Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Pampanga and Dhaka

For one person, living is cheaper in Dhaka: $406 a month against $683 in Pampanga, rent and utilities included – about $3,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

33

Cost of Living Index in Pampanga
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Pampanga Living Index
20

Cost of Living Index in Dhaka
Learn more

Dhaka Living Index

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Pampanga

🇵🇭 Philippines

$683

/mo nomad

Dhaka

🇧🇩 Bangladesh

$406

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Pampanga and in Dhaka

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $683 in Pampanga versus $406 in Dhaka.

Pampanga $683
Dhaka $406

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,034 in Pampanga versus $687 in Dhaka.

Pampanga $1,034
Dhaka $687

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,385 in Pampanga versus $969 in Dhaka.

Pampanga $1,385
Dhaka $969

Living in Pampanga is roughly 68% more expensive than in Dhaka, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in utilities.

Both cities sit below the global median: Pampanga 49% lower, Dhaka 70% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.74 ₱173

$2.28 ৳282

20.18%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$15.91 ₱1,001

$12.33 ৳1,523

29.03%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$3.28 ₱206

$3.95 ৳488

-16.96%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.48 ৳554

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.13 ৳510

Cappuccino

$2.17 ₱136

$2.28 ৳281

-4.82%

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

$0.61 ₱38.47

$0.33 ৳40.88

84.85%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.31 ₱19.69

$0.16 ৳19.86

93.75%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.18 ₱74.3

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.01 ₱126

Milk (1 liter)

$1.43 ₱89.9

$0.85 ৳104

68.24%

White Bread (500g)

$1.11 ₱70.2

$0.60 ৳74.5

85.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.78 ₱49.42

$0.69 ৳85.4

13.04%

Eggs

$1.50 ₱94.1

$1.23 ৳152

21.95%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$4.10 ₱258

$8.80 ৳1,087

-53.41%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.90 ₱183

$3.33 ৳412

-12.91%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.37 ₱401

$6.63 ৳819

-3.92%

Apples (1kg)

$1.86 ₱117

$2.85 ৳352

-34.74%

Banana (1kg)

$0.93 ₱58.4

$0.90 ৳111

3.33%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.12 ₱134

$2.34 ৳289

-9.40%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.04 ₱65.2

$0.63 ৳78.4

65.08%

Potato (1kg)

$1.46 ₱92.2

$0.24 ৳29.59

508.33%

Onion (1kg)

$1.51 ₱95.3

$0.46 ৳57.3

228.26%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.83 ₱52.0

$0.35 ৳42.79

137.14%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.54 ₱34.11

$0.28 ৳34.24

92.86%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$12.11 ৳1,496

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$5.31 ৳656

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.42 ৳794

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.94 ₱122

$3.28 ৳405

-40.85%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.98 ₱377

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.70 ₱43.99

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.24 ₱78.1

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.26 ₱16.52

$0.42 ৳52.3

-38.10%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$11.36 ₱715

$22.43 ৳2,772

-49.35%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.74 ₱46.64

$1.19 ৳147

-37.82%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.23 ₱14.49

$0.39 ৳48.71

-41.03%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$1.74 ₱109

$3.28 ৳406

-46.95%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.05 ₱66.3

$1.10 ৳136

-4.55%

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

$18.7K ₱1.2M

$29.4K ৳3.6M

-36.50%

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

$17.6K ₱1.1M

$32.2K ৳4.0M

-45.38%

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

$131 ₱8,249

$38.28 ৳4,729

242.29%

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

$14.96 ₱942

$4.09 ৳506

265.77%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.08 ₱1,768

$9.02 ৳1,114

211.31%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$29.56 ₱1,861

$13.66 ৳1,688

116.40%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$4.82 ₱303

$10.21 ৳1,261

-52.79%

Cinema Ticket

$4.86 ₱306

$4.11 ৳508

18.25%

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

$131 ₱8,262

$90.7 ৳11.2K

44.62%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,954 ₱500.8K

$2,591 ৳320.2K

206.95%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$26.71 ₱1,682

$17.06 ৳2,108

56.57%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$19.85 ₱1,250

$21.38 ৳2,641

-7.16%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$71.8 ₱4,521

$51.4 ৳6,355

39.61%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$37.39 ₱2,354

$36.78 ৳4,545

1.66%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$268 ₱16.9K

$133 ৳16.4K

101.78%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$170 ₱10.7K

$65.1 ৳8,041

161.26%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$517 ₱32.5K

$377 ৳46.6K

37.00%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$371 ₱23.4K

$192 ৳23.8K

92.83%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,405 ₱151.4K

$1,621 ৳200.3K

48.34%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$992 ₱62.5K

$760 ৳93.9K

30.59%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$299 ₱18.8K

$246 ৳30.4K

21.38%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.79

10.48

-35.21%

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

Last update for Pampanga: October 10, 2026

Last update for Dhaka: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Pampanga

$174 25.5%

Dhaka

$51 12.7% 70.5% $123

Accommodation & Living

Pampanga

$170 24.9%

Dhaka

$65 16% 61.7% $105

Groceries & Markets

Pampanga

$144 21.1%

Dhaka

$124 30.5% 14.2% $21

Eating Out

Pampanga

$71 10.5%

Dhaka

$59 14.6% 16.8% $12

Clothing & Footwear

Pampanga

$70 10.3%

Dhaka

$57 14.1% 18.7% $13

Sport & Entertainment

Pampanga

$39 5.8%

Dhaka

$22 5.4% 44.3% $17

Getting Around

Pampanga

$14 2.1%

Dhaka

$27 6.7% 90.8% $13

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $268 in Pampanga and $133 in Dhaka. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Pampanga pays 21% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $16.00 in Pampanga vs $12.00 in Dhaka for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $144 vs $124 per month, with Dhaka cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇭 Pampanga

🇧🇩 Dhaka

🕒 Local time

08:02 8:02 AM

06:02 6:02 AM

2 h behind Pampanga

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

15,616

21,741,000 Capital

💱 Currency

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

Bangladeshi Taka BDT ৳

📈 Exchange rate

100 PHP = 1.59 USD

100 PHP = 1.41 EUR

1,000 BDT = 8.09 USD

1,000 BDT = 7.2 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BDT, USD, EUR to PHP – Philippine Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇵🇭 Philippine Peso (₱)

Philippine Peso exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 62.96 PHP (100 PHP = 1.59 USD). 1 EUR = 70.78 PHP (100 PHP = 1.41 EUR).

Bangladeshi Taka exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 124 BDT (1,000 BDT = 8.09 USD). 1 EUR = 139 BDT (1,000 BDT = 7.2 EUR).

USD to PHP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Pampanga Dhaka 4,190 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Pampanga
Dhaka

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

Pampanga vs Dhaka: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Dhaka is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 68% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 21% higher in Pampanga, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $268 in Pampanga versus $133 in Dhaka. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $683 per month in Pampanga versus $406 in Dhaka – a 68% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Dhaka runs roughly 97% less than in Pampanga. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Either city works on $1,000 a month, though Dhaka gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

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.

Expats usually find Dhaka gentler on the wallet – expenses run 68% less than in Pampanga. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.