Cost of living comparison

compared to

Sydney vs. Cook Islands Cost of Living Summary

Sydney is 3.4 times more expensive than Cook Islands overall.

Restaurants: pay 8.8% more in Sydney
Groceries: pay 0.9% more in Sydney
Transportation: pay 61.5% more in Sydney
Housing: pay 3.6 times more in Sydney
Childcare: pay 13.2 times more in Sydney
Entertainment and Sports: pay 82.3% more in Sydney
Clothing: pay 44.1% more in Sydney

The cost of childcare, housing, entertainment and sports, transportation, clothing, and restaurants in Sydney are more expensive than in Cook Islands. Notably, childcare, housing, and entertainment and sports are significantly more expensive in Sydney.

Sydney vs. Cook Islands Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Sydney instead of Cook Islands, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 8.8% more for restaurants

	Cook Islands	Sydney
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$11.54 NZ$19.88	$16.35 A$24.59	+41.7%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$7.93 NZ$13.67	$9.81 A$14.75	+23.7%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.88 NZ$4.97	$2.60 A$3.90	-10.0%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$2.50 NZ$4.31	$2.00 A$3.00	-20.1%
Average			+8.8%

Cook Islands vs. Sydney - Cost of restaurants

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pay 0.9% more for groceries

	Cook Islands	Sydney
Bread 1 loaf	$3.11 NZ$5.36	$2.63 A$3.96	-15.3%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.98 NZ$8.57	$4.92 A$7.40	-1.1%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.37 NZ$12.70	$6.66 A$10.02	-9.6%
Eggs 1 dozen	$5.57 NZ$9.59	$5.21 A$7.83	-6.5%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.40 NZ$5.86	$3.86 A$5.80	+13.4%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.30 NZ$2.24	$1.46 A$2.19	+11.8%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.05 NZ$1.80	$1.25 A$1.88	+19.5%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.56 NZ$2.69	$1.39 A$2.08	-11.4%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.75 NZ$4.73	$2.07 A$3.12	-24.5%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.05 NZ$1.80	$1.10 A$1.65	+4.9%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.82 NZ$1.42	$1.06 A$1.59	+28.3%
Average			+0.9%

Cook Islands vs. Sydney - Cost of groceries

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pay 61.5% more for transportation

	Cook Islands	Sydney
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$6.56 NZ$11.31	$4.66 A$7.00	-29.0%
Monthly public transit pass	??	$142.21 A$213.79
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$11,538.70 NZ$19,880.61	$29,060.36 A$43,686.64	+151.9%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	??	$23.55 A$35.40
Average			+61.5%

Cook Islands vs. Sydney - Cost of transportation

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pay 3.6 times more for housing

	Cook Islands	Sydney
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$105.96 NZ$182.57	$52.18 A$78.44	-50.8%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$305.77 NZ$526.84	$2,157.42 A$3,243.26	+605.6%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$305.77 NZ$526.84	$1,515.46 A$2,278.21	+395.6%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$82.72 NZ$142.53	$147.91 A$222.35	+78.8%
Average			+257.3%

Cook Islands vs. Sydney - Cost of housing

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pay 13.2 times more for childcare

	Cook Islands	Sydney
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	??	$2,079.13 A$3,125.57
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$1,384.64 NZ$2,385.67	$18,278.49 A$27,478.19	+1220.1%
Average			+1220.1%

Cook Islands vs. Sydney - Cost of childcare

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pay 82.3% more for entertainment and sports

	Cook Islands	Sydney
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$5.99 NZ$10.31	$6.54 A$9.83	+9.3%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.80 NZ$6.54	$3.48 A$5.23	-8.4%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$14.42 NZ$24.85	$32.71 A$49.17	+126.8%
Monthly membership at local gym	$24.04 NZ$41.42	$66.50 A$99.97	+176.6%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$6.63 NZ$11.43	$13.74 A$20.65	+107.1%
Average			+82.3%

Cook Islands vs. Sydney - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 44.1% more for clothing

	Cook Islands	Sydney
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$64.62 NZ$111.33	$75.03 A$112.80	+16.1%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	??	$61.01 A$91.71
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	??	$101.79 A$153.02
Men's business shoes (leather)	$70.96 NZ$122.26	$122.15 A$183.64	+72.1%
Average			+44.1%

Cook Islands vs. Sydney - 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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