Cost of living comparison

French Polynesia

compared to

United States

Santa Clara vs. Papeete Cost of Living Summary

Santa Clara is 67.9% more expensive than Papeete.

Restaurants: pay 8.2% more in Santa Clara
Groceries: pay 32.7% more in Santa Clara
Transportation: pay 19.7% less in Santa Clara
Housing: pay 66.9% more in Santa Clara
Childcare: pay 4.7 times more in Santa Clara
Entertainment and Sports: pay 35.9% more in Santa Clara
Clothing: pay 21.8% less in Santa Clara

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

Santa Clara vs. Papeete Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 8.2% more for restaurants

	Papeete	Santa Clara
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$19.58 CFPF2,019	$30.00	+53.3%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$14.68 CFPF1,514	$14.00	-4.6%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$3.13 CFPF323	$3.12	-0.4%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$2.77 CFPF286	$2.34	-15.6%
Average			+8.2%

Papeete vs. Santa Clara - Cost of restaurants

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pay 32.7% more for groceries

	Papeete	Santa Clara
Bread 1 loaf	$0.78 CFPF81	$4.68	+498.1%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$13.05 CFPF1,346	$5.51	-57.8%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.30 CFPF650	$4.90	-22.3%
Eggs 1 dozen	$6.48 CFPF668	$5.38	-17.0%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$7.66 CFPF790	$5.00	-34.7%
Apples (1 lb)	$2.37 CFPF244	$2.10	-11.5%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.22 CFPF126	$1.74	+42.2%
Oranges (1 lb)	$2.66 CFPF275	$2.00	-24.9%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$3.55 CFPF366	$2.25	-36.8%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.37 CFPF141	$1.33	-2.3%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.22 CFPF126	$1.55	+26.8%
Average			+32.7%

Papeete vs. Santa Clara - Cost of groceries

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pay 19.7% less for transportation

	Papeete	Santa Clara
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.99 CFPF618	$4.59	-23.4%
Monthly public transit pass	??	$70.00
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$19,575.51 CFPF2M	$30,000.00	+53.3%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$205.54 CFPF21,200	$22.70	-89.0%
Average			-19.7%

Papeete vs. Santa Clara - Cost of transportation

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pay 66.9% more for housing

	Papeete	Santa Clara
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$68.84 CFPF7,100	$63.00	-8.5%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,394.76 CFPF144K	$3,000.00	+115.1%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$978.78 CFPF101K	$2,400.00	+145.2%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$144.08 CFPF14,861	$166.82	+15.8%
Average			+66.9%

Papeete vs. Santa Clara - Cost of housing

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pay 4.7 times more for childcare

	Papeete	Santa Clara
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$489.39 CFPF50,477	$2,738.89	+459.7%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$9,787.76 CFPF1M	$37,770.00	+285.9%
Average			+372.8%

Papeete vs. Santa Clara - Cost of childcare

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pay 35.9% more for entertainment and sports

	Papeete	Santa Clara
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.18 CFPF328	$8.00	+151.5%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$4.04 CFPF416	$5.79	+43.4%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$12.14 CFPF1,252	$8.75	-27.9%
Monthly membership at local gym	$88.09 CFPF9,086	$100.00	+13.5%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$14.68 CFPF1,514	$14.50	-1.2%
Average			+35.9%

Papeete vs. Santa Clara - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 21.8% less for clothing

	Papeete	Santa Clara
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$71.74 CFPF7,400	$56.25	-21.6%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$75.01 CFPF7,736	$40.00	-46.7%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$81.53 CFPF8,409	$77.50	-4.9%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$92.98 CFPF9,591	$80.00	-14.0%
Average			-21.8%

Papeete vs. Santa Clara - 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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