Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Targu Jiu and Istanbul

For one person, living is cheaper in Targu Jiu: $977 a month against $1,519 in Istanbul, rent and utilities included – about $6,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

47

Cost of Living Index in Targu Jiu
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Targu Jiu Living Index
73

Cost of Living Index in Istanbul
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Istanbul Living Index

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Targu Jiu

🇷🇴 Romania

$977

/mo nomad

Istanbul

🇹🇷 Turkey

$1,519

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Targu Jiu and in Istanbul

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 Istanbul actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $977 per month in Targu Jiu vs $1,519 in Istanbul, rent included.

Targu Jiu $977
Istanbul $1,519

A couple spends around $1,529 per month in Targu Jiu vs $2,365 in Istanbul, rent included.

Targu Jiu $1,529
Istanbul $2,365

A family of three spends $2,080 per month in Targu Jiu vs $3,212 in Istanbul, rent included.

Targu Jiu $2,080
Istanbul $3,212

Targu Jiu is about 36% cheaper than Istanbul, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Targu Jiu sits 28% below the global median, while Istanbul is 12% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$14.92 RON 71.3

$11.81 ₺592

26.33%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.1 RON 292

$54.9 ₺2,754

11.25%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.23 RON 34.55

$9.26 ₺465

-21.92%

Cappuccino

$3.81 RON 18.23

$4.30 ₺216

-11.40%

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

$1.06 RON 5.08

$1.77 ₺89.0

-40.11%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.29 RON 10.95

$0.56 ₺28.32

308.93%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.83 RON 18.29

$4.69 ₺235

-18.34%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.12 RON 19.68

$7.12 ₺357

-42.13%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.60 RON 7.65

$1.25 ₺62.7

28.00%

White Bread (500g)

$1.38 RON 6.59

$0.88 ₺44.17

56.82%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.73 RON 8.25

$2.20 ₺111

-21.36%

Eggs

$2.82 RON 13.47

$2.43 ₺122

16.05%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.45 RON 35.63

$10.48 ₺526

-28.91%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.01 RON 14.37

$5.31 ₺267

-43.31%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.03 RON 33.59

$21.10 ₺1,058

-66.68%

Apples (1kg)

$0.91 RON 4.35

$1.86 ₺93.1

-51.08%

Banana (1kg)

$1.44 RON 6.89

$2.30 ₺115

-37.39%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.12 RON 5.36

$1.22 ₺61.0

-8.20%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.25 RON 5.97

$1.80 ₺90.2

-30.56%

Potato (1kg)

$0.86 RON 4.09

$0.69 ₺34.83

24.64%

Onion (1kg)

$0.72 RON 3.46

$0.64 ₺32.16

12.50%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.62 RON 2.96

$1.36 ₺68.0

-54.41%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.53 RON 2.54

$0.58 ₺28.94

-8.62%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.04 RON 24.11

$2.34 ₺117

115.38%

Wine (Bottle)

$2.96 RON 14.16

$13.03 ₺653

-77.28%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.86 RON 4.13

$2.36 ₺118

-63.56%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.04 RON 4.97

$3.32 ₺166

-68.67%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.88 ₺44.07

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$66.1 ₺3,316

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.66 RON 3.16

$1.28 ₺64.4

-48.44%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.62 RON 2.95

$0.85 ₺42.80

-27.06%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.17 RON 29.50

$11.09 ₺556

-44.36%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.92 RON 9.19

$1.48 ₺74.0

29.73%

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

$29.0K RON 138.6K

$48.6K ₺2.4M

-40.38%

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

$25.4K RON 121.4K

$42.0K ₺2.1M

-39.51%

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

$194 RON 928

$92.7 ₺4,650

109.46%

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

$5.75 RON 27.51

$11.20 ₺562

-48.66%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$9.42 RON 45.02

$15.89 ₺797

-40.72%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$31.46 RON 150

$74.7 ₺3,745

-57.87%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$22.95 ₺1,151

Cinema Ticket

$8.42 RON 40.25

$8.05 ₺404

4.60%

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

$681 RON 3,255

$948 ₺47.6K

-28.20%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$19.2K RON 91.8K

$36.9K ₺1.9M

-47.97%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$51.1 RON 244

$53.9 ₺2,702

-5.22%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$25.13 RON 120

$41.49 ₺2,081

-39.43%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$52.3 RON 250

$101 ₺5,060

-48.16%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$84.8 RON 405

$91.3 ₺4,580

-7.17%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$354 RON 1,694

$1,014 ₺50.8K

-65.04%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$237 RON 1,132

$625 ₺31.3K

-62.08%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$490 RON 2,343

$2,005 ₺100.6K

-75.56%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$412 RON 1,969

$1,126 ₺56.5K

-63.41%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,532 RON 12.1K

$2,988 ₺149.8K

-15.25%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,730 ₺86.8K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$522 RON 2,496

$1,136 ₺57.0K

-54.04%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.75

40.42

-83.30%

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

Last update for Targu Jiu: November 2, 2026

Last update for Istanbul: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Targu Jiu

$237 24.2%

Istanbul

$625 41.1% 164% $388

Eating Out

Targu Jiu

$228 23.3%

Istanbul

$221 14.6% 2.9% $6.7

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Targu Jiu

$209 21.4%

Istanbul

$120 7.9% 42.8% $90

Groceries & Markets

Targu Jiu

$156 15.9%

Istanbul

$258 17% 66% $103

Clothing & Footwear

Targu Jiu

$96 9.8%

Istanbul

$129 8.5% 34.9% $33

Sport & Entertainment

Targu Jiu

$48 4.9%

Istanbul

$91 6% 88% $42

Getting Around

Targu Jiu

$3.8 * 0.4%

Istanbul

$75 5% 1905% $71

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $354 in Targu Jiu versus $1,014 in Istanbul. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Istanbul are about 2.2 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $61 in Targu Jiu versus $55 in Istanbul. Groceries tell a different story – $156 in Targu Jiu vs $258 in Istanbul – so Targu Jiu wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇷🇴 Targu Jiu

🇹🇷 Istanbul

🕒 Local time

23:59 11:59 PM

00:59 12:59 AM

1 h ahead of Targu Jiu

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

82,504

15,701,602

💱 Currency

Romanian Leu RON lei

Turkish Lira TRY ₺

📈 Exchange rate

1 RON = 0.209 USD

1 RON = 0.187 EUR

100 TRY = 1.99 USD

100 TRY = 1.78 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

TRY, USD, EUR to RON – Romanian Leu Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇷🇴 Romanian Leu (lei)

Romanian Leu exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 4.78 RON (1 RON = 0.209 USD). 1 EUR = 5.34 RON (1 RON = 0.187 EUR).

Turkish Lira exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 50.15 TRY (100 TRY = 1.99 USD). 1 EUR = 56.05 TRY (100 TRY = 1.78 EUR).

USD to RON in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Targu Jiu Istanbul 640 km ≈ 1 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Targu Jiu
Istanbul

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 Istanbul: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Istanbul is pricier by about 55%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,466 per month in Targu Jiu and $2,278 in Istanbul. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Targu Jiu, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $354 there versus $1,014 in Istanbul.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $61 in Targu Jiu and $55 in Istanbul. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 66% more in Istanbul, though the gap depends on what you buy.

$800 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $977 in Targu Jiu and $1,519 in Istanbul. You’ll need shared housing and careful budgeting no matter which city you pick.

Families tend to lean toward Targu Jiu – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

If budget matters most, go with Targu Jiu. If higher salaries or specific career opportunities are the priority, Istanbul makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.