# Cost of living in Cape Town

What it costs to live in Cape Town, South Africa — $1,658/month for one person renting a 1-bedroom in the centre, all-in.

## Monthly budgets by household

| Household | Total USD / month |
| --- | --- |
| Single | $1,658 |
| Couple | $2,119 |
| Family (4) | $3,756 |
| Retirees | $2,119 |

Each total is rent plus food, utilities, transport, and the usual recurring costs — not a bare rent figure.

## Where the money goes (Single)

| Category | USD / month | Note |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Rent | $1,026 | 1BR |
| Groceries & eating out | $366 |  |
| Transport | $61 |  |
| Utilities & phones | $204 |  |

## Rent

| Apartment | USD / month |
| --- | --- |
| Apartment (1 bedroom) Outside of Centre | $648 |
| Apartment (1 bedroom) in City Centre | $1,026 |
| Apartment (3 bedrooms) Outside of Centre | $1,243 |
| Apartment (3 bedrooms) in City Centre | $1,717 |

## Groceries

| Item | USD |
| --- | --- |
| Milk (1L) | $1.36 |
| Bread (loaf) | $1.18 |
| Eggs (12) | $2.93 |
| Rice (1kg) | $2.27 |
| Chicken (1kg) | $6.04 |
| Apples (1kg) | $1.85 |
| Tomatoes (1kg) | $1.91 |
| Potatoes (1kg) | $1.57 |
| Water (1.5L) | $1.15 |
| Wine (mid-range) | $6.41 |
| Beer (0.5L) | $1.46 |

## Eating out

| Item | USD |
| --- | --- |
| Cheap meal | $12 |
| Mid-range dinner for 2 | $49 |
| Cappuccino | $2.42 |
| Beer (draught) | $3.04 |
| Coke (0.33L) | $1.46 |

## Getting around

| Item | USD |
| --- | --- |
| Monthly pass | $61 |
| Single ride | $1.13 |
| Taxi start | $1.22 |
| Taxi per km | $1.09 |
| Gasoline (1L) | $1.29 |

## Income and short stays

- **Average net salary (after tax):** $1,686/month
- **30-day trial stay (short-let, eating out, transport, SIM):** $2,447
- **Local currency:** ZAR (1 USD ≈ 17.90 ZAR)

## Cities with comparable costs

| City | Rent (1-bed, centre) | Monthly total | Page |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Marrakech | $495 | $729 | /cost-of-living/marrakech |
| Tulum | $1,045 | $1,489 | /cost-of-living/tulum |
| San Jose | $998 | $1,600 | /cost-of-living/san-jose |
| Haifa | $1,054 | $2,257 | /cost-of-living/haifa |
| Panama City | $1,059 | $1,548 | /cost-of-living/panama-city |

## Related pages

- Full city profile: /cities/cape-town

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Source: [Townleap](https://www.townleap.com/cost-of-living/cape-town) — permanent-relocation data for people picking a country to actually live in, not visit.

Cost figures are Numbeo-derived and in USD unless labelled otherwise. Economics are World Bank. Every number on this page is also on the HTML page at the same URL — this variant exists so you do not have to parse a React app to read a rent figure.