Sri Lanka vs United States - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

Sri Lanka United States
🚶 Cost of living one person
$563
$2522
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$1280
$5757
🏠 One person rent
$226
$1593
🏘️ Family rent
$371
$2642
🍽️ Food expenses
$265
$656
🚐 Transport expenses
$19.9
$103
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$236
$4550
💸 GDP per capita
$4516
$84534
😃 Human freedom index
6.23
8.71
❤️ Life expectancy
77.5
78.4
👮 Corruption perceptions index
35
64
🌐 English speaking %
18.3%
95.9%
🎓 Higher education
56
100
😀 Quality of life
51
88
🏙️ Population
21.9M
340M

The average cost of living in Sri Lanka ($563) is 78% less expensive than in the United States ($2522). Sri Lanka ranked 172nd 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 0.4 months in Sri Lanka compared to 1.8 months in the United States. Ranked 88th and 22nd best countries to live in the world.

Salary adjustment calculator
the estimated difference in money purchasing power

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Prices in Sri Lanka vs the United States

We calculate prices for Sri Lanka and the United States as a population-weighted mean of 10 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.

Sri Lanka United States
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu
$3.77
$19.8
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$21.7
$77
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$7.1
$11.7
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$2.12
$6.39
 Cappuccino
$2.2
$5.44
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$0.66
$2.76
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$307
$1682
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$158
$1337
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$784
$2997
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$289
$2414
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$26.7
$130
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$41
$200
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$16.4
$68.9
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
12.56%
6.16%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$2121
$4871
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$860
$3394
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$0.2
$2.34
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$7.37
$71.1
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$3.21
$18
 Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$1.1
$1.02
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.54
$1.11
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$0.49
$3.58
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.75
$4.47
🥚 Eggs, x12
$1.56
$4.73
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$12.2
$13.2
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$4.17
$12.3
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$6.85
$17.3
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$5.87
$5.06
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.84
$1.82
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$4.04
$4.57
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.16
$4.83
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.98
$2.88
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.96
$2.97
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.31
$1.52
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$1.1
$2.75
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$12.4
$15
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$1.91
$2.45
🚬 Cigarette pack
$9.75
$11.1
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$2.09
$10.5
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$2.59
$6.66
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$2.13
$4.59
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$0.81
$2.24
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$11.9
$52.6
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$3.93
$14.7
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$18
$127
💇 Haircut, simple
$3.51
$22.1
👖 Brand Jeans
$23
$55.3
👟 Brand Sneakers
$75
$94.7
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$33.8
$1520
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$671
$20019

Cost of living in other countries

Cost of living

Cities Comparison in Sri Lanka vs the United States

More countries to compare

Cost of Living in Popular cities

In Sri Lanka

City Cost of living Population
Colombo
$683
648K
Gampaha
$381
191K
Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte
$597
116K
Kandy
$418
120K
Galle
$479
93.1K
Negombo
$467
142K
Beruwala
$582
165K
Trincomalee
$522
99.1K
Matara
$477
68.2K
Anuradhapura
$538
63.2K

In the United States

City Cost of living Population
New York City
$4202
8.8M
Los Angeles
$3420
3.9M
Chicago
$2851
2.75M
Houston
$2261
2.3M
San Diego
$3486
1.39M
Philadelphia
$2597
1.6M
San Francisco
$4110
874K
Phoenix
$2423
1.61M
Dallas
$2472
1.3M
San Jose
$3957
1.01M
San Antonio
$2071
1.43M
Washington
$3350
690K
Seattle
$3183
737K
Austin
$2475
962K
Boston
$3680
676K
Fort Worth
$2259
919K
Hempstead
$2710
793K
Indianapolis
$2405
888K
Charlotte
$2470
875K
Jacksonville
$2192
950K
Columbus
$2140
906K
Denver
$2848
716K
Portland
$2785
653K
Nashville
$2451
689K
Atlanta
$2628
499K
Oklahoma City
$1931
681K
Baltimore
$2224
586K
Las Vegas
$2294
642K
Sacramento
$2682
525K
Memphis
$1917
633K