Cost of living comparison

French Polynesia

compared to

United States

College Station vs. Papeete Cost of Living Summary

College Station is 8.4% more expensive than Papeete.

Restaurants: pay 30.7% less in College Station
Groceries: pay 17.1% more in College Station
Transportation: pay 15.0% less in College Station
Housing: pay 6.9% less in College Station
Childcare: pay 2.1 times more in College Station
Entertainment and Sports: pay 11.0% less in College Station
Clothing: pay 5.6% less in College Station

The cost of childcare and groceries in College Station are more expensive than in Papeete. Expenses including restaurants, transportation, entertainment and sports, housing, and clothing are lower in College Station. Notably, childcare is significantly more expensive in College Station.

College Station vs. Papeete Cost Breakdown

If you lived in College Station instead of Papeete, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 30.7% less for restaurants

	Papeete	College Station
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$19.58 CFPF2,036	$14.00	-28.5%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$14.68 CFPF1,527	$8.00	-45.5%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$3.13 CFPF326	$2.82	-9.9%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$2.77 CFPF288	$1.70	-38.8%
Average			-30.7%

Papeete vs. College Station - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 17.1% more for groceries

	Papeete	College Station
Bread 1 loaf	$0.78 CFPF81	$2.91	+271.2%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$13.05 CFPF1,357	$5.46	-58.2%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.30 CFPF655	$3.49	-44.6%
Eggs 1 dozen	$6.48 CFPF674	$2.63	-59.4%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$7.66 CFPF797	$3.81	-50.3%
Apples (1 lb)	$2.37 CFPF246	$2.88	+21.5%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.22 CFPF127	$0.72	-41.4%
Oranges (1 lb)	$2.66 CFPF277	$2.92	+9.6%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$3.55 CFPF369	$2.75	-22.6%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.37 CFPF142	$2.57	+88.3%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.22 CFPF127	$2.13	+74.3%
Average			+17.1%

Papeete vs. College Station - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 15.0% less for transportation

	Papeete	College Station
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.99 CFPF623	$2.79	-53.4%
Monthly public transit pass	??	$20.00
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$19,575.51 CFPF2M	$37,232.40	+90.2%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$205.54 CFPF21,380	$37.33	-81.8%
Average			-15.0%

Papeete vs. College Station - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 6.9% less for housing

	Papeete	College Station
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$68.84 CFPF7,160	$63.10	-8.3%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,394.76 CFPF145K	$1,250.00	-10.4%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$978.78 CFPF102K	$960.00	-1.9%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$144.08 CFPF14,987	$144.07
Average			-6.9%

Papeete vs. College Station - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 2.1 times more for childcare

	Papeete	College Station
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$489.39 CFPF50,904	$1,166.67	+138.4%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$9,787.76 CFPF1M	$18,000.00	+83.9%
Average			+111.2%

Papeete vs. College Station - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 11.0% less for entertainment and sports

	Papeete	College Station
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.18 CFPF331	$4.50	+41.5%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$4.04 CFPF420	$4.83	+19.6%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$12.14 CFPF1,262	$8.00	-34.1%
Monthly membership at local gym	$88.09 CFPF9,163	$36.25	-58.8%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$14.68 CFPF1,527	$11.25	-23.4%
Average			-11.0%

Papeete vs. College Station - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 5.6% less for clothing

	Papeete	College Station
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$71.74 CFPF7,463	$39.50	-44.9%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$75.01 CFPF7,802	$38.33	-48.9%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$81.53 CFPF8,481	$86.25	+5.8%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$92.98 CFPF9,672	$153.75	+65.4%
Average			-5.6%

Papeete vs. College Station - Cost of clothing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

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: June 2026

Compare further: Papeete vs. College Station

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in College Station?

More cost comparisons

Papeete vs.

Kiev

Papeete vs.

Ankara

Papeete vs.

Mexico City

Papeete vs.

Phnom Penh

Papeete vs.

Algiers

Papeete vs.

Rome

Papeete vs.

Madrid

Papeete vs.

Vienna

Share this

Compare countries by overall cost of living

See the cost of living in French Polynesia vs. United States. This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within French Polynesia 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

Add prices for Papeete

Add prices for College Station

Ask the Elsewhere Community

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about College Station or Papeete. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.