Cost of living comparison

French Polynesia

compared to

United States

United States vs. Papeete Cost of Living Summary

United States is 20.7% more expensive than Papeete.

Restaurants: pay 17.8% less in United States
Groceries: pay 10.8% more in United States
Transportation: pay 23.1% less in United States
Housing: pay 17.1% more in United States
Childcare: pay 2.6 times more in United States
Entertainment and Sports: pay 8.8% more in United States
Clothing: pay 11.3% less in United States

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

United States vs. Papeete Cost Breakdown

If you lived in United States instead of Papeete, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 17.8% less for restaurants

	Papeete	United States
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$19.58 CFPF2,019	$19.45	-0.7%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$14.68 CFPF1,514	$11.12	-24.3%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$3.13 CFPF323	$2.56	-18.3%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$2.77 CFPF286	$2.00	-27.7%
Average			-17.8%

Papeete vs. United States - Cost of restaurants

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pay 10.8% more for groceries

	Papeete	United States
Bread 1 loaf	$0.78 CFPF81	$3.56	+354.4%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$13.05 CFPF1,346	$6.50	-50.2%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.30 CFPF650	$3.97	-36.9%
Eggs 1 dozen	$6.48 CFPF668	$4.27	-34.1%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$7.66 CFPF790	$5.41	-29.4%
Apples (1 lb)	$2.37 CFPF244	$2.37	+0.1%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.22 CFPF126	$0.78	-35.9%
Oranges (1 lb)	$2.66 CFPF275	$2.04	-23.6%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$3.55 CFPF366	$2.21	-37.7%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.37 CFPF141	$1.34	-1.5%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.22 CFPF126	$1.38	+13.4%
Average			+10.8%

Papeete vs. United States - Cost of groceries

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pay 23.1% less for transportation

	Papeete	United States
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.99 CFPF618	$3.41	-43.0%
Monthly public transit pass	??	$65.85
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$19,575.51 CFPF2M	$32,336.38	+65.2%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$205.54 CFPF21,200	$17.61	-91.4%
Average			-23.1%

Papeete vs. United States - Cost of transportation

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pay 17.1% more for housing

	Papeete	United States
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$68.84 CFPF7,100	$68.97	+0.2%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,394.76 CFPF144K	$1,664.59	+19.3%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$978.78 CFPF101K	$1,416.15	+44.7%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$144.08 CFPF14,861	$150.19	+4.2%
Average			+17.1%

Papeete vs. United States - Cost of housing

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pay 2.6 times more for childcare

	Papeete	United States
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$489.39 CFPF50,477	$1,387.27	+183.5%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$9,787.76 CFPF1M	$23,196.46	+137.0%
Average			+160.2%

Papeete vs. United States - Cost of childcare

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pay 8.8% more for entertainment and sports

	Papeete	United States
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.18 CFPF328	$5.84	+83.5%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$4.04 CFPF416	$5.15	+27.6%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$12.14 CFPF1,252	$9.90	-18.4%
Monthly membership at local gym	$88.09 CFPF9,086	$51.45	-41.6%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$14.68 CFPF1,514	$13.64	-7.1%
Average			+8.8%

Papeete vs. United States - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 11.3% less for clothing

	Papeete	United States
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$71.74 CFPF7,400	$51.08	-28.8%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$75.01 CFPF7,736	$41.81	-44.3%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$81.53 CFPF8,409	$87.56	+7.4%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$92.98 CFPF9,591	$112.04	+20.5%
Average			-11.3%

Papeete vs. United States - 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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