Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Macao and Starkville, MS

For one person, living is cheaper in Starkville, MS: $1,787 a month against $2,158 in Macao, rent and utilities included – about $4,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

104

Cost of Living Index in Macao
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Macao Living Index
86

Cost of Living Index in Starkville, MS
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Starkville, MS Living Index

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Macao

🇲🇴 Macao (China)

$2,158

/mo nomad

Starkville, MS

🇺🇸 United States

$1,787

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Macao and in Starkville, MS

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Macao and in Starkville, MS actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,158 in Macao versus $1,787 in Starkville, MS.

Macao $2,158
Starkville, MS $1,787

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,053 in Macao versus $2,731 in Starkville, MS.

Macao $3,053
Starkville, MS $2,731

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,948 in Macao versus $3,676 in Starkville, MS.

Macao $3,948
Starkville, MS $3,676

Living in Macao is roughly 21% more expensive than in Starkville, MS, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in leisure.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Macao 59% above, Starkville, MS 31% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$6.37 MOP 51.5

$14.92 $14.92

-57.31%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$55.4 MOP 447

$60.2 $60.2

-8.02%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.76 MOP 46.56

$8.35 $8.35

-31.02%

Cappuccino

$4.97 MOP 40.18

$4.19 $4.19

18.62%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.05 MOP 8.46

$2.37 $2.37

-55.70%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MOP 6.33

$1.84 $1.84

-57.61%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.66 MOP 45.72

$4.09 $4.09

38.39%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.34 MOP 59.3

$6.98 $6.98

5.16%

Milk (1 liter)

$3.12 MOP 25.18

$0.87 $0.87

258.62%

White Bread (500g)

$1.71 MOP 13.78

$3.19 $3.19

-46.39%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.72 MOP 13.89

$2.62 $2.62

-34.35%

Eggs

$3.50 MOP 28.25

$4.22 $4.22

-17.06%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$15.90 MOP 128

$9.77 $9.77

62.74%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$19.42 MOP 157

$11.62 $11.62

67.13%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$29.46 MOP 238

$15.00 $15.00

96.40%

Apples (1kg)

$2.58 MOP 20.84

$3.86 $3.86

-33.16%

Banana (1kg)

$2.86 MOP 23.08

$1.39 $1.39

105.76%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.89 MOP 15.24

$3.30 $3.30

-42.73%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.44 MOP 19.73

$3.04 $3.04

-19.74%

Potato (1kg)

$3.95 MOP 31.94

$2.15 $2.15

83.72%

Onion (1kg)

$2.94 MOP 23.74

$2.26 $2.26

30.09%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.62 MOP 5.00

$2.19 $2.19

-71.69%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.14 MOP 9.21

$1.93 $1.93

-40.93%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.64 MOP 53.7

$8.43 $8.43

-21.23%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.16 MOP 98.2

$9.86 $9.86

23.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.78 MOP 14.41

$1.73 $1.73

2.89%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.31 MOP 18.68

$3.15 $3.15

-26.67%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.71 MOP 5.76

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$22.93 MOP 185

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.66 MOP 21.53

$4.18 $4.18

-36.36%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.24 MOP 9.99

$1.87 $1.87

-33.69%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$15.00 MOP 121

$32.65 $32.65

-54.06%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.76 MOP 14.21

$0.86 $0.86

104.65%

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$31.1K MOP 251.4K

$30.0K $30.0K

3.78%

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$31.4K MOP 253.5K

$25.5K $25.5K

23.25%

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$122 MOP 989

$168 $168

-27.34%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$24.02 MOP 194

$29.80 $29.80

-19.40%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$36.91 MOP 298

$53.7 $53.7

-31.23%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$95.6 MOP 772

$17.46 $17.46

447.54%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$3.64 MOP 29.43

Cinema Ticket

$14.43 MOP 117

$8.04 $8.04

79.48%

Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)

$1,194 MOP 9,646

$1,567 $1,567

-23.83%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$19.4K MOP 156.8K

$8,234 $8,234

135.62%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.8 MOP 556

$74.9 $74.9

-8.06%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$33.15 MOP 268

$53.5 $53.5

-38.05%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$91.5 MOP 739

$87.6 $87.6

4.37%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$136 MOP 1,095

$171 $171

-20.49%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,095 MOP 8,850

$946 $946

15.72%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,065 MOP 8,606

$735 $735

44.99%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,089 MOP 16.9K

$1,536 $1,536

35.99%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,452 MOP 11.7K

$1,344 $1,344

8.05%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$9,783 MOP 79.0K

$2,185 $2,185

347.69%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,861 MOP 55.4K

$2,184 $2,184

214.07%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,042 MOP 16.5K

$4,153 $4,153

-50.84%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.65

-54.89%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Macao: October 24, 2026

Last update for Starkville, MS: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Accommodation & Living

Macao

$1.1K 49.4%

Starkville, MS

$735 41.1% 31% $330

Groceries & Markets

Macao

$424 19.6%

Starkville, MS

$334 18.7% 21.2% $90

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Macao

$183 8.5%

Starkville, MS

$252 14.1% 37.4% $69

Eating Out

Macao

$178 8.3%

Starkville, MS

$246 13.8% 38% $68

Clothing & Footwear

Macao

$148 6.9%

Starkville, MS

$174 9.7% 17.5% $26

Sport & Entertainment

Macao

$124 5.8%

Starkville, MS

$34 1.9% 73.1% $91

Getting Around

Macao

$35 1.6%

Starkville, MS

$14 * 0.8% 61% $21

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,095 in Macao and $946 in Starkville, MS. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Starkville, MS pays about 2 times more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $55 in Macao vs $60 in Starkville, MS. Groceries flip the comparison at $424 vs $334, with Starkville, MS cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇲🇴 Macao

🇺🇸 Starkville, MS

🕒 Local time

16:58 4:58 PM

03:58 3:58 AM

13 h behind Macao

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

622,567 Capital

22,638

💱 Currency

Macanese Pataca MOP P

United States Dollar USD $

📈 Exchange rate

1 MOP = 0.124 USD

1 MOP = 0.111 EUR

1 USD = 0.896 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

USD, EUR to MOP – Macanese Pataca Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇴 Macanese Pataca (P)

Macanese Pataca exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 8.08 MOP (1 MOP = 0.124 USD). 1 EUR = 9.02 MOP (1 MOP = 0.111 EUR).

United States Dollar exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.896 EUR).

USD to MOP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Macao Starkville, MS 13,390 km ≈ 17 h nonstop flight

From you

Macao
Starkville, MS

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Macao vs Starkville, MS: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Starkville, MS wins on cost – living expenses run 17% lower than in Macao. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Starkville, MS the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 51% lower in Macao. That’s worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,095 in Macao versus $946 in Starkville, MS. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 27% higher in Macao. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you’ll spend $2,158 per month in Macao versus $1,787 in Starkville, MS – Starkville, MS is about 17% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

Either city works on $2,500 a month, though Starkville, MS gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.