Cost of Living for Students – Breakdown

by HSB on July 24, 2008

in US College Life

Cost of Living in USA

While you are going to school in USA as an international student, every penny counts. Cost of living is major factor when selecting University to apply for graduate admission or when deciding between choice of universities. Cost of living calculator will give an idea about different cities and its very clear from difference in salary range for masters degree in 13 different cities,.

Also, students life style is much different from people who work full time. Here’s the breakdown of typical monthly student expenses and list gives an average of many cities, if student happen to study in LA, it will be more expensive.

Cost of Living in LA

  • Apartment Rent  – $75 to $200/month ( Can’t avoid. More roommates less Rent)
  • Electricity – $10 to $25/month
  • Food – $75 – 150/month (Depends on Eating Habits)
  • Laptop – $450 – $1500 ( One time investment)
  • Cell phone – $35 to 70(iPhone costs more, landline not required)
  • Public transportation – $30 (usually for students its free )
  • Books/Textbooks – $50 – $150 /quarter (Get books from friends or buy used books)
  • Shopping/travel – $20 to $50/month ( It varies )
  • Calling cards – $5 to $20/month (free – Skype, GTalk, )
  • Car – $1500 – $3000 (will discuss in separate article)
  • Car maintenance – $80 to $100 / month ( Includes – insurance, gas, service, parking)
  • Gifts to GFs/BFs – Unlimited
  • Cheap International Students Health Insurance – $30+/month ( if University Policy is not mandatory)

How much did I spend while in School?

  • Apartment Rent  – $75 (yeah its just $75)
  • Electricity – $10 – $15
  • Food – $125/month
  • Laptop – $1500 (Fujitsu Lifebook)
  • Cell phone – $45 ( I got Cell phone almost towards the end of M.S.)
  • Landline phone – $5
  • Internet, Cable TV, Netflix – $15
  • Books/Textbooks -I got most of books from friends/seniors
  • Shopping/travel – $50 to $100/month ( It varies )
  • Calling cards – $10 (Used Yahoo Messenger – Vocie chat)
  • Car – $600 ( My first Car, shared the cost )
  • Car maintenance – $50 ( $100/2 insurance, gas, service, parking)
  • Gifts to GFs – $0 (Poor Me!!)
  • Cheap International Students Health Insurance – ( University’s Health Policy was mandatory)

I douut, if you can still get to spend $75 for apartment these days.  Did I miss anything? If so, write a comment to this article.

Related posts:

  1. Cost of Living at University of Southern California, LA
  2. Cost of Graduate Education in U.S.
  3. Students Expense – Food and Lodging in USA
  4. Cost of Living: Most and Least Expensive College Town
  5. Students Health Insurance $28+ per month
  6. Students Health and Travel Insurance to U.S.

Image Credit

{ 27 comments… read them below or add one }

1 Natasha Sandhu August 25, 2010 at 6:09 AM

Please send me the cost break down of living in Erie, Pennsylvania

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2 mitesh August 3, 2010 at 1:03 AM

tel me cost of living in canada. & plz tel me future after complted biotechnology courese over there…any job over there in pharama company or any reserach lab. how much salary they give,,,,,,plz tel me.

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3 trveen July 7, 2010 at 9:17 AM

We need cost of groceries, rental figures etc for 201o … ‘cos cost of living as gone up.

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4 HSB July 8, 2010 at 12:51 AM

Cost of living have gone up in India, not in US due to recession.

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5 Varun Kumar August 26, 2010 at 2:12 AM

I agree with u. Cost of living in India is much higher than the US.

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6 sagar gaikwad June 25, 2010 at 3:21 AM

ya i also agreee that it could have made available in indian currency

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7 Venkatakrishnan Jayapal June 11, 2010 at 9:57 PM

HSB hi once again ,

On reading this i noticed that you have graduated from UTA . How is that university ? Job opportunities after graduation there??? Can you put some light on this university ..what was your stream of education?

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8 venkatakrishnan Jayapal June 11, 2010 at 9:39 PM

Hi HSB ,

Its a really useful guide .Your blog has given me good idea of many things that i have also recommended your blog to many of my friends aiming to do higher studies.

Personally i thanks alot for such a good work . Keep Going :)

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9 vidhya June 1, 2010 at 12:49 PM

all the info which is given is nice, but it luks gud if the expenses r mentioned in indian currency…..

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10 Misbah March 29, 2010 at 8:12 AM

Ur articles are too good !

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11 Chetan Dahal January 20, 2010 at 1:20 AM

It’s cool, getting an apartment with 75$ is indeed a thinkable quiestion. However, blog is fruitful to those who are preparaing to go US as a student

Chetan

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12 Varun Kumar January 15, 2010 at 4:11 AM

I don’t rate it a good article….. this article belongs to the year 2002. It seems like this. The rates are so underestimated. I wonder how they wrote insurance $30 a month….. lol… its $486 per semester. The apartment even in Dallas or any low expense states are not what the blog saying. I study in Los Angeles and I know the real rates. I have people from many places in US. The only thing that I felt genuine was about the car. Even laptops are somewhat ok price but that 1500$ thing seems too much.

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13 Varun Kumar January 15, 2010 at 4:12 AM

I have a laptop of $600 and its the best. $1500 is very expensive.

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14 Varun Kumar January 15, 2010 at 4:01 AM

Hey Happyschoolsblog… who wrote that “APARTMENT RENT $75″….. I really wonder what type of place you talking about. When you mention the rate please mention of which state? In California, $75 is a joke…. average room is at least 450$ and do u mean 5 people shared a room?.. lol

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15 vishnu January 12, 2010 at 1:28 PM

really this blog is very usefull for students who wants to know abt cost of living in us.can u tell me some information that how much interest we have to pay for banks after completing ms & when we have to start paying loan for banks

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16 Varun Kumar June 25, 2010 at 5:14 AM

12.03%

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17 sharath January 3, 2010 at 10:21 PM

HI this is sharath final year B.E(E.C)
I wish to apply for the followin uni this fall
1.San JOse State uni.
2.Prtland State uni.
3.Kansas State uni.
4.Oklahama State uni.
5.Uni of texas at San Antonio
Plz el me about the expense studyin in these uni’s. Are they expensive or normal..
If possible plz express ur views about these uni

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18 nishant August 15, 2009 at 12:57 PM

good analysis buddy

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19 ganesh.b June 29, 2009 at 2:06 PM

that’s good!!but friend please give some idea about what u eat and from where u get that? do u cook or what? in several places u mentioned pressure cooker why? grocery means….what it include?

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20 Varun Kumar January 15, 2010 at 4:03 AM

Eat whatever….. your average food expense of a single day can never be less than 10$

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21 krupa February 22, 2009 at 9:06 AM

information provided is really helpful.you r doing a gr8 job

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22 Santhosh January 23, 2009 at 6:49 AM

its really a usefull blog to me. i got a lot of information only visiting this blog…

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23 Vandana Varshini November 26, 2008 at 7:27 AM

That was a really good analysis! You are too good Mr.Raghu. Every time I come to your blog I wont leave with out opening some 11 windows at one go (I will click links of something I havent read on the page current page and then on that page and so on) It is so informative and very usefull. I never knew so many things until I read your blogs I consider myself lucky too have come across this blog by accident (on google search actually)

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24 Varun Kumar January 15, 2010 at 4:15 AM

This is really a good website. But this article is shocking because it is unexpectedly inaccurately figured. But rest of the articles are good.

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25 HSB January 15, 2010 at 10:58 AM

Varun – Thanks for list of comments :) . I can give you list of 100′s of students who have similar cost of living now. No need to go back to 2002. There is another article for USC too, which will say different figure. Texas, Florida, AL, Ok, KS, MS, …. 2 Bedroom for $500 to $700 shared by 6.

I guess you are paying mandatory insurance offered by school – Here is a link where most international students buy insurance for $31 – http://www.happyschoolsblog.com/health-insurance-students-and-visitors/

I think you got Gateway Laptop for $600. I have used Fujitsu, HP, Thinkpad, Macbook, Vaio, Dell and Gateway personally. I can say the different between cheap/good quality. Quality of Fujitus, HP, Thinkpad, Idepad, Dell is way above thean Gateway. You will understand as time goes on :) Walmart sell $298 HP laptop with very good config. Dell XPS you can get for $700 to 900 with coupons.

Keep your comments coming, many readers are finding it useful.

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26 nitinkumar April 23, 2010 at 9:10 AM

my back ground is b.tech(ece) electronics i would like wat is the cost of ms in usa in average college

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27 Narayana November 8, 2008 at 11:29 AM

:) good article.

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