Cost of living comparison

compared to

Detroit vs. Maldives Cost of Living Summary

Detroit is 2.3 times more expensive than Maldives overall.

Restaurants
pay 3.1 times more in Detroit
Groceries
pay 46.5% more in Detroit
Transportation
pay 27.7% more in Detroit
Housing
pay 40.6% more in Detroit
Childcare
pay 6.3 times more in Detroit
Entertainment and Sports
pay 7.3% more in Detroit
Clothing
pay 27.5% more in Detroit

The cost of childcare, restaurants, groceries, housing, transportation, and clothing in Detroit are more expensive than in Maldives. Notably, childcare and restaurants are significantly more expensive in Detroit.

Detroit vs. Maldives Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Detroit instead of Maldives, you would:

pay 3.1 times more for restaurants

 
Maldives
Detroit
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $5.56
MVR85.56
$20.00
 
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$9.80
MVR150.98
$10.00
 
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $1.45
MVR22.29
$2.59
 

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pay 46.5% more for groceries

 
Maldives
Detroit
Bread
1 loaf
$1.59
MVR24.49
$3.38
 
Local cheese (8 oz) $4.58
MVR70.46
$6.06
 
Milk (1 gallon) $6.95
MVR107.00
$3.58
 

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pay 27.7% more for transportation

 
Maldives
Detroit
Gasoline (1 gallon) $3.54
MVR54.53
$3.40
 
Monthly public transit pass $28.91
MVR445.28
$66.00
 
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $32,679.74
MVR503,267.97
$35,699.74
 

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pay 40.6% more for housing

 
Maldives
Detroit
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$61.82
MVR952.02
$52.14
 
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $1,136.53
MVR17,502.54
$1,450.00
 
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $731.21
MVR11,260.62
$1,058.17
 

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pay 6.3 times more for childcare

 
Maldives
Detroit
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $164.38
MVR2,531.44
$1,294.79
 
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $3,587.42
MVR55,246.24
$16,800.00
 

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pay 7.3% more for entertainment and sports

 
Maldives
Detroit
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $4.74
MVR72.97
$6.00
 
Cappuccino in mid-range area $3.31
MVR50.96
$4.86
 
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$13.07
MVR201.31
$10.00
 

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pay 27.5% more for clothing

 
Maldives
Detroit
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$43.03
MVR662.64
$59.08
 
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$56.86
MVR875.69
$31.00
 
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$90.20
MVR1,389.02
$97.00
 

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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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