Cost of living comparison

Laos

compared to

Saint Lucia

Castries vs. Vientiane Cost of Living Summary

Castries is 24.5% more expensive than Vientiane.

Restaurants: pay 2.5 times more in Castries
Groceries: pay 96.4% more in Castries
Transportation: pay 2.0% less in Castries
Housing: pay 9.1% less in Castries
Childcare: pay 66.0% less in Castries
Entertainment and Sports: pay 62.8% more in Castries
Clothing: pay 88.2% more in Castries

The cost of restaurants, groceries, clothing, and entertainment and sports in Castries are more expensive than in Vientiane. Expenses including childcare, housing, and transportation are lower in Castries. Notably, restaurants, groceries, and clothing are significantly more expensive in Castries.

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Castries vs. Vientiane Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Castries instead of Vientiane, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 2.5 times more for restaurants

	Vientiane	Castries
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$2.67 LAK60,254	$9.25 EC$25.00	+246.0%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.35 LAK121K	$8.33 EC$22.50	+55.7%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.71 LAK16,068	$1.94 EC$5.25	+172.4%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.37 LAK8,410	$0.97 EC$2.62	+160.2%
Average			+148.3%

Vientiane vs. Castries - Cost of restaurants

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pay 96.4% more for groceries

	Vientiane	Castries
Bread 1 loaf	$1.14 LAK25,737	$1.86 EC$5.02	+62.8%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$13.59 LAK306K	$5.61 EC$15.17	-58.7%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.61 LAK171K	$7.75 EC$20.95	+1.9%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.87 LAK42,101	$4.61 EC$12.47	+146.9%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.81 LAK63,330	$4.10 EC$11.09	+45.9%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.09 LAK24,464	$3.89 EC$10.50	+257.9%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.52 LAK11,662	$0.75 EC$2.02	+44.4%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.19 LAK26,832	$3.70 EC$10.00	+210.8%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.69 LAK15,639	$6.66 EC$18.00	+859.7%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.66 LAK14,918	$1.54 EC$4.17	+133.1%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.49 LAK10,995	$0.93 EC$2.50	+89.6%
Average			+96.4%

Vientiane vs. Castries - Cost of groceries

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pay 2.0% less for transportation

	Vientiane	Castries
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.62 LAK127K	$5.83 EC$15.75	+3.6%
Monthly public transit pass	$48.44 LAK1M	??
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$28,190.13 LAK635M	$25,901.46 EC$70,000.00	-8.1%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$8.47 LAK191K	??
Average			-2.0%

Vientiane vs. Castries - Cost of transportation

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pay 9.1% less for housing

	Vientiane	Castries
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$12.33 LAK278K	$48.60 EC$131.33	+294.1%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$643.47 LAK15M	$456.36 EC$1,233.33	-29.1%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$414.50 LAK9M	$345.35 EC$933.33	-16.7%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$69.22 LAK2M	$94.32 EC$254.90	+36.3%
Average			-9.1%

Vientiane vs. Castries - Cost of housing

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pay 66.0% less for childcare

	Vientiane	Castries
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$625.02 LAK14M	$212.76 EC$575.00	-66.0%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$11,083.07 LAK250M	??
Average			-66.0%

Vientiane vs. Castries - Cost of childcare

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pay 62.8% more for entertainment and sports

	Vientiane	Castries
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.36 LAK30,629	$2.78 EC$7.50	+104.2%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$1.79 LAK40,336	$3.70 EC$10.00	+106.7%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$1.78 LAK40,169	$9.25 EC$25.00	+418.9%
Monthly membership at local gym	$47.54 LAK1M	$41.63 EC$112.50	-12.4%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$4.23 LAK95,401	$5.55 EC$15.00	+31.1%
Average			+62.8%

Vientiane vs. Castries - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 88.2% more for clothing

	Vientiane	Castries
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$26.74 LAK603K	$83.25 EC$225.00	+211.4%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$66.85 LAK2M	$50.88 EC$137.50	-23.9%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$56.75 LAK1M	$111.01 EC$300.00	+95.6%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$41.00 LAK924K	$111.01 EC$300.00	+170.7%
Average			+88.2%

Vientiane vs. Castries - 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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