Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Targu Jiu and Cluj-Napoca

For one person, living is cheaper in Targu Jiu: $966 a month against $1,423 in Cluj-Napoca, rent and utilities included – about $5,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

47

Cost of Living Index in Targu Jiu
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Targu Jiu Living Index
68

Cost of Living Index in Cluj-Napoca
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Cluj-Napoca Living Index

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Targu Jiu

🇷🇴 Romania

$966

/mo nomad

Cluj-Napoca

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,423

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Targu Jiu and in Cluj-Napoca

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $966 in Targu Jiu versus $1,423 in Cluj-Napoca.

Targu Jiu $966
Cluj-Napoca $1,423

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,502 in Targu Jiu versus $2,126 in Cluj-Napoca.

Targu Jiu $1,502
Cluj-Napoca $2,126

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,038 in Targu Jiu versus $2,830 in Cluj-Napoca.

Targu Jiu $2,038
Cluj-Napoca $2,830

Living in Targu Jiu costs roughly 32% less than in Cluj-Napoca, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Targu Jiu is 29% below, Cluj-Napoca is 5% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$14.60 RON 70.2

$12.58 RON 60.5

16.06%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$57.6 RON 277

$54.8 RON 264

5.12%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.24 RON 34.81

$9.59 RON 46.13

-24.50%

Cappuccino

$3.56 RON 17.11

$3.78 RON 18.15

-5.82%

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

$1.02 RON 4.93

$2.30 RON 11.08

-55.65%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.21 RON 10.65

$2.22 RON 10.68

-0.45%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.67 RON 17.66

$3.32 RON 15.95

10.54%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.23 RON 20.33

$4.20 RON 20.18

0.71%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.67 RON 8.03

$1.60 RON 7.71

4.37%

White Bread (500g)

$1.28 RON 6.17

$1.44 RON 6.93

-11.11%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.77 RON 8.50

$1.69 RON 8.14

4.73%

Eggs

$2.75 RON 13.21

$3.76 RON 18.05

-26.86%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.41 RON 35.64

$9.07 RON 43.59

-18.30%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.91 RON 13.99

$7.14 RON 34.31

-59.24%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.95 RON 33.41

$11.46 RON 55.1

-39.35%

Apples (1kg)

$0.91 RON 4.38

$1.39 RON 6.66

-34.53%

Banana (1kg)

$1.49 RON 7.17

$1.58 RON 7.60

-5.70%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.17 RON 5.60

$1.88 RON 9.05

-37.77%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.22 RON 5.84

$2.37 RON 11.38

-48.52%

Potato (1kg)

$0.83 RON 3.97

$0.92 RON 4.43

-9.78%

Onion (1kg)

$0.74 RON 3.54

$0.90 RON 4.32

-17.78%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.61 RON 2.92

$0.90 RON 4.35

-32.22%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.50 RON 2.40

$1.01 RON 4.84

-50.50%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.21 RON 25.03

$6.42 RON 30.87

-18.85%

Wine (Bottle)

$3.00 RON 14.43

$7.41 RON 35.63

-59.51%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.82 RON 3.93

$1.25 RON 5.99

-34.40%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.07 RON 5.16

$1.73 RON 8.32

-38.15%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.76 RON 3.65

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.23 RON 213

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.65 RON 3.12

$0.84 RON 4.02

-22.62%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.61 RON 2.93

$0.96 RON 4.63

-36.46%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.39 RON 30.70

$8.27 RON 39.75

-22.73%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.93 RON 9.30

$1.94 RON 9.32

-0.52%

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

$28.8K RON 138.4K

$28.3K RON 136.2K

1.62%

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

$25.9K RON 124.3K

$24.7K RON 118.9K

4.53%

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

$196 RON 944

$151 RON 725

30.13%

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

$6.01 RON 28.88

$8.44 RON 40.56

-28.79%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$9.32 RON 44.80

$9.16 RON 44.05

1.75%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$31.49 RON 151

$47.36 RON 228

-33.51%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$22.01 RON 106

Cinema Ticket

$8.34 RON 40.09

$9.35 RON 44.97

-10.80%

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

$676 RON 3,248

$577 RON 2,774

17.06%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.3K RON 68.8K

$9,450 RON 45.4K

51.50%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$49.38 RON 237

$87.1 RON 419

-43.30%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$25.42 RON 122

$44.26 RON 213

-42.57%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$51.7 RON 248

$98.8 RON 475

-47.70%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$84.2 RON 405

$107 RON 513

-21.13%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$353 RON 1,698

$668 RON 3,213

-47.13%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$233 RON 1,119

$536 RON 2,575

-56.54%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$478 RON 2,296

$1,227 RON 5,897

-61.07%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$403 RON 1,938

$807 RON 3,882

-50.08%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,555 RON 12.3K

$4,568 RON 22.0K

-44.06%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,342 RON 16.1K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$518 RON 2,491

$1,241 RON 5,964

-58.23%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.75

6.65

1.50%

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

Last update for Targu Jiu: October 27, 2026

Last update for Cluj-Napoca: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Targu Jiu

$233 24.1%

Cluj-Napoca

$536 37.7% 130% $303

Eating Out

Targu Jiu

$221 22.9%

Cluj-Napoca

$218 15.3% 1.4% $3.2

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Targu Jiu

$212 21.9%

Cluj-Napoca

$168 11.8% 20.4% $43

Groceries & Markets

Targu Jiu

$154 16%

Cluj-Napoca

$230 16.2% 49.3% $76

Clothing & Footwear

Targu Jiu

$95 9.8%

Cluj-Napoca

$152 10.7% 59.9% $57

Sport & Entertainment

Targu Jiu

$48 5%

Cluj-Napoca

$66 4.6% 37.2% $18

Getting Around

Targu Jiu

$3.7 * 0.4%

Cluj-Napoca

$53 3.7% 1330% $49

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 $353 in Targu Jiu and $668 in Cluj-Napoca. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Cluj-Napoca pays about 2.4 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $58 in Targu Jiu vs $55 in Cluj-Napoca. Groceries flip the comparison at $154 vs $230, with Targu Jiu cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇷🇴 Targu Jiu

🇷🇴 Cluj-Napoca

🕒 Local time

21:03 9:03 PM

Same time as Targu Jiu

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

82,504

324,576

💱 Currency

Romanian Leu RON lei

📈 Exchange rate

1 RON = 0.208 USD

1 RON = 0.187 EUR

1 RON = 0.208 USD

1 RON = 0.187 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Targu Jiu Cluj-Napoca 190 km

From you

Targu Jiu
Cluj-Napoca

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

Targu Jiu vs Cluj-Napoca: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Targu Jiu is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and transport. The 47% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 58% lower in Targu Jiu. 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: $353 in Targu Jiu versus $668 in Cluj-Napoca. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $676 in Targu Jiu versus $577 in Cluj-Napoca. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Cluj-Napoca – a meal for two runs $55 versus $58 in Targu Jiu. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

Both cities are expensive relative to $800. Targu Jiu is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

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 – Targu Jiu wins on affordability, Cluj-Napoca on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.