.42
$18.8
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$32.9
$111
💇 Haircut, simple
$10.3
$27.2
👖 Brand Jeans
$42.7
$68.7
👟 Brand Sneakers
$81.4
$104
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$172
$1647
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$4013
$17859

Cost of living in other countries

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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
$773
99 km or 62 mi Worcester
$632
371 km or 231 mi George
$684
644 km or 400 mi Uitenhage
$805
662 km or 411 mi Port Elizabeth
$866
664 km or 413 mi Upington
$643
754 km or 468 mi Makhanda
$704
821 km or 510 mi Komani
$703
833 km or 518 mi Kimberley
$753
845 km or 525 mi Bhisho
$710
882 km or 548 mi East London
$683
912 km or 567 mi Bloemfontein
$601
950 km or 590 mi Mafeteng
$511
999 km or 621 mi Maseru
$535
1002 km or 622 mi Mthatha
$689
1029 km or 639 mi Teyateyaneng
$511
1030 km or 640 mi Welkom
$682
1034 km or 643 mi Mariental
$765
1092 km or 679 mi Butha-Buthe
$511
1092 km or 679 mi Kroonstad
$701
1113 km or 692 mi Klerksdorp
$621
1135 km or 705 mi Mmabatho
$719
1155 km or 718 mi Potchefstroom
$625
1187 km or 737 mi Rehoboth
$738
1194 km or 742 mi Lobatse
$631
1198 km or 745 mi Kanye
$633
1208 km or 751 mi Vanderbijlpark
$698
1217 km or 756 mi Vereeniging
$637
1231 km or 765 mi Pietermaritzburg
$609
1244 km or 773 mi Soweto
$875
1250 km or 777 mi Rustenburg
$845
1260 km or 783 mi Gaborone
$656
1261 km or 783 mi Molepolole
$603
1261 km or 784 mi Johannesburg
$908
1267 km or 788 mi Randburg
$776
1269 km or 789 mi Windhoek
$807
1270 km or 789 mi Sandton
$889
1271 km or 790 mi Durban
$780
1277 km or 794 mi Gobabis
$751
1279 km or 795 mi Walvis Bay
$718

Cities near New York City

Distance City Cost of living
11 km or 6.6 mi Astoria
$2529
11 km or 6.8 mi Hoboken
$2821
11 km or 7.1 mi Jersey
$3002
13 km or 8.3 mi Union
$2743
14 km or 8.8 mi West New York
$2739
14 km or 8.9 mi Bayonne
$3241
15 km or 9.6 mi North Bergen
$2691
17 km or 10 mi Secaucus
$2638
17 km or 11 mi Cliffside Park
$2613
18 km or 11 mi Kearny
$2494
20 km or 12 mi Valley Stream
$2608
20 km or 13 mi Fort Lee
$2612
20 km or 13 mi Lyndhurst
$2520
22 km or 14 mi Newark
$1956
23 km or 14 mi Elizabeth
$2622
23 km or 14 mi Belleville
$2400
25 km or 15 mi Hillside
$2464
25 km or 15 mi Long Beach
$2612
25 km or 15 mi Nutley
$2433
25 km or 16 mi East Orange
$2351
25 km or 16 mi Irvington
$2338
26 km or 16 mi Rockville Centre
$2521
26 km or 16 mi Linden
$2684
26 km or 16 mi Hackensack
$2653
26 km or 16 mi Bloomfield
$2422
26 km or 16 mi Teaneck
$2638
26 km or 16 mi Carteret
$2695
26 km or 16 mi Passaic
$2615
27 km or 17 mi Roselle
$2660
27 km or 17 mi Hempstead
$2627
28 km or 17 mi Union Township
$2614
28 km or 18 mi Clifton
$2698
28 km or 18 mi Maplewood
$2534
29 km or 18 mi Montclair
$2404
29 km or 18 mi Bergenfield
$2737
29 km or 18 mi Mount Vernon
$2784
30 km or 18 mi Rahway
$2694
30 km or 18 mi Uniondale
$2465
30 km or 18 mi West Orange
$2447
30 km or 18 mi New Rochelle
$3028