Cost of living comparison

compared to

Nairobi vs. Hilo Cost of Living Summary

Nairobi is 36.0% cheaper than Hilo.

Restaurants
pay 62.1% less in Nairobi
Groceries
pay 68.7% less in Nairobi
Transportation
pay 14.9% more in Nairobi
Housing
pay 66.9% less in Nairobi
Entertainment and Sports
pay 50.2% less in Nairobi
Clothing
pay 16.8% more in Nairobi

The cost of clothing and transportation in Nairobi are more expensive than in Hilo. Expenses including groceries, housing, restaurants, and entertainment and sports are lower in Nairobi.

Nairobi vs. Hilo Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Nairobi instead of Hilo, you would:

pay 62.1% less for restaurants

 
Hilo
Nairobi
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $19.00
 
$5.80
KES751.45
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$11.00
 
$6.97
KES901.74
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $2.33
 
$0.70
KES90.86

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pay 68.7% less for groceries

 
Hilo
Nairobi
Bread
1 loaf
$9.19
 
$0.55
KES70.74
Local cheese (8 oz) $6.61
 
$5.57
KES720.62
Milk (1 gallon) $7.90
 
$3.36
KES434.42

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pay 14.9% more for transportation

 
Hilo
Nairobi
Gasoline (1 gallon) $4.56
 
$5.40
KES698.91
Monthly public transit pass ?? $30.96
KES4,007.74
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $22,926.69
 
$21,671.83
KES2,805,417.96

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pay 66.9% less for housing

 
Hilo
Nairobi
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$53.33
 
$39.86
KES5,160.40
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $1,766.67
 
$476.96
KES61,741.91
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $1,200.00
 
$206.31
KES26,706.75

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pay (unknown) more for childcare

 
Hilo
Nairobi
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly ?? $224.14
KES29,014.37
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters ?? $8,775.09
KES1,135,934.95

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pay 50.2% less for entertainment and sports

 
Hilo
Nairobi
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $6.00
 
$2.32
KES300.58
Cappuccino in mid-range area $5.83
 
$2.37
KES306.78
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$13.50
 
$3.10
KES400.77

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pay 16.8% more for clothing

 
Hilo
Nairobi
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$38.33
 
$19.62
KES2,540.20
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$10.00
 
$24.88
KES3,220.51
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$78.33
 
$67.92
KES8,791.98

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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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