Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sinjar and Sulaymaniyah

For one person, living is cheaper in Sinjar: $540 a month against $663 in Sulaymaniyah, rent and utilities included – about $1,500 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

26

Cost of Living Index in Sinjar
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Sinjar Living Index
32

Cost of Living Index in Sulaymaniyah
Learn more

Sulaymaniyah Living Index

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Sinjar

🇮🇶 Iraq

$540

/mo nomad

Sulaymaniyah

🇮🇶 Iraq

$663

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Sinjar and in Sulaymaniyah

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $540 in Sinjar versus $663 in Sulaymaniyah.

Sinjar $540
Sulaymaniyah $663

Estimated couple costs with rent: $842 in Sinjar versus $1,034 in Sulaymaniyah.

Sinjar $842
Sulaymaniyah $1,034

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,145 in Sinjar versus $1,406 in Sulaymaniyah.

Sinjar $1,145
Sulaymaniyah $1,406

Living in Sinjar costs roughly 19% less than in Sulaymaniyah, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Sinjar 60% lower, Sulaymaniyah 51% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.07 IQD 6,152

$4.21 IQD 6,363

-3.33%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$7.72 IQD 11.7K

$19.75 IQD 29.8K

-60.91%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.14 IQD 10.8K

$5.90 IQD 8,916

21.02%

Cappuccino

$0.68 IQD 1,023

$2.45 IQD 3,702

-72.24%

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

$0.34 IQD 519

$0.43 IQD 650

-20.93%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.17 IQD 263

$0.20 IQD 302

-15.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$0.97 IQD 1,470

$3.22 IQD 4,873

-69.88%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.69 IQD 2,557

$2.04 IQD 3,080

-17.16%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.69 IQD 1,041

$1.11 IQD 1,677

-37.84%

White Bread (500g)

$0.69 IQD 1,037

$0.89 IQD 1,339

-22.47%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.63 IQD 955

$1.66 IQD 2,516

-62.05%

Eggs

$1.57 IQD 2,374

$1.55 IQD 2,345

1.29%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$2.00 IQD 3,030

$4.31 IQD 6,509

-53.60%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.05 IQD 6,124

$3.66 IQD 5,536

10.66%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.39 IQD 15.7K

$13.27 IQD 20.1K

-21.70%

Apples (1kg)

$0.69 IQD 1,037

$1.11 IQD 1,680

-37.84%

Banana (1kg)

$0.67 IQD 1,017

$1.09 IQD 1,646

-38.53%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.63 IQD 952

$1.04 IQD 1,579

-39.42%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.68 IQD 1,024

$0.56 IQD 843

21.43%

Potato (1kg)

$0.65 IQD 977

$0.49 IQD 740

32.65%

Onion (1kg)

$0.59 IQD 894

$0.63 IQD 957

-6.35%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.66 IQD 993

$0.58 IQD 883

13.79%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.32 IQD 477

$0.45 IQD 685

-28.89%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.63 IQD 2,458

$2.02 IQD 3,049

-19.31%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.44 IQD 9,726

$9.76 IQD 14.7K

-34.02%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.01 IQD 1,522

$1.66 IQD 2,509

-39.16%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.63 IQD 2,466

$1.25 IQD 1,896

30.40%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.30 IQD 456

$0.52 IQD 786

-42.31%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.74 IQD 29.8K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.62 IQD 2,443

$1.92 IQD 2,904

-15.62%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.53 IQD 2,318

$1.96 IQD 2,961

-21.94%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.51 IQD 8,319

$4.48 IQD 6,774

22.99%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.29 IQD 437

$0.57 IQD 865

-49.12%

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

$16.2K IQD 24.5M

$17.6K IQD 26.6M

-7.73%

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

$17.1K IQD 25.9M

$17.0K IQD 25.6M

0.97%

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

$39.11 IQD 59.1K

$85.2 IQD 128.7K

-54.08%

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

$12.27 IQD 18.5K

$10.12 IQD 15.3K

21.25%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$24.36 IQD 36.8K

$24.03 IQD 36.3K

1.37%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.27 IQD 56.3K

$33.78 IQD 51.0K

10.33%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$33.40 IQD 50.5K

$17.92 IQD 27.1K

86.38%

Cinema Ticket

$9.76 IQD 14.7K

$6.56 IQD 9,916

48.78%

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

$292 IQD 441.8K

$153 IQD 231.1K

91.21%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$2,747 IQD 4.2M

$2,546 IQD 3.8M

7.91%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$10.19 IQD 15.4K

$16.75 IQD 25.3K

-39.16%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$9.82 IQD 14.8K

$22.28 IQD 33.7K

-55.92%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$59.4 IQD 89.7K

$36.83 IQD 55.7K

61.20%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$58.8 IQD 88.8K

$33.01 IQD 49.9K

78.07%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$211 IQD 318.4K

$187 IQD 282.6K

12.67%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$138 IQD 208.5K

$147 IQD 221.9K

-6.05%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$412 IQD 623.1K

$419 IQD 632.8K

-1.54%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$281 IQD 424.3K

$314 IQD 474.4K

-10.55%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$733 IQD 1.1M

$695 IQD 1.1M

5.36%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$552 IQD 834.2K

$548 IQD 828.2K

0.73%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$197 IQD 297.0K

$501 IQD 757.3K

-60.78%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.53

5.77

-56.15%

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

Last update for Sinjar: October 24, 2026

Last update for Sulaymaniyah: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Sinjar

$138 25.6%

Sulaymaniyah

$147 22.2% 6.5% $8.9

Groceries & Markets

Sinjar

$124 23%

Sulaymaniyah

$164 24.7% 32% $40

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sinjar

$76 14%

Sulaymaniyah

$119 18% 57.5% $44

Eating Out

Sinjar

$72 13.4%

Sulaymaniyah

$104 15.6% 42.9% $31

Clothing & Footwear

Sinjar

$62 11.5%

Sulaymaniyah

$49 7.4% 21.2% $13

Sport & Entertainment

Sinjar

$57 10.5%

Sulaymaniyah

$47 7.1% 17.4% $9.9

Getting Around

Sinjar

$11 * 1.9%

Sulaymaniyah

$34 5.1% 219% $23

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 $211 in Sinjar and $187 in Sulaymaniyah. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Sulaymaniyah pays about 2.6 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $8 in Sinjar vs $20 in Sulaymaniyah for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $124 vs $164 per month, with Sinjar cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇮🇶 Sinjar

🇮🇶 Sulaymaniyah

🕒 Local time

14:57 2:57 PM

Same time as Sinjar

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

88,023

823,199

💱 Currency

Iraqi Dinar IQD ع.د

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 IQD = 6.62 USD

10,000 IQD = 5.95 EUR

10,000 IQD = 6.62 USD

10,000 IQD = 5.95 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Sinjar Sulaymaniyah 330 km

From you

Sinjar
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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

Sinjar vs Sulaymaniyah: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Sinjar and Sulaymaniyah differ by about 23% in total monthly costs ($540 vs $663 including rent). Sinjar is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 61% lower in Sinjar. That’s worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $211 in Sinjar versus $187 in Sulaymaniyah. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 32% higher in Sulaymaniyah. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you’ll spend $540 per month in Sinjar versus $663 in Sulaymaniyah – a 23% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

Either city works on $1,200 a month, though Sinjar 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.

It comes down to priorities – Sinjar wins on affordability, Sulaymaniyah on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.