Cost of living comparison
Illinois is 4.1 times more expensive than Malawi.
If you lived in Illinois instead of Malawi, you would:
pay 3.0 times more for restaurants
Malawi
|
Illinois
|
||
---|---|---|---|
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$4.34
MWK7,535.84
|
$17.45
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$9.11
MWK15,812.53
|
$9.57
|
|
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$0.87
MWK1,519.07
|
$2.40
|
|
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$0.43
MWK754.84
|
$1.87
|
|
pay 69.3% more for groceries
Malawi
|
Illinois
|
||
---|---|---|---|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.37
MWK2,377.91
|
$2.98
|
|
Local cheese (8 oz) |
$4.82
MWK8,378.41
|
$5.17
|
|
Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.53
MWK7,860.83
|
$3.24
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$2.31
MWK4,014.73
|
$2.67
|
|
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$1.93
MWK3,359.28
|
$4.72
|
|
Apples (1 lb) |
$1.04
MWK1,802.96
|
$2.19
|
|
Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.81
MWK1,412.15
|
$0.62
|
|
Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.13
MWK1,956.00
|
$1.91
|
|
Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$0.53
MWK918.32
|
$1.74
|
|
Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.72
MWK1,253.39
|
$0.93
|
|
Onions (1 lb) |
$0.59
MWK1,021.76
|
$1.12
|
|
pay 5.0 times more for transportation
Malawi
|
Illinois
|
||
---|---|---|---|
Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$6.21
MWK10,781.44
|
$3.53
|
|
Monthly public transit pass |
$4.32
MWK7,505.13
|
$77.17
|
|
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$35,910.51
MWK62,359,167.21
|
$31,837.76
|
|
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$20.54
MWK35,668.70
|
$15.34
|
|
pay 5.2 times more for housing
Malawi
|
Illinois
|
||
---|---|---|---|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$187.17
MWK325,029.17
|
$66.06
|
|
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$203.55
MWK353,474.66
|
$1,337.83
|
|
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$99.20
MWK172,266.54
|
$1,055.94
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$41.38
MWK71,864.28
|
$126.10
|
|
pay 9.3 times more for childcare
Malawi
|
Illinois
|
||
---|---|---|---|
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$361.94
MWK628,514.97
|
$1,229.51
|
|
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$1,469.79
MWK2,552,318.62
|
$22,314.07
|
|
pay 3.1 times more for entertainment and sports
Malawi
|
Illinois
|
||
---|---|---|---|
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$1.12
MWK1,950.71
|
$4.85
|
|
Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$2.92
MWK5,073.71
|
$4.57
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$1.59
MWK2,755.05
|
$9.28
|
|
Monthly membership at local gym |
$51.53
MWK89,485.13
|
$44.37
|
|
Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$3.95
MWK6,860.21
|
$11.73
|
|
pay 30.8% more for clothing
Malawi
|
Illinois
|
||
---|---|---|---|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$45.53
MWK79,063.56
|
$51.00
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$35.18
MWK61,089.63
|
$37.10
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$59.57
MWK103,447.48
|
$87.83
|
|
Men's business shoes (leather) |
$71.18
MWK123,611.33
|
$112.76
|
|
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