Cost of living comparison
compared to
North Carolina vs. Sao Tome and Principe Cost of Living Summary
North Carolina is 2.4 times more expensive than Sao Tome and Principe overall.
- Restaurants
-
pay 5.8% more in North Carolina
- Groceries
-
pay 33.8% more in North Carolina
- Transportation
-
pay 53.5% less in North Carolina
- Housing
-
pay 3.6 times more in North Carolina
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 2.1 times more in North Carolina
- Clothing
-
pay 5.8 times more in North Carolina
The cost of clothing, housing, entertainment and sports, groceries, and restaurants in North Carolina are more expensive than in Sao Tome and Principe. Notably, clothing, housing, and entertainment and sports are significantly more expensive in North Carolina.
North Carolina vs. Sao Tome and Principe Cost Breakdown
If you lived in North Carolina instead of Sao Tome and Principe, you would:
pay 5.8% more for restaurants
|
Sao Tome and Principe
|
North Carolina
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$29.20
STD650,623
|
$17.06
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$11.68
STD260,249
|
$10.47
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$1.92
STD42,768
|
$2.28
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.17
STD26,025
|
$1.82
|
|
Sao Tome and Principe vs. North Carolina - Cost of restaurants
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pay 33.8% more for groceries
|
Sao Tome and Principe
|
North Carolina
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.08
STD24,088
|
$3.79
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$10.22
STD227,718
|
$6.80
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$5.97
STD132,995
|
$3.73
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$5.09
STD113,503
|
$3.98
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$9.27
STD206,583
|
$5.20
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.12
STD47,219
|
$2.47
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.53
STD11,805
|
$0.71
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.85
STD41,316
|
$2.20
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.59
STD35,414
|
$2.38
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.19
STD26,561
|
$1.74
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.93
STD20,658
|
$1.80
|
|
Sao Tome and Principe vs. North Carolina - Cost of groceries
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pay 53.5% less for transportation
|
Sao Tome and Principe
|
North Carolina
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$6.40
STD142,518
|
$2.98
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass | ?? |
$60.67
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) | ?? |
$33,588.64
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) | ?? |
$19.99
|
|
Sao Tome and Principe vs. North Carolina - Cost of transportation
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pay 3.6 times more for housing
|
Sao Tome and Principe
|
North Carolina
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$72.42
STD1,613,544
|
$72.77
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$350.40
STD7,807,473
|
$1,488.15
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$233.60
STD5,204,982
|
$1,261.77
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
?? |
$132.31
|
|
Sao Tome and Principe vs. North Carolina - Cost of housing
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pay (unknown) more for childcare
|
Sao Tome and Principe
|
North Carolina
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly | ?? |
$1,261.89
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters | ?? |
$24,633.15
|
Sao Tome and Principe vs. North Carolina - Cost of childcare
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pay 2.1 times more for entertainment and sports
|
Sao Tome and Principe
|
North Carolina
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$1.67
STD37,216
|
$5.12
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$2.34
STD52,050
|
$4.82
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$2.34
STD52,050
|
$7.77
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$37.38
STD832,797
|
$48.40
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$21.02
STD468,448
|
$12.98
|
|
Sao Tome and Principe vs. North Carolina - Cost of entertainment and sports
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pay 5.8 times more for clothing
|
Sao Tome and Principe
|
North Carolina
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
?? |
$49.30
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
?? |
$37.76
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
?? |
$88.37
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$19.16
STD426,809
|
$111.01
|
|
Sao Tome and Principe vs. North Carolina - 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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cost of living in Sao Tome and Principe vs. United States.
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