Johannesburg vs New York City - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

Johannesburg New York City
🚶 Cost of living one person
$993
$4441
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$2403
$10033
🏠 One person rent
$441
$2960
🏘️ Family rent
$809
$5380
🍽️ Food expenses
$288
$886
🚐 Transport expenses
$181
$364
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$1383
$5544
😷 Air quality
Moderate
Good
✈️ Airport proximity
12 km
13 km
🎓 Higher education
72
100
😀 Quality of life
57
95
🏙️ Population
4.43M
8.8M

The cost of living in Johannesburg is 78% less expensive than in New York City. Cities ranked 5539th and 3rd ($993 vs $4441) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 4th 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 Johannesburg compared to 1.2 months in New York City. Johannesburg ranked 2nd best city to live in South Africa vs New York City ranked 2nd in the United States, while ranked 5667th and 22nd among best cities to live in the world.

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Cost of living in Johannesburg vs New York City infographic

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Prices in Johannesburg vs New York City

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

Johannesburg New York City
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu
$9.65
$29.7
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$37.9
$133
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$4.9
$12
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$2.37
$8.94
☕ Cappuccino
$2.01
$5.95
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$0.99
$3.2
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$377
$3501
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$318
$2603
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$790
$4776
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$627
$5236
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$71.9
$112
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$110
$171
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$39.5
$65.5
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
11.55%
6.55%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$1031
$17935
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$684
$12929
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$1.62
$2.91
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$72
$132
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$9.35
$22.5
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$1.28
$1
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.18
$1.53
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$0.95
$5.04
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.36
$7.95
🥚 Eggs, x12
$2.58
$5.54
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$10
$17.6
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$5.04
$15.4
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$6.12
$20
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.6
$7.6
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.49
$2.37
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.41
$6.05
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.59
$6.2
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.35
$3.66
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.44
$3.84
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.58
$1.72
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$1.44
$3.41
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$5.96
$20
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$1.25
$2.89
🚬 Cigarette pack
$2.97
$18.1
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$5.59
$9.89
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$3.94
$5.44
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$1.88
$6.94
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$1.42
$1.95
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$33.2
$71
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$7.2
$20.1
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$27.8
$173
💇 Haircut, simple
$5.55
$36.1
👖 Brand Jeans
$48.5
$67.3
👟 Brand Sneakers
$88.8
$113
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$214
$1784
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$5271
$21465

Cost of living in other countries

JohannesburgNew York City

Cost of living

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Cost of Living in the nearest cities

Cities near Johannesburg

Distance City Cost of living
11 km or 6.8 mi Sandton
$953
13 km or 8 mi Randburg
$837
19 km or 12 mi Soweto
$923
28 km or 17 mi Benoni
$785
40 km or 25 mi Springs
$678
41 km or 25 mi Centurion
$807
53 km or 33 mi Pretoria
$906
53 km or 33 mi Vereeniging
$672
59 km or 36 mi Vanderbijlpark
$773
71 km or 44 mi Brits
$820
101 km or 62 mi Rustenburg
$889
109 km or 68 mi Potchefstroom
$695
143 km or 89 mi Bethal
$784
152 km or 94 mi Middelburg
$795
155 km or 97 mi Klerksdorp
$722
179 km or 111 mi Kroonstad
$768
237 km or 147 mi Welkom
$748
244 km or 152 mi Mmabatho
$780
262 km or 163 mi Lobatse
$665
275 km or 171 mi Gaborone
$691
287 km or 179 mi Butha-Buthe
$535
302 km or 188 mi Kanye
$664
311 km or 193 mi Mbabane
$562
323 km or 201 mi Vryheid
$763
325 km or 202 mi Molepolole
$628
329 km or 204 mi Teyateyaneng
$500
333 km or 207 mi Manzini
$442
350 km or 217 mi Maseru
$621
366 km or 228 mi Mahalapye
$631
369 km or 229 mi Bloemfontein
$657
409 km or 254 mi Mafeteng
$567
417 km or 259 mi Palapye
$540
429 km or 267 mi Kimberley
$814
442 km or 275 mi Pietermaritzburg
$640
443 km or 275 mi Matola
$964
446 km or 277 mi Serowe
$583
454 km or 282 mi Maputo
$1068
501 km or 311 mi Durban
$809
562 km or 349 mi Francistown
$624
577 km or 358 mi Xai-Xai
$1003

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