Cost of living comparison
compared to
Houston vs. Maldives Cost of Living Summary
Houston is 2.5 times more expensive than Maldives overall.
- Restaurants
-
pay 3.5 times more in Houston
- Groceries
-
pay 36.3% more in Houston
- Transportation
-
pay 32.8% more in Houston
- Housing
-
pay 48.2% more in Houston
- Childcare
-
pay 7.5 times more in Houston
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 14.1% more in Houston
- Clothing
-
pay 29.5% more in Houston
The cost of childcare, restaurants, housing, groceries, transportation, and clothing in Houston are more expensive than in Maldives. Notably, childcare and restaurants are significantly more expensive in Houston.
Houston vs. Maldives Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Houston instead of Maldives, you would:
pay 3.5 times more for restaurants
|
Maldives
|
Houston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| 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
|
$2.76
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$0.31
MVR4.70
|
$2.23
|
|
Maldives vs. Houston - Cost of restaurants
pay 36.3% more for groceries
|
Maldives
|
Houston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.59
MVR24.49
|
$3.23
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$4.58
MVR70.46
|
$6.32
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$6.95
MVR107.00
|
$3.44
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$1.67
MVR25.67
|
$4.35
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$2.82
MVR43.37
|
$5.20
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.84
MVR28.31
|
$1.88
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.73
MVR26.63
|
$0.67
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.96
MVR30.25
|
$1.67
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.48
MVR22.83
|
$1.12
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.70
MVR10.77
|
$1.20
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.55
MVR8.45
|
$1.05
|
|
Maldives vs. Houston - Cost of groceries
pay 32.8% more for transportation
|
Maldives
|
Houston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.54
MVR54.53
|
$2.81
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$28.91
MVR445.28
|
$75.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$32,679.74
MVR503,267.97
|
$36,278.39
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$17.65
MVR271.76
|
$14.39
|
|
Maldives vs. Houston - Cost of transportation
pay 48.2% more for housing
|
Maldives
|
Houston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$61.82
MVR952.02
|
$70.76
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,136.53
MVR17,502.54
|
$1,660.33
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$731.21
MVR11,260.62
|
$1,287.77
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$93.30
MVR1,436.78
|
$145.65
|
|
Maldives vs. Houston - Cost of housing
pay 7.5 times more for childcare
|
Maldives
|
Houston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$164.38
MVR2,531.44
|
$1,258.33
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$3,587.42
MVR55,246.24
|
$26,120.00
|
|
Maldives vs. Houston - Cost of childcare
pay 14.1% more for entertainment and sports
|
Maldives
|
Houston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$4.74
MVR72.97
|
$6.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$3.31
MVR50.96
|
$5.41
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$13.07
MVR201.31
|
$9.95
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$72.98
MVR1,123.97
|
$37.29
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$9.80
MVR150.98
|
$15.00
|
|
Maldives vs. Houston - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 29.5% more for clothing
|
Maldives
|
Houston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$43.03
MVR662.64
|
$45.57
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$56.86
MVR875.69
|
$44.00
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$90.20
MVR1,389.02
|
$98.95
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$51.74
MVR796.84
|
$116.43
|
|
Maldives vs. Houston - Cost of clothing
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
Change currency:
Compare countries by overall cost of living
See the
cost of living in Maldives vs. United States.
This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within Maldives and United States.
Help us improve these prices
MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate.
Learn more
ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY
Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Houston or Maldives. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.