Johannesburg vs Mbuji-Mayi - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated: March 11, 2026

	Johannesburg	Mbuji-Mayi
🚶 Cost of living one person	$1171	$1067
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family	$2754	$2476
🏠 One person rent	$522	$412
🏘️ Family rent	$894	$693
🍽️ Food expenses	$337	$348
🚐 Transport expenses	$216	$228
💳 Monthly salary after tax	$1761	$96.4
😷 Air quality	Moderate	Moderate
✈️ Airport proximity	12 km	3 km
🎓 Higher education	73	11
😀 Quality of life	65	14
🏙️ Population	4.8M	2.89M

The cost of living in Johannesburg is 10% more expensive than in Mbuji-Mayi. Cities ranked 4839th and 5187th ($1171 vs $1067) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 4th and 3rd in South Africa and the DR Congo, respectively. Check South Africa vs the DR Congo comparison.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 1.5 months in Johannesburg compared to 0.1 months in Mbuji-Mayi. Johannesburg ranked 1st best city to live in South Africa vs Mbuji-Mayi ranked 7th in the DR Congo, while ranked 5190th and 9222nd among best cities to live in the world.

Salary adjustment calculator
the estimated difference in money purchasing power

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<img src="https://livingcost.org/assets/photo/cost/johannesburg/mbuji-mayi.jpg" alt="Cost of living in Johannesburg vs Mbuji-Mayi infographic" style="max-width: 100%; height: auto;"><p>Source: <a href="https://livingcost.org/cost/johannesburg/mbuji-mayi" target="_blank">Johannesburg vs Mbuji-Mayi - Cost of Living Comparison</a></p>

Prices in Johannesburg vs Mbuji-Mayi

Prices for goods and services in Johannesburg and Mbuji-Mayi are partly crowdsourced by our visitors, just like yourself. Please consider telling us about your city.

	Johannesburg	Mbuji-Mayi
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu	$11.5	$7.39
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2	$43.9	$61.4
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's	$5.73	$6.67
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$2.81	$1.88
☕ Cappuccino	$2.48	$3.8
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz	$1.16	$1.25
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$448	$740
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$377	$168
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$804	$1359
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$689	$301
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$91	$96.9
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$142	$148
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited	$40	$32.3
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years	11.13%	11.95%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$1058	$1117
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$785	$525
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket	$2.12	$0.61
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport	$88.7	$123
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi	$9.88	$11.5
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal	$1.4	$1.31
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt	$1.43	$1.19
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb	$1.16	$1.66
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.66	$1.8
🥚 Eggs, x12	$2.52	$2.79
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$9.48	$6.98
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$5.59	$4.81
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$7.91	$8.76
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.97	$3.63
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.87	$1.76
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.87	$2.77
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.99	$1.96
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.64	$1.6
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.75	$2.3
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt	$0.75	$0.86
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz	$1.62	$1.72
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle	$6.21	$10.3
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$1.66	$1.76
🚬 Cigarette pack	$3.47	$4.59
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week	$5.83	$3.08
🧴 Hair Shampoo	$4.49	$3.25
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls	$2.29	$1.44
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube	$1.41	$1
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month	$38.5	$38
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person	$8.38	$13.1
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit	$32.1	$39.4
💇 Haircut, simple	$7.19	$4.76
👖 Brand Jeans	$59	$23.7
👟 Brand Sneakers	$104	$46.5
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month	$229	$112
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year	$5808	$3356

Cost of living in other countries

Cost of living

Cost of Living in the nearest cities

Cities near Johannesburg

Distance	City	Cost of living
11 km or 6.8 mi	Sandton	$1089
13 km or 8 mi	Randburg	$958
19 km or 12 mi	Soweto	$1057
28 km or 17 mi	Benoni	$892
40 km or 25 mi	Springs	$792
41 km or 25 mi	Centurion	$967
53 km or 33 mi	Pretoria	$1049
53 km or 33 mi	Vereeniging	$765
59 km or 36 mi	Vanderbijlpark	$865
71 km or 44 mi	Brits	$950
101 km or 62 mi	Rustenburg	$1017
109 km or 68 mi	Potchefstroom	$791
143 km or 89 mi	Bethal	$910
152 km or 94 mi	Middelburg	$899
155 km or 97 mi	Klerksdorp	$826
179 km or 111 mi	Kroonstad	$875
237 km or 147 mi	Welkom	$826
244 km or 152 mi	Mmabatho	$901
262 km or 163 mi	Lobatse	$697
275 km or 171 mi	Gaborone	$731
287 km or 179 mi	Butha-Buthe	$604
302 km or 188 mi	Kanye	$694
311 km or 193 mi	Mbabane	$652
323 km or 201 mi	Vryheid	$912
325 km or 202 mi	Molepolole	$662
329 km or 204 mi	Teyateyaneng	$573
333 km or 207 mi	Manzini	$511
350 km or 217 mi	Maseru	$681
366 km or 228 mi	Mahalapye	$628
369 km or 229 mi	Bloemfontein	$763
409 km or 254 mi	Mafeteng	$630
417 km or 259 mi	Palapye	$551
429 km or 267 mi	Kimberley	$927
442 km or 275 mi	Pietermaritzburg	$716
443 km or 275 mi	Matola	$916
446 km or 277 mi	Serowe	$583
454 km or 282 mi	Maputo	$966
501 km or 311 mi	Durban	$948
562 km or 349 mi	Francistown	$633
577 km or 358 mi	Xai-Xai	$950

Cities near Mbuji-Mayi

Distance	City	Cost of living
81 km or 50 mi	Gandajika	$887
99 km or 62 mi	Mwene-Ditu	$895
129 km or 80 mi	Kananga	$1037
311 km or 193 mi	Tshikapa	$999
436 km or 271 mi	Kindu	$785
543 km or 337 mi	Kikwit	$932
551 km or 342 mi	Kolwezi	$1039
619 km or 385 mi	Kalemie	$786
641 km or 398 mi	Likasi	$1039
684 km or 425 mi	Uvira	$839
708 km or 440 mi	Bujumbura	$759
708 km or 440 mi	Bukavu	$798
713 km or 443 mi	Cyangugu	$517
722 km or 448 mi	Makamba	$691
726 km or 451 mi	Bubanza	$693
748 km or 465 mi	Luena	$662
749 km or 465 mi	Lubumbashi	$1133
751 km or 467 mi	Rutana	$691
759 km or 472 mi	Kisangani	$961
763 km or 474 mi	Gitega	$694
777 km or 483 mi	Ngozi	$692
781 km or 486 mi	Kibuye	$507
786 km or 489 mi	Butare	$409
794 km or 493 mi	Ruyigi	$693
797 km or 495 mi	Gisenyi	$395
801 km or 498 mi	Nyanza	$544
809 km or 503 mi	Mansa	$1030
831 km or 516 mi	Muyinga	$691
845 km or 525 mi	Ruhengeri	$518
854 km or 530 mi	Kigali	$811
854 km or 531 mi	Chingola	$1229
878 km or 545 mi	Byumba	$620
879 km or 546 mi	Mufulira	$1473
901 km or 560 mi	Kitwe	$1189
906 km or 563 mi	Mbandaka	$851
933 km or 580 mi	Bumba	$857
938 km or 583 mi	Kinshasa	$1163
940 km or 584 mi	Butembo	$798
940 km or 584 mi	Ndola	$613
943 km or 586 mi	Brazzaville	$602