Cost of Living inJalālābād, Afghanistan
Image credit: Koldo Hormaza from Madrid, Spain
Purchasing Power vs. United States
Based on GDP per capita (PPP). Afghanistan: $1,984/capita.
How Far Your Money Goes
Prices are 79% lower than the global benchmark (New York City = 100).
Using the country-level NYC comparison for now. We do not have a defensible city-level aggregate cost index for this city yet.
Income Category
GDP per Capita
City Population
Child Education
Public-schooling rules and international-school pricing are not sourced for Afghanistan yet. Quality, expat-access, instruction language, and tuition will appear here once verified.
Childcare & Domestic Help
Nanny, housekeeper, and driver pricing is not yet sourced for Jalālābād. We publish this section only when we can tie it to local job-board, agency, or country fallback evidence.
Getting Around
Neighborhood mobility profiles are rolling out city by city.Jalālābād is still missing a verified walkability, transit, airport, and rideshare profile.
Healthcare
System strength, outcome signals, facility coverage, and self-pay visibility in Afghanistan.
Method: country metrics come from public system indicators, facility coverage reflects mapped providers we can inventory, direct pricing only reflects observed self-pay pages, and relative care cost can fall back to broad cost-of-living healthcare indices. Sparse pricing does not imply sparse healthcare availability.
Healthcare system
LimitedCoverage looks thinner, doctor staffing is lighter, and hospital capacity looks tighter weigh on this rating.
Public care
LimitedPublic coverage looks thinner, public funding looks lighter, and patients still shoulder a meaningful share of costs weigh on this rating.
Private care
LimitedThe tracked private-style network still looks thin and self-pay pricing transparency is still sparse weigh on this rating.
UHC coverage
42/100
2023
Physicians
0.32/1k
2023
Hospital beds
0.35/1k
2023
Out of pocket
77%
2023
Outcome signals
Life expectancy
66.3 yrs
2024
Maternal mortality
521/100k
2023
Neonatal mortality
33.1/1k
2024
International patient readiness
LimitedPrice transparency is still sparse and headline outcomes are less reassuring weigh on this rating.
Pricing transparency
LimitedPublished self-pay prices are scarce and few facilities expose web pages we can verify weigh on this rating.
Facility coverage
Self-pay pricing visibility
No verified self-pay prices are published for the tracked facilities in Afghanistan yet.
This usually reflects low online price transparency rather than a lack of healthcare providers.
Notable facilities
System metrics: World Bank WDI · Updated 2026-06-01
Safety & Governance
Street Safety
Source: Numbeo where a city row is matched; otherwise World Bank WGI and country-level safety context.
Political Stability
World Bank WGI scale: -2.5 to +2.5.
Wages by Sector
| Sector | Median |
|---|---|
| Agriculture & Farming | — |
| Manufacturing | — |
2020 annual wages in Jalālābād, Afghanistan · Source: ILO ILOSTAT (sector aggregate) (national)
Price Comparison vs. US
Visa Information (US passport)
Short-stay entry
US passport holders need advance travel authorization or a visa before entry.
Quick comparison FAQ
Structured from the deltas already shown on this page — no invented facts, no extra data sources.
How far does your money go in Jalālābād compared with the US?
Your money goes about 4.5x further in Jalālābād than in the US, based on the current PPP estimate. We are using the country-level cost index for Afghanistan here because a defensible city-level aggregate index is not available yet.
Is Jalālābād cheaper or more expensive overall than New York City?
Jalālābād is cheaper overall than New York City — overall living costs are about 79% cheaper than the global benchmark (New York City) for Jalālābād. We are using the country-level cost index for Afghanistan here because a defensible city-level aggregate index is not available yet.
How does rent in Jalālābād compare with New York City?
Rent in Jalālābād is about 98% cheaper than the global benchmark (New York City). We are using the country-level cost index for Afghanistan here because a defensible city-level aggregate index is not available yet.
How expensive are groceries and restaurants in Jalālābād?
Groceries in Jalālābād are about 82% cheaper than the global benchmark (New York City), and restaurant prices are about 85% cheaper than the same benchmark. We are using the country-level cost index for Afghanistan here because a defensible city-level aggregate index is not available yet.
About Jalālābād
Jalalabad sits in eastern Afghanistan at the confluence of the Kabul and Kunar rivers, roughly 150 kilometers east of Kabul and 75 kilometers from the Khyber Pass crossing into Pakistan. The city is the capital of Nangarhar Province and is the warmest major city in Afghanistan, sitting at just 550 meters elevation with a hot semi-arid climate that contrasts sharply with mountainous Kabul. Citrus and olive cultivation in the surrounding irrigated valley have long defined the regional economy, alongside cross-border trade with Pakistan and a significant historical role as a transit point on routes between Central and South Asia. Pashto is the dominant language with Dari widely understood. Since 2021 the city has operated under Taliban administration with significantly restricted access for foreign workers.
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