Cost of living comparison

compared to

Cook Islands vs. Papua New Guinea Cost of Living Summary

Cook Islands is 14.1% more expensive than Papua New Guinea overall.

Restaurants: pay 2.3 times more in Cook Islands
Groceries: pay 6.6% more in Cook Islands
Transportation: pay 3.6% more in Cook Islands
Housing: pay 45.2% less in Cook Islands
Childcare: pay 65.1% less in Cook Islands
Entertainment and Sports: pay 30.8% more in Cook Islands
Clothing: pay 40.0% more in Cook Islands

The cost of restaurants, clothing, entertainment and sports, groceries, and transportation in Cook Islands are more expensive than in Papua New Guinea. Expenses including childcare and housing are lower in Cook Islands. Notably, restaurants is significantly more expensive in Cook Islands.

Cook Islands vs. Papua New Guinea Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Cook Islands instead of Papua New Guinea, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 2.3 times more for restaurants

	Papua New Guinea	Cook Islands
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$17.87 PGK76.12	$11.54 NZ$19.88	-35.4%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.92 PGK25.23	$7.93 NZ$13.67	+33.9%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.80 PGK3.42	$2.88 NZ$4.97	+259.3%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.70 PGK3.00	$2.50 NZ$4.31	+254.8%
Average			+128.2%

Papua New Guinea vs. Cook Islands - Cost of restaurants

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pay 6.6% more for groceries

	Papua New Guinea	Cook Islands
Bread 1 loaf	$1.55 PGK6.62	$3.11 NZ$5.36	+100.1%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.60 PGK15.35	$4.98 NZ$8.57	+38.1%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.76 PGK33.06	$7.37 NZ$12.70	-5.0%
Eggs 1 dozen	$4.00 PGK17.05	$5.57 NZ$9.59	+39.1%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.63 PGK15.46	$3.40 NZ$5.86	-6.3%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.99 PGK8.47	$1.30 NZ$2.24	-34.5%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.32 PGK5.63	$1.05 NZ$1.80	-20.8%
Oranges (1 lb)	$2.73 PGK11.64	$1.56 NZ$2.69	-42.8%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.62 PGK6.92	$2.75 NZ$4.73	+69.2%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.58 PGK6.73	$1.05 NZ$1.80	-33.8%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.18 PGK5.03	$0.82 NZ$1.42	-30.2%
Average			+6.6%

Papua New Guinea vs. Cook Islands - Cost of groceries

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pay 3.6% more for transportation

	Papua New Guinea	Cook Islands
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.22 PGK17.96	$6.56 NZ$11.31	+55.6%
Monthly public transit pass	$23.69 PGK100.90	??
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$22,387.96 PGK95,354.79	$11,538.70 NZ$19,880.61	-48.5%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$24.88 PGK105.95	??
Average			+3.6%

Papua New Guinea vs. Cook Islands - Cost of transportation

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pay 45.2% less for housing

	Papua New Guinea	Cook Islands
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$165.84 PGK706.33	$105.96 NZ$182.57	-36.1%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$2,652.44 PGK11,297.25	$305.77 NZ$526.84	-88.5%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$758.54 PGK3,230.79	$305.77 NZ$526.84	-59.7%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$80.08 PGK341.06	$82.72 NZ$142.53	+3.3%
Average			-45.2%

Papua New Guinea vs. Cook Islands - Cost of housing

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pay 65.1% less for childcare

	Papua New Guinea	Cook Islands
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$631.76 PGK2,690.79	??
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$3,968.24 PGK16,901.51	$1,384.64 NZ$2,385.67	-65.1%
Average			-65.1%

Papua New Guinea vs. Cook Islands - Cost of childcare

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pay 30.8% more for entertainment and sports

	Papua New Guinea	Cook Islands
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.98 PGK12.67	$5.99 NZ$10.31	+101.2%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.56 PGK10.89	$3.80 NZ$6.54	+48.5%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$6.96 PGK29.63	$14.42 NZ$24.85	+107.3%
Monthly membership at local gym	$73.52 PGK313.14	$24.04 NZ$41.42	-67.3%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$10.30 PGK43.87	$6.63 NZ$11.43	-35.6%
Average			+30.8%

Papua New Guinea vs. Cook Islands - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 40.0% more for clothing

	Papua New Guinea	Cook Islands
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$31.15 PGK132.69	$64.62 NZ$111.33	+107.4%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$36.48 PGK155.39	??
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$76.40 PGK325.42	??
Men's business shoes (leather)	$97.73 PGK416.23	$70.96 NZ$122.26	-27.4%
Average			+40.0%

Papua New Guinea vs. Cook Islands - 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: December 2025

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