Cost of living comparison
Papua New Guinea vs. Northern Mariana Islands Cost of Living Summary
Papua New Guinea is 0.1% more expensive than Northern Mariana Islands overall.
- Restaurants
-
pay 55.1% less in Papua New Guinea
- Groceries
-
pay 27.5% less in Papua New Guinea
- Transportation
-
pay 6.3% less in Papua New Guinea
- Housing
-
pay 30.0% more in Papua New Guinea
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 35.6% less in Papua New Guinea
- Clothing
-
pay 4.1 times more in Papua New Guinea
The cost of clothing and housing in Papua New Guinea are more expensive than in Northern Mariana Islands. Expenses including restaurants, entertainment and sports, groceries, and transportation are lower in Papua New Guinea. Notably, clothing is significantly more expensive in Papua New Guinea.
Papua New Guinea vs. Northern Mariana Islands Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Papua New Guinea instead of Northern Mariana Islands, you would:
pay 55.1% less for restaurants
|
Northern Mariana Islands
|
Papua New Guinea
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$15.00
|
$7.78
PGK35.37
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$14.50
|
$5.56
PGK25.27
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.00
|
$0.75
PGK3.41
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.38
|
$0.67
PGK3.03
|
|
pay 27.5% less for groceries
|
Northern Mariana Islands
|
Papua New Guinea
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$5.63
|
$1.52
PGK6.91
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) | ?? |
$4.32
PGK19.64
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$9.87
|
$7.10
PGK32.28
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$5.99
|
$3.69
PGK16.78
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$6.00
|
$2.58
PGK11.75
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.99
|
$1.95
PGK8.88
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) | ?? |
$1.44
PGK6.57
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.99
|
$3.29
PGK14.97
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) | ?? |
$2.92
PGK13.29
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.93
|
$1.51
PGK6.88
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.03
|
$1.31
PGK5.96
|
|
pay 6.3% less for transportation
|
Northern Mariana Islands
|
Papua New Guinea
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$5.52
|
$3.78
PGK17.18
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass | ?? |
$22.22
PGK101.06
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$36,999.00
|
$50,004.77
PGK227K
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) | ?? |
$23.34
PGK106.12
|
|
pay 30.0% more for housing
|
Northern Mariana Islands
|
Papua New Guinea
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$90.00
|
$91.68
PGK416.89
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$800.00
|
$1,603.86
PGK7,293.44
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$375.00
|
$555.61
PGK2,526.59
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$286.76
|
$89.65
PGK407.67
|
|
pay (unknown) more for childcare
|
Northern Mariana Islands
|
Papua New Guinea
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly | ?? |
$842.47
PGK3,831.07
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters | ?? |
$6,176.41
PGK28,086.83
|
pay 35.6% less for entertainment and sports
|
Northern Mariana Islands
|
Papua New Guinea
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$6.00
|
$3.00
PGK13.64
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.33
|
$2.47
PGK11.24
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
?? |
$6.45
PGK29.31
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$60.00
|
$61.49
PGK279.61
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema | ?? |
$8.89
PGK40.43
|
|
pay 4.1 times more for clothing
|
Northern Mariana Islands
|
Papua New Guinea
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
?? |
$32.73
PGK148.82
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
?? |
$31.67
PGK144.02
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
?? |
$136.12
PGK619.02
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$40.00
|
$163.90
PGK745.35
|
|
We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated October 2026). How we calculate this
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