Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Bucharest and St Lawrence

For one person, living is cheaper in Bucharest: $1,351 a month against $3,145 in St Lawrence, rent and utilities included – about $21,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

65

Cost of Living Index in Bucharest
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Bucharest Living Index
153

Cost of Living Index in St Lawrence
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St Lawrence Living Index

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Bucharest

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,351

/mo nomad

St Lawrence

🇯🇪 Jersey

$3,145

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Bucharest and in St Lawrence

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Bucharest and in St Lawrence actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,351 in Bucharest versus $3,145 in St Lawrence.

Bucharest $1,351
St Lawrence $3,145

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,033 in Bucharest versus $5,181 in St Lawrence.

Bucharest $2,033
St Lawrence $5,181

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,715 in Bucharest versus $7,217 in St Lawrence.

Bucharest $2,715
St Lawrence $7,217

Living in Bucharest costs roughly 57% less than in St Lawrence, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Bucharest 1% above, St Lawrence 135% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$14.46 RON 68.4

$39.08 JEP 29.59

-63.00%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$57.7 RON 273

$119 JEP 90.4

-51.72%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.50 RON 35.46

$10.76 JEP 8.14

-30.30%

Cappuccino

$3.43 RON 16.20

$4.87 JEP 3.69

-29.57%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.46 RON 11.63

$3.24 JEP 2.45

-24.07%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.33 RON 11.01

$2.53 JEP 1.92

-7.91%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.80 RON 17.97

$8.03 JEP 6.08

-52.68%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.10 RON 19.41

$6.47 JEP 4.90

-36.63%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.65 RON 7.79

$2.31 JEP 1.75

-28.57%

White Bread (500g)

$1.35 RON 6.39

$2.81 JEP 2.13

-51.96%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.78 RON 8.42

$2.52 JEP 1.91

-29.37%

Eggs

$3.66 RON 17.33

$5.74 JEP 4.34

-36.24%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.57 RON 40.54

$7.39 JEP 5.59

15.97%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.80 RON 32.17

$12.14 JEP 9.19

-43.99%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.72 RON 55.4

$18.11 JEP 13.71

-35.28%

Apples (1kg)

$1.29 RON 6.11

$4.25 JEP 3.22

-69.65%

Banana (1kg)

$1.56 RON 7.37

$3.44 JEP 2.60

-54.65%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.54 RON 7.28

$4.17 JEP 3.16

-63.07%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.48 RON 11.75

$4.51 JEP 3.41

-45.01%

Potato (1kg)

$0.83 RON 3.92

$3.23 JEP 2.44

-74.30%

Onion (1kg)

$0.80 RON 3.77

$3.13 JEP 2.37

-74.44%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.84 RON 3.98

$1.82 JEP 1.37

-53.85%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.93 RON 4.39

$2.47 JEP 1.87

-62.35%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.44 RON 30.45

$19.71 JEP 14.92

-67.33%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.32 RON 29.91

$10.64 JEP 8.06

-40.60%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.26 RON 5.94

$4.59 JEP 3.47

-72.55%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.60 RON 7.59

$7.81 JEP 5.91

-79.51%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.81 RON 3.85

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$21.13 RON 99.9

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.60 RON 2.86

$5.21 JEP 3.95

-88.48%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.61 RON 2.91

$2.43 JEP 1.84

-74.90%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.17 RON 29.19

$53.5 JEP 40.52

-88.47%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.96 RON 9.27

$2.11 JEP 1.60

-7.11%

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$28.1K RON 133.1K

$26.6K JEP 20.1K

5.95%

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$26.3K RON 124.3K

$36.1K JEP 27.3K

-27.16%

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$197 RON 931

$318 JEP 241

-38.14%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$8.34 RON 39.44

$33.88 JEP 25.64

-75.38%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$9.19 RON 43.47

$72.3 JEP 54.8

-87.29%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.87 RON 236

$93.8 JEP 71.0

-46.81%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.99 RON 118

Cinema Ticket

$8.46 RON 40.01

$20.21 JEP 15.30

-58.14%

Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)

$639 RON 3,023

$833 JEP 631

-23.27%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.4K RON 68.1K

$12.0K JEP 9,107

19.62%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$90.6 RON 429

$104 JEP 78.7

-12.84%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.05 RON 180

$72.8 JEP 55.1

-47.73%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$79.7 RON 377

$120 JEP 90.6

-33.46%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$93.2 RON 441

$207 JEP 156

-54.89%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$673 RON 3,184

$1,749 JEP 1,324

-61.52%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$449 RON 2,123

$1,482 JEP 1,122

-69.72%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,098 RON 5,195

$3,974 JEP 3,008

-72.36%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$729 RON 3,448

$3,325 JEP 2,517

-78.07%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,740 RON 17.7K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,189 RON 10.4K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,323 RON 6,259

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.74

4.08

65.20%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Bucharest: October 3, 2026

Last update for St Lawrence: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Accommodation & Living

Bucharest

$449 33.5%

St Lawrence

$1.5K 46.6% 230% $1K

Eating Out

Bucharest

$226 16.8%

St Lawrence

$480 15.1% 113% $254

Groceries & Markets

Bucharest

$222 16.5%

St Lawrence

$415 13.1% 87.2% $193

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Bucharest

$214 16%

St Lawrence

$424 13.4% 98% $210

Clothing & Footwear

Bucharest

$136 10.1%

St Lawrence

$226 7.1% 66.9% $91

Sport & Entertainment

Bucharest

$67 5%

St Lawrence

$134 4.2% 101% $67

Getting Around

Bucharest

$28 2.1%

St Lawrence

$17 * 0.6% 38.1% $11

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $673 in Bucharest and $1,749 in St Lawrence. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $58.0 in Bucharest vs $119 in St Lawrence for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $222 vs $415 per month, with Bucharest cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇷🇴 Bucharest

🇯🇪 St Lawrence

🕒 Local time

10:00 10:00 AM

08:00 8:00 AM

2 h behind Bucharest

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,883,425 Capital

5,500

💱 Currency

Romanian Leu RON lei

Jersey Pound JEP £

📈 Exchange rate

1 RON = 0.211 USD

1 RON = 0.189 EUR

1 JEP = 1.32 USD

1 JEP = 1.18 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

JEP, USD, EUR to RON – Romanian Leu Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇷🇴 Romanian Leu (lei)

Romanian Leu exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 4.73 RON (1 RON = 0.211 USD). 1 EUR = 5.3 RON (1 RON = 0.189 EUR).

Jersey Pound exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 0.757 JEP (1 JEP = 1.32 USD). 1 EUR = 0.849 JEP (1 JEP = 1.18 EUR).

USD to RON in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Bucharest St Lawrence 2,200 km ≈ 3 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Bucharest
St Lawrence

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Bucharest vs St Lawrence: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Bucharest and St Lawrence differ by about 133% in total monthly costs ($1,351 vs $3,145 including rent). Bucharest is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $2,027 in Bucharest and $4,717 in St Lawrence to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $673 in Bucharest versus $1,749 in St Lawrence. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 87% higher in St Lawrence. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $1,351 per month in Bucharest versus $3,145 in St Lawrence – a 133% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,351 in Bucharest versus $3,145 in St Lawrence, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Bucharest but tight or insufficient in St Lawrence. The gap between the two cities makes Bucharest the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

Safety-wise, Bucharest and St Lawrence are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Bucharest gentler on the wallet – expenses run 133% less than in St Lawrence. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.