Kuala Lumpur vs South Tarawa - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated: March 01, 2024

	Kuala Lumpur	South Tarawa
🚶 Cost of living one person	$743	$491
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family	$1779	$1204
🏠 One person rent	$367	$217
🏘️ Family rent	$648	$400
🍽️ Food expenses	$248	$202
🚐 Transport expenses	$62.1	$20.6
💳 Monthly salary after tax	$1229	$369
😷 Air quality	Moderate	Excellent
✈️ Airport proximity	16 km	20 km
🎓 Higher education	93	1
😀 Quality of life	77	26
🏙️ Population	1.98M	63.4K

The cost of living in Kuala Lumpur is 51% more expensive than in South Tarawa. Cities ranked 6605th and 8567th ($743 vs $491) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 1st and 2nd in Malaysia and Kiribati, respectively. Check Malaysia vs Kiribati comparison.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 1.7 months in Kuala Lumpur compared to 0.8 months in South Tarawa. Kuala Lumpur ranked 1st best city to live in Malaysia vs South Tarawa ranked 1st in Kiribati, while ranked 772nd and 8758th among best cities to live in the world.

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the estimated difference in money purchasing power

Cost of living in Kuala Lumpur vs South Tarawa infographic

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<img src="https://livingcost.org/assets/photo/cost/kuala-lumpur/south-tarawa.jpg" alt="Cost of living in Kuala Lumpur vs South Tarawa infographic" style="max-width: 100%; height: auto;"><p>Source: <a href="https://livingcost.org/cost/kuala-lumpur/south-tarawa" target="_blank">Kuala Lumpur vs South Tarawa - Cost of Living Comparison</a></p>

Prices in Kuala Lumpur vs South Tarawa

Prices for goods and services in Kuala Lumpur and South Tarawa are partly crowdsourced by our visitors, just like yourself. Please consider telling us about your city.

	Kuala Lumpur	South Tarawa
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu	$3.2	$3.21
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2	$22.4	$19.7
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's	$4.1	$4.47
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$3.51	$1.72
☕ Cappuccino	$2.75	$1.73
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz	$0.74	$0.54
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$424	$208
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$276	$136
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$872	$439
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$492	$281
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$36.4	$38.7
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$54.4	$59.2
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited	$25.6	$28.6
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years	4.16%	10.32%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$2386	$1366
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$1168	$775
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket	$0.63	$0.36
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport	$11.1	$15
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi	$8.81	$6.27
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal	$0.43	$1.04
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt	$1.68	$1.13
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb	$0.84	$0.7
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.2	$1.04
🥚 Eggs, x12	$1.97	$1.55
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$12.1	$6.82
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$4.07	$4.08
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$9.82	$6.27
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.45	$2.2
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.35	$1.16
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.55	$1.56
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.39	$1.03
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$0.93	$0.85
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$0.84	$0.95
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt	$0.41	$0.34
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz	$1.04	$1.18
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle	$14.5	$7.37
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$2.76	$1.37
🚬 Cigarette pack	$3.78	$2.75
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week	$3.91	$3.66
🧴 Hair Shampoo	$2.85	$2.92
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls	$1.49	$1.55
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube	$1.6	$1.26
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month	$40.6	$21.5
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person	$4.27	$4.2
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit	$15.7	$15.6
💇 Haircut, simple	$5.62	$4.13
👖 Brand Jeans	$49.1	$28.6
👟 Brand Sneakers	$69.7	$59.3
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month	$208	$99.1
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year	$6454	$3154

Cost of living in other countries

Cost of living

Cost of Living in the nearest cities

Cities near Kuala Lumpur

Distance	City	Cost of living
11 km or 6.7 mi	Petaling Jaya	$645
15 km or 9.1 mi	Subang Jaya	$644
19 km or 12 mi	Shah Alam	$582
24 km or 15 mi	Putrajaya	$480
25 km or 16 mi	Cyberjaya	$539
30 km or 19 mi	Klang	$553
54 km or 33 mi	Seremban	$545
123 km or 77 mi	Malacca	$602
124 km or 77 mi	Teluk Intan	$565
155 km or 97 mi	Muar	$611
167 km or 104 mi	Dumai	$554
176 km or 109 mi	Ipoh	$550
196 km or 122 mi	Kuantan	$482
199 km or 124 mi	Batu Pahat	$609
211 km or 131 mi	Tanjungbalai	$515
217 km or 135 mi	Taiping	$638
219 km or 136 mi	Kluang	$610
229 km or 142 mi	Chukai	$512
282 km or 175 mi	Tebing Tinggi	$485
291 km or 181 mi	Butterworth	$578
291 km or 181 mi	Kuala Terengganu	$465
292 km or 181 mi	Pekanbaru	$558
293 km or 182 mi	Pematangsiantar	$499
294 km or 183 mi	George Town	$566
297 km or 184 mi	Johor Bahru	$623
309 km or 192 mi	Sungai Petani	$544
311 km or 193 mi	Singapore City	$3007
315 km or 195 mi	Bukit Merah	$2733
335 km or 208 mi	Padangsidempuan	$596
338 km or 210 mi	Kota Bharu	$455
341 km or 212 mi	Medan	$500
346 km or 215 mi	Batam	$585
360 km or 224 mi	Binjai	$483
361 km or 225 mi	Alor Setar	$453
394 km or 245 mi	Tanjung Pinang	$511
402 km or 250 mi	Kangar	$487
413 km or 257 mi	Langkawi	$496
441 km or 274 mi	Langsa	$472
451 km or 280 mi	Hat Yai	$520
457 km or 284 mi	Ko Lipe	$650

Cities near South Tarawa

Distance	City	Cost of living
658 km or 409 mi	Majuro	$1316
661 km or 411 mi	Djarrit	$1316
706 km or 439 mi	Yaren	$744
1302 km or 809 mi	Vaiaku	$574
1302 km or 809 mi	Funafuti	$576
1768 km or 1099 mi	Auki	$1422
1879 km or 1167 mi	Honiara	$1425
1988 km or 1235 mi	Luganville	$2943
2172 km or 1349 mi	Lautoka	$599
2190 km or 1361 mi	Nadi	$752
2190 km or 1361 mi	Port Vila	$1841
2248 km or 1397 mi	Nasinu	$824
2253 km or 1400 mi	Suva	$849
2310 km or 1435 mi	Manase	$594
2382 km or 1480 mi	Apia	$594
2712 km or 1685 mi	Dumbea	$1597
2713 km or 1686 mi	Paita	$1597
2725 km or 1693 mi	Noumea	$1648
2817 km or 1750 mi	Nukualofa	$974
2825 km or 1756 mi	Mua	$978
3022 km or 1878 mi	Lae	$522
3104 km or 1929 mi	Port Moresby	$537
3286 km or 2042 mi	London	$491
3357 km or 2086 mi	Saipan	$1421
3375 km or 2097 mi	Dededo	$2554
3383 km or 2102 mi	Hagatna	$2667
3611 km or 2244 mi	Cairns	$1397
3612 km or 2244 mi	Jayapura	$446
3658 km or 2273 mi	Gladstone	$1545
3665 km or 2277 mi	Townsville	$1249
3668 km or 2279 mi	Bundaberg	$1621
3672 km or 2282 mi	Hervey Bay	$1756
3673 km or 2282 mi	Rockhampton	$1413
3762 km or 2338 mi	Kauai	$2655
3779 km or 2348 mi	Sunshine Coast	$1843
3788 km or 2354 mi	Caloundra	$1816
3822 km or 2375 mi	Caboolture	$1881
3851 km or 2393 mi	Waipahu	$2602
3854 km or 2395 mi	Brisbane	$2356
3855 km or 2396 mi	Pearl	$2506