Cost of living comparison

French Polynesia

compared to

United States

Santa Barbara vs. Papeete Cost of Living Summary

Santa Barbara is 49.9% more expensive than Papeete.

Restaurants: pay 0.5% more in Santa Barbara
Groceries: pay 34.0% more in Santa Barbara
Transportation: pay 21.4% less in Santa Barbara
Housing: pay 69.5% more in Santa Barbara
Childcare: pay 3.3 times more in Santa Barbara
Entertainment and Sports: pay 32.3% more in Santa Barbara
Clothing: pay 0.3% less in Santa Barbara

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

Santa Barbara vs. Papeete Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Santa Barbara instead of Papeete, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 0.5% more for restaurants

	Papeete	Santa Barbara
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$19.58 CFPF2,027	$25.00	+27.7%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$14.68 CFPF1,520	$15.00	+2.2%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$3.13 CFPF324	$2.67	-14.9%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$2.77 CFPF287	$2.42	-12.9%
Average			+0.5%

Papeete vs. Santa Barbara - Cost of restaurants

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pay 34.0% more for groceries

	Papeete	Santa Barbara
Bread 1 loaf	$0.78 CFPF81	$4.40	+462.4%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$13.05 CFPF1,351	$12.68	-2.9%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.30 CFPF652	$5.25	-16.6%
Eggs 1 dozen	$6.48 CFPF671	$5.38	-16.9%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$7.66 CFPF793	$8.38	+9.4%
Apples (1 lb)	$2.37 CFPF245	$2.90	+22.4%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.22 CFPF126	$0.74	-39.2%
Oranges (1 lb)	$2.66 CFPF276	$1.75	-34.2%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$3.55 CFPF368	$2.48	-30.3%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.37 CFPF141	$1.47	+7.7%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.22 CFPF126	$1.36	+11.7%
Average			+34.0%

Papeete vs. Santa Barbara - Cost of groceries

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pay 21.4% less for transportation

	Papeete	Santa Barbara
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.99 CFPF620	$4.73	-21.0%
Monthly public transit pass	??	$52.00
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$19,575.51 CFPF2M	$28,500.00	+45.6%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$205.54 CFPF21,283	$22.78	-88.9%
Average			-21.4%

Papeete vs. Santa Barbara - Cost of transportation

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pay 69.5% more for housing

	Papeete	Santa Barbara
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$68.84 CFPF7,128	$74.25	+7.9%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,394.76 CFPF144K	$2,720.83	+95.1%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$978.78 CFPF101K	$2,538.89	+159.4%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$144.08 CFPF14,919	$166.24	+15.4%
Average			+69.5%

Papeete vs. Santa Barbara - Cost of housing

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pay 3.3 times more for childcare

	Papeete	Santa Barbara
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$489.39 CFPF50,674	$1,425.00	+191.2%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$9,787.76 CFPF1M	$37,000.00	+278.0%
Average			+234.6%

Papeete vs. Santa Barbara - Cost of childcare

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pay 32.3% more for entertainment and sports

	Papeete	Santa Barbara
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.18 CFPF329	$8.00	+151.5%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$4.04 CFPF418	$6.14	+52.1%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$12.14 CFPF1,257	$11.82	-2.6%
Monthly membership at local gym	$88.09 CFPF9,121	$66.50	-24.5%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$14.68 CFPF1,520	$12.50	-14.9%
Average			+32.3%

Papeete vs. Santa Barbara - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 0.3% less for clothing

	Papeete	Santa Barbara
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$71.74 CFPF7,429	$69.00	-3.8%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$75.01 CFPF7,767	$40.75	-45.7%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$81.53 CFPF8,442	$77.00	-5.6%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$92.98 CFPF9,628	$143.33	+54.1%
Average			-0.3%

Papeete vs. Santa Barbara - 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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