Cost of living comparison
compared to
United States vs. Northern Mariana Islands Cost of Living Summary
United States is 31.1% more expensive than Northern Mariana Islands overall.
- Restaurants
-
pay 11.8% more in United States
- Groceries
-
pay 19.7% less in United States
- Transportation
-
pay 18.9% less in United States
- Housing
-
pay 2.1 times more in United States
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 6.4% less in United States
- Clothing
-
pay 2.9 times more in United States
The cost of clothing, housing, and restaurants in United States are more expensive than in Northern Mariana Islands. Expenses including groceries, transportation, and entertainment and sports are lower in United States. Notably, clothing and housing are significantly more expensive in United States.
United States vs. Northern Mariana Islands Cost Breakdown
If you lived in United States instead of Northern Mariana Islands, you would:
pay 11.8% more for restaurants
|
Northern Mariana Islands
|
United States
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$15.00
|
$19.86
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$14.50
|
$11.42
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.00
|
$2.67
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.38
|
$2.05
|
|
Northern Mariana Islands vs. United States - Cost of restaurants
pay 19.7% less for groceries
|
Northern Mariana Islands
|
United States
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$5.63
|
$3.63
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) | ?? |
$6.52
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$9.87
|
$3.98
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$5.99
|
$4.30
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$6.00
|
$5.46
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.99
|
$2.34
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) | ?? |
$0.80
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.99
|
$2.02
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) | ?? |
$2.19
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.93
|
$1.34
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.03
|
$1.39
|
|
Northern Mariana Islands vs. United States - Cost of groceries
pay 18.9% less for transportation
|
Northern Mariana Islands
|
United States
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$5.52
|
$4.01
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass | ?? |
$66.70
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$36,999.00
|
$34,164.82
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) | ?? |
$18.02
|
|
Northern Mariana Islands vs. United States - Cost of transportation
pay 2.1 times more for housing
|
Northern Mariana Islands
|
United States
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$90.00
|
$70.22
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$800.00
|
$1,681.01
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$375.00
|
$1,404.28
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$286.76
|
$157.64
|
|
Northern Mariana Islands vs. United States - Cost of housing
pay (unknown) more for childcare
|
Northern Mariana Islands
|
United States
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly | ?? |
$1,450.99
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters | ?? |
$24,361.50
|
Northern Mariana Islands vs. United States - Cost of childcare
pay 6.4% less for entertainment and sports
|
Northern Mariana Islands
|
United States
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$6.00
|
$6.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.33
|
$5.31
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
?? |
$10.42
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$60.00
|
$50.68
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema | ?? |
$13.95
|
|
Northern Mariana Islands vs. United States - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 2.9 times more for clothing
|
Northern Mariana Islands
|
United States
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
?? |
$53.15
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
?? |
$41.88
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
?? |
$89.76
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$40.00
|
$114.01
|
|
Northern Mariana Islands vs. United States - Cost of clothing
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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