Cost of Living inKampala, Uganda
Image credit: Yankho Kawalewale
Purchasing Power vs. United States
Based on GDP per capita (PPP). Uganda: $2,880/capita.
How Far Your Money Goes
Prices are 73% lower than the global benchmark (New York City = 100).
Income Category
Happiness
4.4 / 10
#115 globally
GDP per Capita
City Population
Monthly Costs
Rent
Food
Transport
Utilities
Education
Child Education
Public-school quality + expat access, alongside international and private school cost — the two paths a relocating family weighs.
Public schools
Public-schooling rules are set nationally for Uganda; Kampala-specific enrollment notes are still being verified.
Quality
Limited public-school fit
Expat access
Possible for residents
conditionalInstruction
English
Language fit is more manageable.
PISA / outcomes
Qualitative only
Using curated quality notes for now.
Why this quality rating
Uganda's public schools can work for local families, but they are not usually the route expat families choose when they have alternatives.
Why the expat-access rating looks like this
Resident families may be able to enroll, but classroom conditions and uneven quality make the public route a situational expat choice.
❓ Homeschooling
Not specifically regulatedUganda has compulsory education but no specific homeschooling legislation. Some expat families and missionary families homeschool without interference. No formal framework exists.
Homeschool legality in Uganda — check current regulations before committing.
Source: User-curated family relocation research (initial seed) (2026-04-14)
International & private schools
Childcare & Domestic Help
Current nanny and household-help pricing snapshot for Kampala, Uganda.
Full-time nanny (5 days)
$350-$500
monthly · confidence 0.65
Live-in / 24-7 nanny
$625-$825
monthly · confidence 0.65
Source: curated family relocation research
Getting Around
The concrete mobility picture for Kampala: airport access, urban transit, and rideshare practicality.
Airport
International airport
Entebbe is Uganda’s main international airport and functions as Kampala’s practical air gateway.
Urban transit
Matatu and bus mix
Kampala is workable in selected districts, but citywide mobility remains informal, road-based, and less structured than stronger bus-led capitals.
Rideshare
Uber and Bolt available
App-hailed rides are a practical fallback for airport trips and gaps in the matatu and bus network.
Source: User-curated family relocation research (initial seed) (2026-04-14)
Healthcare
System strength, outcome signals, facility coverage, and self-pay visibility in Uganda.
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 country-level outcomes are weaker weigh on this rating.
Private care
LimitedSelf-pay pricing transparency is still sparse weigh on this rating.
UHC coverage
54/100
2023
Physicians
0.19/1k
2022
Hospital beds
0.50/1k
2010
Out of pocket
32%
2023
Outcome signals
Life expectancy
68.5 yrs
2024
Maternal mortality
170/100k
2023
Neonatal mortality
21.3/1k
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 Uganda 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 |
|---|---|
| Administrative & Support Services | — |
| Agriculture & Farming | — |
| Arts, Entertainment & Recreation | — |
| Construction | — |
| Education | — |
| Finance & Insurance | — |
| Healthcare & Social Work | — |
| Hospitality & Food Service | — |
| Information & Technology | — |
| Manufacturing | — |
| Mining & Quarrying | — |
| Other Services | — |
| Professional & Scientific Services | — |
| Public Administration & Defence | — |
| Retail & Wholesale Trade | — |
| Transport & Logistics | — |
| Utilities | — |
2021 annual wages in Kampala, Uganda · Source: ILO ILOSTAT (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 Kampala compared with the US?
Your money goes about 3.0x further in Kampala than in the US, based on the current PPP estimate.
Is Kampala cheaper or more expensive overall than New York City?
Kampala is cheaper overall than New York City — overall living costs are about 73% cheaper than the global benchmark (New York City) for Kampala.
How does rent in Kampala compare with New York City?
Rent in Kampala is about 89% cheaper than the global benchmark (New York City).
How expensive are groceries and restaurants in Kampala?
Groceries in Kampala are about 72% cheaper than the global benchmark (New York City), and restaurant prices are about 75% cheaper than the same benchmark.
About Kampala
Kampala is the capital of Uganda, a hilly inland city of about 1.68 million spread across seven traditional hills near the northern shore of Lake Victoria. It is the country's political, commercial, and educational center, with Makerere University serving as a major regional academic hub. For relocators it offers one of East Africa's larger expat communities — heavily concentrated in NGO, development, and refugee-response work — and a cost of living noticeably below Nairobi. English and Swahili are official, with Luganda dominating the streets. The climate is mild year-round thanks to the 1,200-meter elevation, but traffic congestion is severe, formal public transit is minimal, and recent legislation on LGBTQ rights has caused several international organizations to reassess postings.
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