Cost of living comparison

 Cape Town, South Africa
compared to
 Los Angeles (CA), United States
Los Angeles vs. Cape Town Cost of Living Summary

Los Angeles is 3.0 times more expensive than Cape Town.

Restaurants
pay 2.8 times more in Los Angeles
Groceries
pay 2.5 times more in Los Angeles
Transportation
pay 52.4% more in Los Angeles
Housing
pay 2.7 times more in Los Angeles
Childcare
pay 7.6 times more in Los Angeles
Entertainment and Sports
pay 2.8 times more in Los Angeles
Clothing
pay 33.0% more in Los Angeles

The cost of childcare, entertainment and sports, restaurants, housing, groceries, and transportation in Los Angeles are more expensive than in Cape Town. Notably, childcare, entertainment and sports, and restaurants are significantly more expensive in Los Angeles.

Los Angeles vs. Cape Town Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Los Angeles instead of Cape Town, you would:

pay 2.8 times more for restaurants

 
Cape Town
Los Angeles
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $8.52
ZAR150.89
$25.00
 
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$5.11
ZAR90.54
$12.00
 
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $0.99
ZAR17.58
$2.95
 

Improve prices ·

pay 2.5 times more for groceries

 
Cape Town
Los Angeles
Bread
1 loaf
$1.07
ZAR18.99
$4.99
 
Local cheese (8 oz) $4.13
ZAR73.17
$6.87
 
Milk (1 gallon) $4.25
ZAR75.33
$4.56
 

Improve prices ·

pay 52.4% more for transportation

 
Cape Town
Los Angeles
Gasoline (1 gallon) $5.09
ZAR90.15
$4.96
 
Monthly public transit pass $42.60
ZAR754.46
$79.13
 
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $19,879.98
ZAR352,081.43
$30,499.50
 

Improve prices ·

pay 2.7 times more for housing

 
Cape Town
Los Angeles
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$43.29
ZAR766.64
$72.71
 
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $784.43
ZAR13,892.47
$2,395.36
 
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $505.72
ZAR8,956.52
$2,100.61
 

Improve prices ·

pay 7.6 times more for childcare

 
Cape Town
Los Angeles
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $207.06
ZAR3,667.13
$1,778.57
 
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $4,312.73
ZAR76,380.04
$28,750.00
 

Improve prices ·

pay 2.8 times more for entertainment and sports

 
Cape Town
Los Angeles
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $2.56
ZAR45.27
$8.00
 
Cappuccino in mid-range area $2.12
ZAR37.63
$5.46
 
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$2.95
ZAR52.31
$12.00
 

Improve prices ·

pay 33.0% more for clothing

 
Cape Town
Los Angeles
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$53.53
ZAR948.02
$58.46
 
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$30.86
ZAR546.50
$42.72
 
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$104.97
ZAR1,858.99
$101.30
 

Improve prices ·
The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you. We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: July 2025
Share this

Compare countries by overall cost of living

See the cost of living in South Africa vs. United States. This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within South Africa and United States.

Help us improve these prices

MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate. Learn more

ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Los Angeles or Cape Town. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.