Cost of living comparison

compared to

Noumea vs. Apia Cost of Living Summary

Noumea is 2.8 times more expensive than Apia.

Restaurants
pay 31.9% less in Noumea
Groceries
pay 2.9 times more in Noumea
Transportation
pay 4.5% more in Noumea
Housing
pay 6.5 times more in Noumea
Entertainment and Sports
pay 2.3 times more in Noumea

The cost of housing, groceries, entertainment and sports, and transportation in Noumea are more expensive than in Apia. Notably, housing, groceries, and entertainment and sports are significantly more expensive in Noumea.

Noumea vs. Apia Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Noumea instead of Apia, you would:

pay 31.9% less for restaurants

 
Apia
Noumea
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $47.26
WST130.00
$20.64
CFPF2,210
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$14.54
WST40.00
$14.08
CFPF1,507
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $1.82
WST5.00
$1.97
CFPF211

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pay 2.9 times more for groceries

 
Apia
Noumea
Bread
1 loaf
$0.82
WST2.25
$3.47
CFPF372
Local cheese (8 oz) $0.45
WST1.25
$14.86
CFPF1,591
Milk (1 gallon) $6.88
WST18.93
$4.55
CFPF487

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pay 4.5% more for transportation

 
Apia
Noumea
Gasoline (1 gallon) $4.13
WST11.36
$6.03
CFPF646
Monthly public transit pass ?? ??
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) ?? $32,607.24
CFPF3M

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pay 6.5 times more for housing

 
Apia
Noumea
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$36.35
WST100.00
$48.79
CFPF5,224
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area ?? $750.67
CFPF80,366
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center ?? $774.13
CFPF82,877

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pay (unknown) more for childcare

 
Apia
Noumea
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly ?? $750.67
CFPF80,366
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters ?? $9,383.38
CFPF1M

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pay 2.3 times more for entertainment and sports

 
Apia
Noumea
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $3.45
WST9.50
$9.38
CFPF1,005
Cappuccino in mid-range area $2.91
WST8.00
$4.57
CFPF490
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$6.18
WST17.00
$19.52
CFPF2,090

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pay (unknown) more for clothing

 
Apia
Noumea
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
?? $109.47
CFPF11,720
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
?? $65.68
CFPF7,032
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
?? $98.53
CFPF10,548

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We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated November 2026). How we calculate this

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