United States price guide
Short answer: expensive, even at local prices. Fair prices are about 2.2× the 60-country median, and tourist prices are about 2.1× the fair price.
29 prices checked May – Aug 2026 17 verified and 12 estimates How I check
All 29 prices are also in the free app for iPhone and Android, and they work offline. Get it
The first number is what locals pay, the second what tourist spots charge for exactly the same day.
Same day, same things: the tourist version costs 2.0× as much.
Restaurant meal alone: $43.50, or 40% of the tourist-trap day.
+$53 for the same day
| Item | Fair ($) | Trap ($) |
|---|---|---|
| Street food meal | 11 | 20 |
| Restaurant meal | 22 | 43.50 |
| Coffee (espresso) | 4 | 7.50 |
| Water 1.5 L | 2.25 | 5.50 |
| Local beer | 7.50 | 14.50 |
| Public transit ticket 2 rides | 5 | 9.50 |
| Short taxi ride about 1 km | 3.25 | 7 |
| Total | 55 | 108 |
Tourist-trap price compared with the fair price, using the middle of each range.
Pick what you are buying, type the price, and see where it lands.
Tourist-trap price
$5 is 1.5× the middle of the fair range ($2.50 – $4.00).
Tourists often get charged $5 – $9. From $5 you are paying the tourist-trap price.
In the app, every expense you log on a trip gets the same check, offline.
What 29 everyday things should cost, and what tourists often pay instead. Typical for New York, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, San Francisco, Miami, Orlando, Washington, and New Orleans.
Bars run from zero to each item's top tourist-trap price.
Restaurant meal: fair is $16 – $28. From $32 you are on the tourist menu.
Bottled, convenience store
Verified ·Cafe or street vendor
Verified ·Draft, at bar or restaurant
Verified ·Tourist area, main course
Estimate, reviewedLocal market or stand
Estimate, reviewedMixed drink, bar
Verified ·House wine, restaurant
Estimate, reviewedCafe or street stall
Verified ·Airport taxi to the center: fair is $70 – $95. At $100 or more, walk away.
Standard route
Verified ·Metered or typical fare
Estimate, reviewedSingle ride
Estimate, reviewedGrab / Bolt / Uber
Estimate, reviewedFridge magnet: fair is $3 – $6. From $8 you are paying the souvenir-stall markup.
Tourist shop
Verified ·Tourist shop
Estimate, reviewedCeramics, textiles, etc.
Estimate, reviewedTourist SIM: fair is $20 – $40. From $50 it is the tourist-kiosk price.
Data package
Verified ·Pharmacy or shop
Verified ·Supermarket
Verified ·Pack of 20
Estimate, reviewedPack of 20 tablets
Estimate, reviewedSpray or lotion
Verified ·One-hour massage: fair is $70 – $110. From $130 you are paying for the address.
Local barbershop
Verified ·Laundry service
Estimate, reviewedStandard full-body massage
Verified ·Basic cut, salon
Verified ·Top museum or attraction: fair is $25 – $35. From $39, check that you are not buying through a reseller.
Entrance ticket
Verified ·Organized excursion
Estimate, reviewedOrganized excursion 6-8h
Verified ·Local cuisine cooking class
Verified ·Currency
US dollar (USD)
Prices on this page are already in this currency, so there is nothing to convert.
In the US, tipping 15-20% at restaurants and bars is a cultural norm because servers are paid low base wages and rely on tips. Tip taxi and rideshare drivers around 15%, hotel housekeeping a few dollars per night, and bartenders about $1-2 per drink. Tip screens now appear almost everywhere, but for full table service 18-20% is the safe range. Leaving nothing is read as a complaint, not thrift.
Haggling is not part of US shopping culture in regular stores, restaurants, or hotels, though you can negotiate at flea markets, with street vendors, or on large items like cars. The bigger surprise is sales tax: displayed prices almost never include it, so the total at the register is higher than the sticker. Sales tax varies by state and city, from zero in a few states to over 10% in some cities. Always budget a little extra above the listed price.
What tourists actually run into, from overcharging tricks to local laws. Open any item for the details.
Costumed characters (Elmo, superheroes) and 'free' CD or mixtape handlers in Times Square pose for photos, then aggressively demand $10-20 per person. The CD is pressed into your hand as a 'gift', then they block you until you pay. Never accept anything handed to you, and agree on a price before any photo if you really want one.
Anyone who offers you a ride inside a US airport terminal is soliciting illegally. Unlicensed drivers charge far more than the legal fare: New York cases include $800 for a JFK to Times Square trip, where the licensed yellow cab flat fare is $70 plus tolls and surcharges. Port Authority police wrote over 3,700 summonses for illegal solicitation at JFK alone from January 2025, and launched a $100 million crackdown before the 2026 World Cup. Walk past anyone soliciting indoors, use the marked taxi stand outside with a uniformed dispatcher or a rideshare app, and confirm the flat rate or that the meter is running before you go.
Gangs in the United States target vehicles that look like they belong to tourists and break in for anything left in view. Never leave passports in a rental car, not even in the boot, and take bags with you instead of moving them out of sight before you park. Use well lit parking and treat a short stop at a viewpoint the same as leaving the car overnight.
The legal drinking age is 21 in all 50 states and strictly enforced, so carry photo ID (a passport is accepted everywhere, a foreign driving licence often is not) even if you look much older. Open container laws ban drinking in streets, parks, beaches and cars in most cities: police write a citation and fines usually run $100 to $500. A few tourist districts are exceptions, such as the Las Vegas Strip and the New Orleans French Quarter, and there it is plastic cups only, never glass. Recreational cannabis is legal in some states but still illegal under federal law, so never carry it across state lines or through airport security.
Cannabis is sold openly in some US states while remaining a federal offence everywhere. Federal law is what applies in airports, on planes and on federal land such as national parks, and carrying it across a state line is an offence too. Penalties for drug possession are severe, including long sentences and heavy fines, so check the rules of the state you are actually standing in.
Measles cases are rising in many countries and the CDC lists the United States among the destinations covered by its global measles travel notice. The agency recommends that every international traveller be fully vaccinated, meaning two doses of MMR at least 28 days apart and completed at least two weeks before departure, with an early dose for infants aged 6 to 11 months. Airports, trains and crowded attractions are typical places to catch it.
Death Valley averages about 47°C in July and often tops 49°C in the shade, and the inner Grand Canyon below the rim hits 43°C, where three hikers died of suspected heat illness in June 2026. The canyon rim itself only reaches about 27 to 32°C, which is why people head down dressed for mild weather and get caught out. Rangers say do not hike the inner canyon between 10:00 and 16:00 in summer, carry all the water you will need plus salty snacks to replace electrolytes, and never count on phone signal in remote parks. On the Gulf and East coasts, hurricane season runs 1 June to 30 November.
The Atlantic hurricane season normally runs from June to November and the Pacific season from May to November, affecting coastal regions, Hawaii and Guam. Storms close airports and hotels and can strand travellers for days, so track the National Hurricane Center and buy insurance that covers weather disruption. For 2026 NOAA predicts a below normal Atlantic season but an above normal season in the central Pacific, including the waters around Hawaii.
911 is the single nationwide emergency number for police, fire and medical emergencies. Calls are free from any phone, including locked phones and devices without an active plan, as long as some network signal is available. Operators can connect interpreters for callers who do not speak English.
Americans value personal space and friendly small talk, so a casual 'How are you?' is a greeting, not a real question; just reply 'Good, thanks'. Tap water and refills on soft drinks or coffee are usually free, and taking leftovers home in a box is completely normal, even at nice restaurants. Service is fast and chatty, and staff may introduce themselves by name. Queue politely, hold doors for others, and a smile goes a long way.
The 'I love NY' shirts and magnets at tourist-strip stands cost two to three times what you would pay at a drugstore chain like CVS or Walgreens, or a big-box store like Target. For genuine deals on clothes and brands, head to outlet malls just outside major cities, where US prices are already lower than in Europe. Museum gift shops are great for unique, better-quality souvenirs. Buy snacks and water at a supermarket, never at the airport or a hotel minibar.
Sales tax in the United States is set state by state, and a few states charge none at all. Oregon has no general sales or use tax, so a jacket or a camera bought in Portland costs exactly the marked price, while the same purchase in most other states picks up a percentage at the till. If you are buying something expensive and your route crosses a tax free state, buy it there.
Many highways and bridges in the Northeast and Midwest charge tolls, often cashless, billed automatically through E-ZPass, which covers about 20 states but not California or Texas. Driving into Manhattan at or below 60th Street costs an extra congestion toll of 9 dollars at peak and 2.25 dollars overnight with E-ZPass, charged once per day. Rental cars usually include a toll transponder, but the service fee of roughly 6 to 10 dollars per tolled day plus the tolls adds up fast, so ask how it is billed before you drive. Gas is priced per gallon (about 3.8 liters) and ranged from about 3.60 dollars in Texas to 5.64 dollars in California in August 2026, and in big cities parking can cost more than your hotel room.
In most of the United States you may turn right at a red light after stopping, unless a no turn on red sign is posted, and you must yield to pedestrians and cross traffic first. Speed limits are in miles per hour and fuel is priced by the gallon, about 3.8 litres, so pump prices look far cheaper than European ones until you convert. An international driving permit may be needed alongside your licence, and the requirement varies from state to state.
The prices on this page are typical for these cities and the tourist areas around them.
The TruePrice Index for the United States, next to the countries people weigh it against and its nearest neighbors, all on one scale. 100 is the median of the 60 countries I track.
Ecuador 87 Prices about 61% lower than in the United States 
Dominican Republic 93 Prices about 58% lower than in the United States 
Guatemala 98 Prices about 56% lower than in the United States 
Colombia 100 Prices about 55% lower than in the United States 
Mexico 117 Prices about 47% lower than in the United States 
Costa Rica 175 Prices about 21% lower than in the United States United States 222 This page Short answer: expensive, even at local prices. Fair prices are about 2.2× the 60-country median, and tourist prices are about 2.1× the fair price. On the TruePrice Index, the United States scores 222, the 2nd most expensive of the 60 countries I track.
Roughly $55 a day at fair prices, or $108 at tourist prices. That covers two meals, a coffee, a bottle of water, a beer, two transit rides and a short taxi ride. Sightseeing comes on top ($25 – $35 for a top museum or attraction), and accommodation is not included.
In the US, tipping 15-20% at restaurants and bars is a cultural norm because servers are paid low base wages and rely on tips. Tip taxi and rideshare drivers around 15%, hotel housekeeping a few dollars per night, and bartenders about $1-2 per drink. Tip screens now appear almost everywhere, but for full table service 18-20% is the safe range. Leaving nothing is read as a complaint, not thrift.
The US dollar (USD), so prices on this page need no converting. On October 3, 2026, 1 EUR was worth 1.125 USD.
A restaurant main course is $16 – $28 at fair prices, while tourist menus charge $32 – $55. A street food meal runs $8 – $14. A local beer is $6 – $9, or $11 – $18 in tourist bars.
Budget roughly $55 a day for food, drinks and getting around at local prices, or about $108 at tourist prices. Add $25 – $35 for each major sight, plus your accommodation.
Call 911, the general emergency number. Use it for police, ambulance, and fire brigade.
Where these numbers come from, and how sure I am about each one.
How to cite
TruePrice Index, October 2026, truepriceapp.com/en/trueprice-index/
Spotted a price that looks off? Email me at [email protected] and I will check it.
Check the fair price at the market stall or in the taxi, before you pay. Free on iPhone and Android.
