Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ubud, Bali and Union City, CA

For one person, living is cheaper in Ubud, Bali: $1,331 a month against $4,061 in Union City, CA, rent and utilities included – about $32,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

64

Cost of Living Index in Ubud, Bali
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Ubud, Bali Living Index
197

Cost of Living Index in Union City, CA
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Union City, CA Living Index

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Ubud, Bali

🇮🇩 Indonesia

$1,331

/mo nomad

Union City, CA

🇺🇸 United States

$4,061

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Ubud, Bali and in Union City, CA

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,331 in Ubud, Bali versus $4,061 in Union City, CA.

Ubud, Bali $1,331
Union City, CA $4,061

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,255 in Ubud, Bali versus $6,023 in Union City, CA.

Ubud, Bali $2,255
Union City, CA $6,023

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,180 in Ubud, Bali versus $7,984 in Union City, CA.

Ubud, Bali $3,180
Union City, CA $7,984

Living in Ubud, Bali costs roughly 67% less than in Union City, CA, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Ubud, Bali is 2% below, Union City, CA is 200% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.38 Rp 61.2K

$22.36 $22.36

-84.88%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$34.65 Rp 628.6K

$98.5 $98.5

-64.82%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.57 Rp 101.1K

$13.26 $13.26

-57.99%

Cappuccino

$2.62 Rp 47.5K

$5.49 $5.49

-52.28%

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

$1.54 Rp 27.9K

$3.05 $3.05

-49.51%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.64 Rp 11.6K

$2.35 $2.35

-72.77%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.67 Rp 48.4K

$8.21 $8.21

-67.48%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.26 Rp 77.3K

$10.12 $10.12

-57.91%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.46 Rp 26.5K

$1.26 $1.26

15.87%

White Bread (500g)

$2.29 Rp 41.6K

$4.52 $4.52

-49.34%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.11 Rp 20.1K

$4.15 $4.15

-73.25%

Eggs

$2.10 Rp 38.1K

$5.96 $5.96

-64.77%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$15.94 Rp 289.2K

$19.69 $19.69

-19.05%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.88 Rp 70.4K

$13.42 $13.42

-71.09%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.40 Rp 206.8K

$8.60 $8.60

32.56%

Apples (1kg)

$3.55 Rp 64.4K

$5.08 $5.08

-30.12%

Banana (1kg)

$1.54 Rp 27.9K

$1.93 $1.93

-20.21%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.23 Rp 40.5K

$2.82 $2.82

-20.92%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.97 Rp 35.8K

$4.39 $4.39

-55.13%

Potato (1kg)

$1.86 Rp 33.7K

$2.25 $2.25

-17.33%

Onion (1kg)

$2.42 Rp 43.9K

$3.03 $3.03

-20.13%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.02 Rp 18.6K

$2.41 $2.41

-57.68%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.52 Rp 9,475

$2.48 $2.48

-79.03%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.20 Rp 39.9K

$12.01 $12.01

-81.68%

Wine (Bottle)

$21.79 Rp 395.2K

$15.71 $15.71

38.70%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.33 Rp 42.2K

$2.43 $2.43

-4.12%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.97 Rp 53.9K

$3.37 $3.37

-11.87%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.25 Rp 4,542

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$8.17 Rp 148.3K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.44 Rp 7,941

$3.48 $3.48

-87.36%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.47 Rp 8,489

$1.90 $1.90

-75.26%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.60 Rp 101.6K

$30.29 $30.29

-81.51%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.83 Rp 15.0K

$1.52 $1.52

-45.39%

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

$24.4K Rp 443.5M

$27.4K $27.4K

-10.85%

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

$31.7K Rp 575.0M

$26.9K $26.9K

18.00%

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

$77.5 Rp 1.4M

$274 $274

-71.69%

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

$6.14 Rp 111.5K

$48.70 $48.70

-87.39%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$18.92 Rp 343.1K

$81.0 $81.0

-76.64%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.0 Rp 925.0K

$42.57 $42.57

19.78%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.25 Rp 331.0K

Cinema Ticket

$4.38 Rp 79.5K

$16.14 $16.14

-72.86%

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

$492 Rp 8.9M

$1,799 $1,799

-72.63%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.2K Rp 221.7M

$42.3K $42.3K

-71.10%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$45.16 Rp 819.2K

$40.31 $40.31

12.03%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$34.89 Rp 632.9K

$50.7 $50.7

-31.18%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$78.3 Rp 1.4M

$86.9 $86.9

-9.89%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$77.9 Rp 1.4M

$119 $119

-34.50%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,078 Rp 19.5M

$3,558 $3,558

-69.72%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$665 Rp 12.1M

$2,646 $2,646

-74.87%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,510 Rp 63.7M

$4,921 $4,921

-28.66%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,671 Rp 30.3M

$4,867 $4,867

-65.67%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,340 Rp 42.4M

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,236 Rp 40.6M

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$166 Rp 3.0M

$7,265 $7,265

-97.71%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

13.78

6.82

102.05%

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

Last update for Ubud, Bali: November 1, 2026

Last update for Union City, CA: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Ubud, Bali

$665 50%

Union City, CA

$2.6K 65.2% 298% $2K

Groceries & Markets

Ubud, Bali

$279 21%

Union City, CA

$423 10.4% 51.4% $144

Clothing & Footwear

Ubud, Bali

$106 8%

Union City, CA

$134 3.3% 25.6% $27

Eating Out

Ubud, Bali

$106 8%

Union City, CA

$368 9.1% 248% $262

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ubud, Bali

$103 7.7%

Union City, CA

$403 9.9% 293% $301

Sport & Entertainment

Ubud, Bali

$60 4.5%

Union City, CA

$75 1.8% 25.3% $15

Getting Around

Ubud, Bali

$12 0.9%

Union City, CA

$13 * 0.3% 8.6% $1

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 $1,078 in Ubud, Bali and $3,558 in Union City, CA. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Union City, CA pays about 44 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $35 in Ubud, Bali vs $98 in Union City, CA for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $279 vs $423 per month, with Ubud, Bali cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇮🇩 Ubud, Bali

🇺🇸 Union City, CA

🕒 Local time

18:46 6:46 PM

02:46 2:46 AM

16 h behind Ubud, Bali

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

74,800

63,930

💱 Currency

Indonesian Rupiah IDR Rp

United States Dollar USD $

📈 Exchange rate

100,000 IDR = 5.51 USD

100,000 IDR = 4.91 EUR

1 USD = 0.89 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

USD, EUR to IDR – Indonesian Rupiah Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇮🇩 Indonesian Rupiah (Rp)

Indonesian Rupiah exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 18,140 IDR (100,000 IDR = 5.51 USD). 1 EUR = 20,384 IDR (100,000 IDR = 4.91 EUR).

United States Dollar exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.89 EUR).

USD to IDR in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Ubud, Bali Union City, CA 13,450 km ≈ 17 h nonstop flight

From you

Ubud, Bali
Union City, CA

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

Ubud, Bali vs Union City, CA: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Ubud, Bali wins on cost – living expenses run 67% lower than in Union City, CA. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Ubud, Bali the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 98% lower in Ubud, Bali. 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: $1,078 in Ubud, Bali versus $3,558 in Union City, CA. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 51% higher in Union City, CA. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you’ll spend $1,331 per month in Ubud, Bali versus $4,061 in Union City, CA – Ubud, Bali is about 67% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. Ubud, Bali 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.

Safety-wise, Ubud, Bali and Union City, CA are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

It comes down to priorities – Ubud, Bali wins on affordability, Union City, CA on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.