# Cost of living in Kuala Lumpur

What it costs to live in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia — $958/month for one person renting a 1-bedroom in the centre, all-in.

## Monthly budgets by household

| Household | Total USD / month |
| --- | --- |
| Single | $958 |
| Couple | $1,131 |
| Family (4) | $2,548 |
| Retirees | $1,131 |

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 | $690 | 1BR |
| Groceries & eating out | $152 |  |
| Transport | $13 |  |
| Utilities & phones | $103 |  |

## Rent

| Apartment | USD / month |
| --- | --- |
| Apartment (1 bedroom) Outside of Centre | $382 |
| Apartment (1 bedroom) in City Centre | $690 |
| Apartment (3 bedrooms) Outside of Centre | $691 |
| Apartment (3 bedrooms) in City Centre | $1,324 |

## Groceries

| Item | USD |
| --- | --- |
| Milk (1L) | $2.26 |
| Bread (loaf) | $1.12 |
| Eggs (12) | $2.64 |
| Rice (1kg) | $1.78 |
| Chicken (1kg) | $4.88 |
| Apples (1kg) | $3.29 |
| Tomatoes (1kg) | $1.67 |
| Potatoes (1kg) | $1.35 |
| Water (1.5L) | $0.74 |
| Wine (mid-range) | $19 |
| Beer (0.5L) | $3.47 |

## Eating out

| Item | USD |
| --- | --- |
| Cheap meal | $5.06 |
| Mid-range dinner for 2 | $30 |
| Cappuccino | $3.35 |
| Beer (draught) | $4.55 |
| Coke (0.33L) | $0.83 |

## Getting around

| Item | USD |
| --- | --- |
| Monthly pass | $13 |
| Single ride | $0.76 |
| Taxi start | $1.26 |
| Taxi per km | $1.26 |
| Gasoline (1L) | $0.63 |

## Income and short stays

- **Average net salary (after tax):** $1,585/month
- **30-day trial stay (short-let, eating out, transport, SIM):** $1,494
- **Local currency:** MYR (1 USD ≈ 4.33 MYR)

## Cities with comparable costs

| City | Rent (1-bed, centre) | Monthly total | Page |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Tbilisi | $681 | $1,147 | /cost-of-living/tbilisi |
| Yerevan | $680 | $1,020 | /cost-of-living/yerevan |
| Bangkok | $703 | $982 | /cost-of-living/bangkok |
| Phuket | $708 | $1,065 | /cost-of-living/phuket |
| Taipei | $735 | $1,044 | /cost-of-living/taipei |

## Related pages

- Full city profile: /cities/kuala-lumpur

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Source: [Townleap](https://www.townleap.com/cost-of-living/kuala-lumpur) — 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.