Cost of living comparison

French Polynesia

compared to

United States

Des Moines vs. Papeete Cost of Living Summary

Des Moines is 3.0% more expensive than Papeete.

Restaurants: pay 17.6% less in Des Moines
Groceries: pay 9.3% less in Des Moines
Transportation: pay 37.5% less in Des Moines
Housing: pay 15.1% less in Des Moines
Childcare: pay 2.0 times more in Des Moines
Entertainment and Sports: pay 7.0% more in Des Moines
Clothing: pay 7.0% less in Des Moines

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

Des Moines vs. Papeete Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Des Moines instead of Papeete, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 17.6% less for restaurants

	Papeete	Des Moines
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$19.58 CFPF2,027	$17.00	-13.2%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$14.68 CFPF1,520	$12.00	-18.3%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$3.13 CFPF324	$2.61	-16.7%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$2.77 CFPF287	$2.15	-22.3%
Average			-17.6%

Papeete vs. Des Moines - Cost of restaurants

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pay 9.3% less for groceries

	Papeete	Des Moines
Bread 1 loaf	$0.78 CFPF81	$3.03	+286.8%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$13.05 CFPF1,351	$6.36	-51.3%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.30 CFPF652	$3.56	-43.4%
Eggs 1 dozen	$6.48 CFPF671	$3.61	-44.3%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$7.66 CFPF793	$3.67	-52.0%
Apples (1 lb)	$2.37 CFPF245	$1.77	-25.3%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.22 CFPF126	$0.65	-46.6%
Oranges (1 lb)	$2.66 CFPF276	$1.66	-37.7%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$3.55 CFPF368	$1.59	-55.2%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.37 CFPF141	$0.75	-45.4%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.22 CFPF126	$1.36	+11.7%
Average			-9.3%

Papeete vs. Des Moines - Cost of groceries

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pay 37.5% less for transportation

	Papeete	Des Moines
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.99 CFPF620	$2.93	-51.0%
Monthly public transit pass	??	$58.00
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$19,575.51 CFPF2M	$26,000.00	+32.8%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$205.54 CFPF21,283	$11.94	-94.2%
Average			-37.5%

Papeete vs. Des Moines - Cost of transportation

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pay 15.1% less for housing

	Papeete	Des Moines
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$68.84 CFPF7,128	$57.86	-16.0%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,394.76 CFPF144K	$1,214.00	-13.0%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$978.78 CFPF101K	$912.50	-6.8%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$144.08 CFPF14,919	$108.83	-24.5%
Average			-15.1%

Papeete vs. Des Moines - Cost of housing

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pay 2.0 times more for childcare

	Papeete	Des Moines
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$489.39 CFPF50,674	$1,369.17	+179.8%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$9,787.76 CFPF1M	$11,812.00	+20.7%
Average			+100.2%

Papeete vs. Des Moines - Cost of childcare

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pay 7.0% more for entertainment and sports

	Papeete	Des Moines
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.18 CFPF329	$5.00	+57.2%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$4.04 CFPF418	$5.47	+35.5%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$12.14 CFPF1,257	$7.14	-41.1%
Monthly membership at local gym	$88.09 CFPF9,121	$71.67	-18.6%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$14.68 CFPF1,520	$15.00	+2.2%
Average			+7.0%

Papeete vs. Des Moines - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 7.0% less for clothing

	Papeete	Des Moines
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$71.74 CFPF7,429	$56.67	-21.0%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$75.01 CFPF7,767	$41.00	-45.3%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$81.53 CFPF8,442	$73.00	-10.5%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$92.98 CFPF9,628	$138.33	+48.8%
Average			-7.0%

Papeete vs. Des Moines - Cost of clothing

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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: June 2026

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