Cost of living comparison

Vanuatu

compared to

United States

New York City vs. Port Vila Cost of Living Summary

New York City is 55.0% more expensive than Port Vila.

Restaurants: pay 51.2% more in New York City
Groceries: pay 1.2% less in New York City
Transportation: pay 25.8% more in New York City
Housing: pay 80.3% more in New York City
Childcare: pay 6.9 times more in New York City
Entertainment and Sports: pay 73.2% more in New York City
Clothing: pay 29.0% more in New York City

The cost of childcare, housing, entertainment and sports, restaurants, clothing, and transportation in New York City are more expensive than in Port Vila. Notably, childcare and housing are significantly more expensive in New York City.

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New York City vs. Port Vila Cost Breakdown

If you lived in New York City instead of Port Vila, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 51.2% more for restaurants

	Port Vila	New York City
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$12.67 VUV1,500	$26.50	+109.2%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$14.35 VUV1,700	$14.50	+1.0%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.28 VUV270	$3.95	+73.3%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$2.36 VUV279	$2.97	+25.9%
Average			+51.2%

Port Vila vs. New York City - Cost of restaurants

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pay 1.2% less for groceries

	Port Vila	New York City
Bread 1 loaf	$1.94 VUV230	$4.78	+146.1%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$8.86 VUV1,050	$9.47	+6.8%
Milk (1 gallon)	$10.63 VUV1,259	$5.13	-51.8%
Eggs 1 dozen	$6.23 VUV737	$6.03	-3.2%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$7.40 VUV877	$7.93	+7.1%
Apples (1 lb)	$3.24 VUV384	$3.11	-3.9%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.96 VUV113	$0.96	+0.6%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.78 VUV211	$2.83	+59.1%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$4.21 VUV499	$3.08	-26.9%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$4.02 VUV476	$1.83	-54.6%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.57 VUV186	$2.04	+29.9%
Average			-1.2%

Port Vila vs. New York City - Cost of groceries

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pay 25.8% more for transportation

	Port Vila	New York City
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$6.78 VUV803	$4.31	-36.5%
Monthly public transit pass	$67.55 VUV8,000	$140.00	+107.3%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$23,220.47 VUV3M	$35,458.00	+52.7%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$9.29 VUV1,100	$20.44	+120.1%
Average			+25.8%

Port Vila vs. New York City - Cost of transportation

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pay 80.3% more for housing

	Port Vila	New York City
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$363.08 VUV43,000	$71.57	-80.3%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,579.90 VUV187K	$4,447.32	+181.5%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,131.05 VUV134K	$3,217.65	+184.5%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$484.28 VUV57,353	$164.80	-66.0%
Average			+80.3%

Port Vila vs. New York City - Cost of housing

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pay 6.9 times more for childcare

	Port Vila	New York City
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$624.84 VUV74,000	$3,379.10	+440.8%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$6,873.26 VUV814K	$60,882.67	+785.8%
Average			+592.1%

Port Vila vs. New York City - Cost of childcare

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pay 73.2% more for entertainment and sports

	Port Vila	New York City
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$5.07 VUV600	$8.50	+67.8%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$4.08 VUV483	$6.50	+59.3%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$9.29 VUV1,100	$19.00	+104.6%
Monthly membership at local gym	$68.29 VUV8,088	$121.41	+77.8%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	??	$22.50
Average			+73.2%

Port Vila vs. New York City - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 29.0% more for clothing

	Port Vila	New York City
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$40.99 VUV4,854	$75.86	+85.1%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$67.55 VUV8,000	$54.45	-19.4%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$84.40 VUV9,995	$120.38	+42.6%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$101.28 VUV11,995	$132.00	+30.3%
Average			+29.0%

Port Vila vs. New York City - Cost of clothing

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We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated October 2026). How we calculate this

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