Cost of living comparison

Vanuatu

compared to

District of Columbia, USA

District of Columbia vs. Vanuatu Cost of Living Summary

District of Columbia is 29.2% more expensive than Vanuatu overall.

Restaurants: pay 40.3% more in District of Columbia
Groceries: pay 11.2% less in District of Columbia
Transportation: pay 18.4% more in District of Columbia
Housing: pay 27.9% more in District of Columbia
Childcare: pay 5.6 times more in District of Columbia
Entertainment and Sports: pay 63.0% more in District of Columbia
Clothing: pay 14.9% more in District of Columbia

The cost of childcare, entertainment and sports, restaurants, housing, transportation, and clothing in District of Columbia are more expensive than in Vanuatu. Notably, childcare is significantly more expensive in District of Columbia.

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District of Columbia vs. Vanuatu Cost Breakdown

If you lived in District of Columbia instead of Vanuatu, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 40.3% more for restaurants

	Vanuatu	District of Columbia
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$12.67 VUV1,500	$28.00	+121.1%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$14.35 VUV1,700	$12.00	-16.4%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.28 VUV270	$3.17	+38.9%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$2.36 VUV279	$2.64	+11.9%
Average			+40.3%

Vanuatu vs. District of Columbia - Cost of restaurants

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pay 11.2% less for groceries

	Vanuatu	District of Columbia
Bread 1 loaf	$1.94 VUV230	$4.11	+111.5%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$8.86 VUV1,050	$8.53	-3.7%
Milk (1 gallon)	$10.63 VUV1,259	$4.95	-53.4%
Eggs 1 dozen	$6.23 VUV737	$5.64	-9.4%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$7.40 VUV877	$7.63	+3.0%
Apples (1 lb)	$3.24 VUV384	$3.17	-2.3%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.96 VUV113	$1.06	+11.1%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.78 VUV211	$2.27	+27.5%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$4.21 VUV499	$2.64	-37.4%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$4.02 VUV476	$1.29	-67.9%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.57 VUV186	$1.73	+10.0%
Average			-11.2%

Vanuatu vs. District of Columbia - Cost of groceries

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pay 18.4% more for transportation

	Vanuatu	District of Columbia
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$6.78 VUV803	$4.19	-38.2%
Monthly public transit pass	$67.55 VUV8,000	$120.00	+77.6%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$23,220.47 VUV3M	$36,375.00	+56.7%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$9.29 VUV1,100	$16.73	+80.1%
Average			+18.4%

Vanuatu vs. District of Columbia - Cost of transportation

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pay 27.9% more for housing

	Vanuatu	District of Columbia
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$363.08 VUV43,000	$77.77	-78.6%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,579.90 VUV187K	$2,717.33	+72.0%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,131.05 VUV134K	$2,228.89	+97.1%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$484.28 VUV57,353	$161.22	-66.7%
Average			+27.9%

Vanuatu vs. District of Columbia - Cost of housing

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pay 5.6 times more for childcare

	Vanuatu	District of Columbia
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$624.84 VUV74,000	$3,221.33	+415.5%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$6,873.26 VUV814K	$41,506.00	+503.9%
Average			+458.0%

Vanuatu vs. District of Columbia - Cost of childcare

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pay 63.0% more for entertainment and sports

	Vanuatu	District of Columbia
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$5.07 VUV600	$9.00	+77.6%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$4.08 VUV483	$6.15	+50.7%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$9.29 VUV1,100	$13.94	+50.1%
Monthly membership at local gym	$68.29 VUV8,088	$114.30	+67.4%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	??	$18.00
Average			+63.0%

Vanuatu vs. District of Columbia - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 14.9% more for clothing

	Vanuatu	District of Columbia
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$40.99 VUV4,854	$71.42	+74.2%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$67.55 VUV8,000	$44.11	-34.7%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$84.40 VUV9,995	$104.50	+23.8%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$101.28 VUV11,995	$125.16	+23.6%
Average			+14.9%

Vanuatu vs. District of Columbia - 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

Compare further: Vanuatu vs. District of Columbia

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Quality of Life Comparison · 5 statistics

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Size Comparison · See true size

Vanuatu is about 69 times bigger than District of Columbia.

Moving from Vanuatu to District of Columbia · Cost, visas & climate

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