India vs United States - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

India United States
🚶 Cost of living one person
$424
$2516
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$1001
$5730
🏠 One person rent
$170
$1598
🏘️ Family rent
$277
$2655
🍽️ Food expenses
$166
$651
🚐 Transport expenses
$45.4
$101
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$334
$4539
💸 GDP per capita
$2697
$85810
😃 Human freedom index
6.26
8.64
❤️ Life expectancy
72
78.4
👮 Corruption perceptions index
38
65
🌐 English speaking %
15.8%
95.3%
🎓 Higher education
73
100
😀 Quality of life
44
87
🏙️ Population
1.45B
340M

The average cost of living in India ($424) is 83% less expensive than in the United States ($2516). India ranked 191st 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 0.8 months in India compared to 1.8 months in the United States. Ranked 118th and 20th best countries to live in the world.

Salary adjustment calculator
the estimated difference in money purchasing power

Cost of living in India vs United States infographic

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Prices in India vs the United States

We calculate prices for India and the United States as a population-weighted mean of 220 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.

India United States
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu
$3.21
$19.5
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$14.3
$76.5
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$3.98
$11.5
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$2.11
$6.31
 Cappuccino
$1.88
$5.34
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$0.43
$2.65
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$185
$1659
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$123
$1336
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$494
$3048
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$289
$2458
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$26.8
$125
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$41.3
$193
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$7.85
$67.5
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
9.05%
6.41%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$1880
$4491
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$979
$3675
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$0.35
$2.35
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$10.1
$69.5
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$3.22
$18.4
 Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$1.15
$0.92
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.69
$1.11
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$0.5
$3.57
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.72
$4.43
🥚 Eggs, x12
$0.97
$4.7
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$5.41
$13.4
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$3.25
$12.3
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$5.92
$16.8
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.08
$5.12
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.72
$1.85
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.07
$4.48
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.51
$4.77
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.39
$2.83
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.45
$2.9
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.22
$1.48
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$1.02
$2.74
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$8.49
$14.5
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$1.88
$2.41
🚬 Cigarette pack
$3.69
$10.7
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$1.66
$10.5
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$2.86
$6.66
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$1.63
$4.53
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$0.81
$2.2
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$17.2
$52.3
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$3.59
$14.5
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$16.8
$124
💇 Haircut, simple
$2.64
$21.6
👖 Brand Jeans
$25.2
$53.2
👟 Brand Sneakers
$45.9
$92.4
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$70.2
$1428
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$2014
$20562

Cost of living in other countries

Cost of living

Cities Comparison in India vs the United States

More countries to compare

Cost of Living in Popular cities

In India

City Cost of living Population
Delhi
$489
26.5M
Bangalore
$524
12.3M
Mumbai
$705
15.4M
Pune
$517
5.95M
Hyderabad
$470
9.31M
Ahmedabad
$442
7.65M
Chennai
$437
6.6M
Surat
$705
5.94M
Kolkata
$366
4.5M
Kanpur
$320
3.07M
Lucknow
$339
3.38M
Thane
$487
1.89M
Ghaziabad
$372
2.38M
Jaipur
$387
3.07M
Agra
$388
1.59M
Nashik
$350
1.49M
Kalyan
$399
1.25M
Faridabad
$383
1.4M
Navi Mumbai
$503
1.12M
Meerut
$350
1.31M
Vadodara
$374
2.07M
Nagpur
$545
2.41M
Mysore
$346
1.27M
Indore
$361
1.99M
Allahabad
$300
1.54M
Ludhiana
$421
1.62M
Vijayawada
$339
1.05M
Bhopal
$366
1.8M
Jodhpur
$322
1.7M
Aurangabad
$349
1.18M

In the United States

City Cost of living Population
New York City
$4203
8.8M
Los Angeles
$3361
3.9M
Chicago
$2799
2.75M
Houston
$2240
2.3M
San Diego
$3469
1.39M
Philadelphia
$2584
1.6M
Phoenix
$2340
1.61M
Dallas
$2447
1.3M
San Francisco
$4110
874K
San Jose
$3952
1.01M
San Antonio
$2023
1.43M
Seattle
$3162
737K
Austin
$2416
962K
Washington
$3328
690K
Boston
$3652
676K
Indianapolis
$2382
888K
Hempstead
$2655
793K
Fort Worth
$2217
919K
Jacksonville
$2222
950K
Charlotte
$2423
875K
Columbus
$2181
906K
Denver
$2775
716K
Portland
$2684
653K
Nashville
$2524
689K
Las Vegas
$2414
642K
Oklahoma City
$1872
681K
Atlanta
$2641
499K
Oakland
$3254
441K
Baltimore
$2323
586K
Sacramento
$2825
525K