Cost of living comparison

compared to

United States vs. Papua New Guinea Cost of Living Summary

United States is 83.5% more expensive than Papua New Guinea overall.

Restaurants: pay 2.2 times more in United States
Groceries: pay 18.9% more in United States
Transportation: pay 43.5% more in United States
Housing: pay 19.7% more in United States
Childcare: pay 4.0 times more in United States
Entertainment and Sports: pay 48.5% more in United States
Clothing: pay 26.9% more in United States

The cost of childcare, restaurants, entertainment and sports, transportation, clothing, and housing in United States are more expensive than in Papua New Guinea. Notably, childcare and restaurants are significantly more expensive in United States.

United States vs. Papua New Guinea Cost Breakdown

If you lived in United States instead of Papua New Guinea, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 2.2 times more for restaurants

	Papua New Guinea	United States
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$17.87 PGK76.59	$19.45	+8.8%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.92 PGK25.38	$11.12	+87.8%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.80 PGK3.44	$2.56	+218.5%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.70 PGK3.02	$2.00	+184.4%
Average			+124.9%

Papua New Guinea vs. United States - Cost of restaurants

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pay 18.9% more for groceries

	Papua New Guinea	United States
Bread 1 loaf	$1.55 PGK6.66	$3.56	+129.0%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.60 PGK15.44	$6.50	+80.5%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.76 PGK33.26	$3.97	-48.8%
Eggs 1 dozen	$4.00 PGK17.16	$4.27	+6.6%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.63 PGK15.56	$5.41	+48.9%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.99 PGK8.52	$2.37	+19.1%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.32 PGK5.66	$0.78	-40.7%
Oranges (1 lb)	$2.73 PGK11.72	$2.04	-25.6%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.62 PGK6.96	$2.21	+36.2%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.58 PGK6.78	$1.34	-14.9%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.18 PGK5.06	$1.38	+17.2%
Average			+18.9%

Papua New Guinea vs. United States - Cost of groceries

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pay 43.5% more for transportation

	Papua New Guinea	United States
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.22 PGK18.07	$3.41	-19.0%
Monthly public transit pass	$23.69 PGK101.54	$65.85	+178.0%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$22,387.96 PGK95,952.53	$32,336.38	+44.4%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$24.88 PGK106.61	$17.61	-29.2%
Average			+43.5%

Papua New Guinea vs. United States - Cost of transportation

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pay 19.7% more for housing

	Papua New Guinea	United States
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$165.84 PGK710.76	$68.97	-58.4%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$2,652.44 PGK11,368.07	$1,664.59	-37.2%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$758.54 PGK3,251.04	$1,416.15	+86.7%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$80.08 PGK343.20	$150.19	+87.6%
Average			+19.7%

Papua New Guinea vs. United States - Cost of housing

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pay 4.0 times more for childcare

	Papua New Guinea	United States
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$631.76 PGK2,707.66	$1,387.27	+119.6%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$3,968.24 PGK17,007.46	$23,196.46	+484.6%
Average			+302.1%

Papua New Guinea vs. United States - Cost of childcare

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pay 48.5% more for entertainment and sports

	Papua New Guinea	United States
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.98 PGK12.75	$5.84	+96.1%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.56 PGK10.96	$5.15	+101.5%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$6.96 PGK29.82	$9.90	+42.3%
Monthly membership at local gym	$73.52 PGK315.10	$51.45	-30.0%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$10.30 PGK44.14	$13.64	+32.4%
Average			+48.5%

Papua New Guinea vs. United States - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 26.9% more for clothing

	Papua New Guinea	United States
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$31.15 PGK133.52	$51.08	+64.0%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$36.48 PGK156.37	$41.81	+14.6%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$76.40 PGK327.46	$87.56	+14.6%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$97.73 PGK418.84	$112.04	+14.6%
Average			+26.9%

Papua New Guinea 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: December 2025

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