Quality of life comparison

compared to

If you lived in New Caledonia instead of Iowa, you would:

Economy

be 3.4 times more likely to be unemployed

In Iowa, 3.3% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In New Caledonia, that number is 11.2% as of 2025.

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make 54.2% less money

Iowa has a GDP per capita of $63,747 as of 2024, while in New Caledonia, the GDP per capita is $29,213 as of 2024.

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Sources: World Bank (2024–2025), Bureau of Labor Statistics (2025), Bureau of Economic Analysis (2024). How we calculate this

Compare further: Iowa vs. New Caledonia

Cost of Living Comparison · 7 categories - 2026 data
New Caledonia is 13.2% more expensive than Iowa
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Size Comparison · See true size
Iowa is about 8 times bigger than New Caledonia.
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Moving from Iowa to New Caledonia · Cost, visas & climate
Compare cost of living, salary and climate.
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New Caledonia: At a glance

New Caledonia is a sovereign country in Australia-Oceania, with a total land area of approximately 18,275 sq km. Settled by both Britain and France during the first half of the 19th century, the island became a French possession in 1853. It served as a penal colony for four decades after 1864. Agitation for independence during the 1980s and early 1990s ended in the 1998 Noumea Accord, which over a period of 15 to 20 years will transfer an increasing amount of governing responsibility from France to New Caledonia. The agreement also commits France to conduct a referendum between 2014 and 2018 to decide whether New Caledonia should assume full sovereignty and independence.
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How big is New Caledonia compared to Iowa? See an in-depth size comparison.

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