Cost of living comparison

compared to

El Salvador vs. Cook Islands Cost of Living Summary

El Salvador is 49.6% more expensive than Cook Islands overall.

Restaurants: pay 51.5% less in El Salvador
Groceries: pay 18.9% less in El Salvador
Transportation: pay 35.5% more in El Salvador
Housing: pay 25.1% more in El Salvador
Childcare: pay 4.6 times more in El Salvador
Entertainment and Sports: pay 32.1% less in El Salvador
Clothing: pay 25.3% more in El Salvador

The cost of childcare, transportation, clothing, and housing in El Salvador are more expensive than in Cook Islands. Expenses including restaurants, entertainment and sports, and groceries are lower in El Salvador. Notably, childcare is significantly more expensive in El Salvador.

El Salvador vs. Cook Islands Cost Breakdown

If you lived in El Salvador instead of Cook Islands, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 51.5% less for restaurants

	Cook Islands	El Salvador
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$11.54 NZ$20.12	$5.50 SVC47.99	-52.3%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$7.93 NZ$13.83	$6.33 SVC55.23	-20.2%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.88 NZ$5.03	$0.99 SVC8.64	-65.7%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$2.50 NZ$4.36	$0.81 SVC7.05	-67.7%
Average			-51.5%

Cook Islands vs. El Salvador - Cost of restaurants

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pay 18.9% less for groceries

	Cook Islands	El Salvador
Bread 1 loaf	$3.11 NZ$5.42	$1.95 SVC17.01	-37.3%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.98 NZ$8.68	$3.77 SVC32.86	-24.3%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.37 NZ$12.85	$6.72 SVC58.61	-8.9%
Eggs 1 dozen	$5.57 NZ$9.71	$2.78 SVC24.25	-50.1%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.40 NZ$5.93	$2.82 SVC24.64	-17.0%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.30 NZ$2.27	$1.67 SVC14.60	+28.5%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.05 NZ$1.83	$0.76 SVC6.60	-27.7%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.56 NZ$2.73	$1.17 SVC10.17	-25.5%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.75 NZ$4.79	$1.22 SVC10.61	-55.8%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.05 NZ$1.83	$0.97 SVC8.44	-7.6%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.82 NZ$1.44	$0.98 SVC8.51	+18.3%
Average			-18.9%

Cook Islands vs. El Salvador - Cost of groceries

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pay 35.5% more for transportation

	Cook Islands	El Salvador
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$6.56 NZ$11.45	$3.75 SVC32.69	-42.9%
Monthly public transit pass	??	$15.00 SVC130.88
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$11,538.70 NZ$20,123.30	$24,666.67 SVC215,223.23	+113.8%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	??	$29.78 SVC259.88
Average			+35.5%

Cook Islands vs. El Salvador - Cost of transportation

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pay 25.1% more for housing

	Cook Islands	El Salvador
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$105.96 NZ$184.80	$41.89 SVC365.49	-60.5%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$305.77 NZ$533.27	$666.67 SVC5,816.84	+118.0%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$305.77 NZ$533.27	$502.78 SVC4,386.87	+64.4%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$82.72 NZ$144.27	$64.97 SVC566.86	-21.5%
Average			+25.1%

Cook Islands vs. El Salvador - Cost of housing

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pay 4.6 times more for childcare

	Cook Islands	El Salvador
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	??	$162.67 SVC1,419.31
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$1,384.64 NZ$2,414.80	$6,420.00 SVC56,016.21	+363.7%
Average			+363.7%

Cook Islands vs. El Salvador - Cost of childcare

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pay 32.1% less for entertainment and sports

	Cook Islands	El Salvador
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$5.99 NZ$10.44	$2.00 SVC17.45	-66.6%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.80 NZ$6.62	$2.83 SVC24.69	-25.5%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$14.42 NZ$25.15	$4.00 SVC34.90	-72.3%
Monthly membership at local gym	$24.04 NZ$41.92	$30.27 SVC264.08	+25.9%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$6.63 NZ$11.57	$5.17 SVC45.08	-22.1%
Average			-32.1%

Cook Islands vs. El Salvador - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 25.3% more for clothing

	Cook Islands	El Salvador
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$64.62 NZ$112.69	$62.60 SVC546.20	-3.1%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	??	$45.83 SVC399.91
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	??	$131.80 SVC1,149.99
Men's business shoes (leather)	$70.96 NZ$123.76	$109.17 SVC952.51	+53.8%
Average			+25.3%

Cook Islands vs. El Salvador - Cost of clothing

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The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you. We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: December 2025

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