---
title: "Cost of Living in Iran vs the US — Geo-Parity"
description: "Iran is about 73% cheaper than the United States (price level 0.271, US = 1.0). See what US salaries are really worth in Iran, on the Penn World Table figure alone — the sources disagree, and why is explained."
canonical: "https://geo-parity.com/ppp/iran/"
json: "https://geo-parity.com/api/calculate.json?income=100000&target=IR"
generator: geo-parity markdown twin
---
Purchasing Power Parity · Iran

# Cost of living in 🇮🇷 Iran vs the United States

Iran has a US-relative price level of **0.271** (US = 1.0) — about 73% cheaper than the United States. Reference year 2023.

## What US salaries are worth in Iran

| US income | Feels like (US-equivalent) | Cost of a US lifestyle |
| --- | --- | --- |
| $50,000 | $184,502 | $13,550 |
| $80,000 | $295,203 | $21,680 |
| $120,000 | $442,804 | $32,520 |
| $180,000 | $664,207 | $48,780 |
| $250,000 | $922,509 | $67,750 |

“Feels like” = income ÷ price level; “cost of a US lifestyle” = income × price level. Try your own number in the [interactive calculator](https://geo-parity.com/?target=IR).

## How the sources compare

Each provider measures Iran's price level slightly differently; a tight spread means high confidence.

These sources disagree — the figure above is the Penn World Table figure alone, decided by a person, not a blend.

Exchange regime: multiple rates. The World Bank official rate (PA.NUS.FCRF) is exactly 42,000 rial per dollar for every year 2019-2023 while the open market passed 810,000 (April 2025) and one million (March 2025); an official 280,000 rate applies only to staples and medicine. Dividing a PPP factor that tripled by a frozen denominator makes Iran read as 125% dearer than the United States. Penn World Table (0.271) handles the rate independently and is the only credible vote.

Checked 2026-09-09 against the sources named in the register.

Consensus (median) 0.271 2023

World Bank — GDP 2.245 2023

IMF (WEO) 2.245 2023

Penn World Table 0.271 2023

World Bank — Consumption 2.109 2023

## Countries with a similar cost of living

- [🇧🇾 Belarus](https://geo-parity.com/ppp/belarus/) — price level 0.274
- [🇧🇩 Bangladesh](https://geo-parity.com/ppp/bangladesh/) — price level 0.267
- [🇬🇲 Gambia](https://geo-parity.com/ppp/gambia/) — price level 0.266
- [🇧🇮 Burundi](https://geo-parity.com/ppp/burundi/) — price level 0.264
- [🇺🇿 Uzbekistan](https://geo-parity.com/ppp/uzbekistan/) — price level 0.264

Relocating for work? use the [Fair Pay Localizer](https://geo-parity.com/?tab=salary).

- [How much you need to retire in Iran](https://geo-parity.com/fire/iran/)

## Frequently asked questions

- **How expensive is Iran compared to the United States?**: Iran has a price level of 0.271 relative to the US baseline of 1.0 (about 73% cheaper than the United States), based on the Penn World Table figure alone — the sources disagree and a curated exchange-regime register names the one to believe, reference year 2023.
- **What is a $100,000 salary worth in Iran?**: In purchasing-power terms, $100,000 stretches to about $369,004 of US-equivalent lifestyle in Iran; conversely, sustaining a $100,000 US lifestyle there costs about $27,100.
- **Where does the Iran cost-of-living data come from?**: Real price-level figures from the World Bank, IMF World Economic Outlook, OECD, Eurostat and Penn World Table, refreshed at build time. For Iran the sources disagree (multiple rates): The World Bank official rate (PA.NUS.FCRF) is exactly 42,000 rial per dollar for every year 2019-2023 while the open market passed 810,000 (April 2025) and one million (March 2025); an official 280,000 rate applies only to staples and medicine. Dividing a PPP factor that tripled by a frozen denominator makes Iran read as 125% dearer than the United States. Penn World Table (0.271) handles the rate independently and is the only credible vote.

Figures are informational estimates from public datasets — not investment or relocation advice. Agents: GET /api/calculate.json?income=100000&target=IR.

---

Source: Geo-Parity — https://geo-parity.com/ppp/iran/ · JSON: https://geo-parity.com/api/calculate.json?income=100000&target=IR