Estimated Cost of Living for Career Training USA Participants

Congratulations on joining the InterExchange Career Training USA program! 

Career Training participants pursue programs all across the United States. Your expected costs will depend on a variety of factors:
  • Length of your program: The more time you spend in the U.S., the more money you will need. After the first couple months, assess your spending and set a new budget for the remainder of your program. Once you’re settled, you should have a better sense regarding the amount of money you’ll need on a monthly basis.
  • Location of your program: Urban areas such as New York City, San Francisco and Boston will have higher cost—including rent, food, entertainment—everything is more expensive in larger cities.
  • Whether your internship or training program is paid or unpaid: Even if you are doing a paid program, you should still research the expected cost of living of your city in advance to ensure you will be able to cover all of your expenses.
  • Whether your employer will offer any benefits: If your employer is offering free housing or a food or transportation allowance, this will help to reduce your monthly costs.
  • Your own personal spending habits and limits: When traveling, most people spend money in the same way they would at home. If you spend a lot of money in your home country, you will probably spend a lot of money while you’re in the U.S. Also, if you intend to do any traveling in the U.S., you will need to budget for that as well.

We suggest participants budget at least $2000 to cover their initial costs, including: a hotel or hostel while you conduct a housing search; security deposits and first month’s rent for your housing; transportation from the airport to your temporary or permanent housing; food and extra monetary funds to cover any unexpected emergency situation while in the U.S. If you will not be paying for housing, $750 should be sufficient for your arrival. 

To give you some guidance on allocating your money during your time in the U.S., please review the estimated standard expenses for a single-person during a typical program in the United States. These estimates will help you to plan your trip accordingly.

  • Initial Expenses (Average transportation cost from the airport to your host city and one week stay in a hostel):  $300-$500
  • Housing: $300-$1200 per month. Housing in urban areas can be very expensive, but safe, lower-cost options are always available. Plan to stay temporarily in a hotel or hostel so you can conduct your housing search in person. Most landlords will require a security deposit equal to one month’s rent and the first month’s rent when you sign a lease.
  • Utilities (gas/electric, phone, internet): $100-$200 per month 
  • Food: $300 per month
  • Transportation: $50-$200 per month, depending on whether you are using mass transit or driving a car. Note that you will also need car insurance if purchasing a car, which will add to your monthly costs.
  • Personal Care Products: $35 per month
  • Miscellaneous/Entertainment: $80-$150 per month

Please visit National Standard: Food, Clothing and Other Items section on the Internal Revenue Service’s website to learn more about the average cost of living in the United States.  You can also compare the cost of living between your home city and your host city in the U.S.: http://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/comparison.jsp

We encourage you to plan accordingly and make the most of your time during the Career Training USA program!  And remember, if you are not receiving the amount of money indicated on your training plan, contact InterExchange immediately.