Cost of living comparison
compared to
Cook Islands vs. United States Cost of Living Summary
Cook Islands is 40.3% cheaper than United States overall.
Cook Islands vs. United States Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Cook Islands instead of United States, you would:
pay 34.0% less for restaurants
|
United States
|
Cook Islands
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$19.86
|
$14.01
NZ$24.96
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$11.42
|
$5.60
NZ$9.98
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.67
|
$2.24
NZ$3.99
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.05
|
$2.24
NZ$3.99
|
|
United States vs. Cook Islands - Cost of restaurants
pay 12.8% more for groceries
|
United States
|
Cook Islands
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$3.63
|
$2.80
NZ$4.99
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$6.52
|
$3.64
NZ$6.49
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$3.98
|
$10.60
NZ$18.90
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.30
|
$6.05
NZ$10.78
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$5.46
|
?? | |
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.34
|
?? | |
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.80
|
?? | |
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.02
|
?? | |
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.19
|
?? | |
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.34
|
?? | |
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.39
|
?? | |
United States vs. Cook Islands - Cost of groceries
pay 23.2% less for transportation
|
United States
|
Cook Islands
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.01
|
$6.38
NZ$11.37
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$66.70
|
?? | |
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$34,164.82
|
$11,204.09
NZ$19,966.31
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$18.02
|
?? | |
United States vs. Cook Islands - Cost of transportation
pay 66.0% less for housing
|
United States
|
Cook Islands
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$70.22
|
$102.89
NZ$183.36
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,681.01
|
$448.16
NZ$798.65
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,404.28
|
$448.16
NZ$798.65
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$157.64
|
$74.97
NZ$133.60
|
|
United States vs. Cook Islands - Cost of housing
pay (unknown) more for childcare
|
United States
|
Cook Islands
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,450.99
|
?? | |
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$24,361.50
|
?? |
United States vs. Cook Islands - Cost of childcare
pay 21.2% less for entertainment and sports
|
United States
|
Cook Islands
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$6.00
|
$5.04
NZ$8.98
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.31
|
$3.36
NZ$5.99
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$10.42
|
$11.20
NZ$19.97
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$50.68
|
?? | |
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$13.95
|
?? | |
United States vs. Cook Islands - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay (unknown) more for clothing
|
United States
|
Cook Islands
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$53.15
|
?? | |
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$41.88
|
?? | |
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$89.76
|
?? | |
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$114.01
|
?? |
United States vs. Cook Islands - Cost of clothing
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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Compare further: United States vs. Cook Islands
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Quality of Life Comparison · 12 statistics
Be 31.6% less likely to have internet access in Cook Islands
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Size Comparison · See true size
United States is about 41,667 times bigger than Cook Islands.
→
Moving from United States to Cook Islands · UN DESA 2020
32 people born in United States live in Cook Islands.
→
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