Cost of living comparison

compared to

Northern Mariana Islands vs. Sao Tome and Principe Cost of Living Summary

Northern Mariana Islands is 57.1% more expensive than Sao Tome and Principe overall.

Restaurants: pay 14.6% less in Northern Mariana Islands
Groceries: pay 46.7% more in Northern Mariana Islands
Transportation: pay 14.2% less in Northern Mariana Islands
Housing: pay 51.3% more in Northern Mariana Islands
Entertainment and Sports: pay 86.0% more in Northern Mariana Islands
Clothing: pay 2.9 times more in Northern Mariana Islands

The cost of clothing, entertainment and sports, housing, and groceries in Northern Mariana Islands are more expensive than in Sao Tome and Principe. Expenses including restaurants and transportation are lower in Northern Mariana Islands. Notably, clothing and entertainment and sports are significantly more expensive in Northern Mariana Islands.

Northern Mariana Islands vs. Sao Tome and Principe Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Northern Mariana Islands instead of Sao Tome and Principe, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 14.6% less for restaurants

	Sao Tome and Principe	Northern Mariana Islands
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$29.20 STD650,623	$11.50	-60.6%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$11.68 STD260,249	$12.00	+2.7%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.92 STD42,768	$1.67	-13.2%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.17 STD26,025	$1.32	+12.7%
Average			-14.6%

Sao Tome and Principe vs. Northern Mariana Islands - Cost of restaurants

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pay 46.7% more for groceries

	Sao Tome and Principe	Northern Mariana Islands
Bread 1 loaf	$1.08 STD24,088	$3.33	+208.3%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$10.22 STD227,718	??
Milk (1 gallon)	$5.97 STD132,995	$8.44	+41.4%
Eggs 1 dozen	$5.09 STD113,503	$6.33	+24.3%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$9.27 STD206,583	$6.00	-35.3%
Apples (1 lb)	$2.12 STD47,219	$2.99	+41.1%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.53 STD11,805	$1.00	+88.8%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.85 STD41,316	$2.99	+61.2%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.59 STD35,414	??
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.19 STD26,561	$0.95	-20.6%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.93 STD20,658	$1.03	+11.5%
Average			+46.7%

Sao Tome and Principe vs. Northern Mariana Islands - Cost of groceries

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pay 14.2% less for transportation

	Sao Tome and Principe	Northern Mariana Islands
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$6.40 STD142,518	$5.49	-14.2%
Monthly public transit pass	??	??
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	??	$36,999.00
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	??	$21.41
Average			-14.2%

Sao Tome and Principe vs. Northern Mariana Islands - Cost of transportation

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pay 51.3% more for housing

	Sao Tome and Principe	Northern Mariana Islands
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$72.42 STD1,613,544	$60.00	-17.1%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$350.40 STD7,807,473	$625.00	+78.4%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$233.60 STD5,204,982	$450.00	+92.6%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	??	$254.42
Average			+51.3%

Sao Tome and Principe vs. Northern Mariana Islands - Cost of housing

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pay (unknown) more for childcare

	Sao Tome and Principe	Northern Mariana Islands
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	??	??
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	??	$6,000.00

Sao Tome and Principe vs. Northern Mariana Islands - Cost of childcare

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pay 86.0% more for entertainment and sports

	Sao Tome and Principe	Northern Mariana Islands
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.67 STD37,216	$6.00	+259.2%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.34 STD52,050	$5.12	+119.4%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.34 STD52,050	??
Monthly membership at local gym	$37.38 STD832,797	$47.50	+27.1%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$21.02 STD468,448	$8.00	-61.9%
Average			+86.0%

Sao Tome and Principe vs. Northern Mariana Islands - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 2.9 times more for clothing

	Sao Tome and Principe	Northern Mariana Islands
Regular jeans Levi's brand	??	$30.00
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	??	$40.00
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	??	$70.00
Men's business shoes (leather)	$19.16 STD426,809	$55.00	+187.1%
Average			+187.1%

Sao Tome and Principe vs. Northern Mariana 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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