Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Noumea and New Plymouth

For one person, living is cheaper in New Plymouth: $1,821 a month against $2,391 in Noumea, rent and utilities included – about $6,800 less a year. The total is higher in Noumea despite lower rent and utilities.

116

Cost of Living Index in Noumea
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Noumea Living Index
88

Cost of Living Index in New Plymouth
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New Plymouth Living Index

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Noumea

🇳🇨 New Caledonia

$2,391

/mo nomad

New Plymouth

🇳🇿 New Zealand

$1,821

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Noumea and in New Plymouth

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,391 in Noumea versus $1,821 in New Plymouth.

Noumea $2,391
New Plymouth $1,821

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,791 in Noumea versus $2,787 in New Plymouth.

Noumea $3,791
New Plymouth $2,787

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,191 in Noumea versus $3,753 in New Plymouth.

Noumea $5,191
New Plymouth $3,753

Living in Noumea is roughly 31% more expensive than in New Plymouth, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Noumea 77% above, New Plymouth 35% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$20.61 CFPF 2,180

$11.79 NZ$20.86

74.81%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$111 CFPF 11.8K

$66.5 NZ$118

67.42%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$14.29 CFPF 1,512

$8.42 NZ$14.89

69.71%

Cappuccino

$4.50 CFPF 477

$3.31 NZ$5.85

35.95%

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

$1.92 CFPF 203

$2.10 NZ$3.71

-8.57%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.27 CFPF 135

$1.84 NZ$3.25

-30.98%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.28 CFPF 982

$5.25 NZ$9.28

76.76%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.04 CFPF 745

$5.51 NZ$9.75

27.77%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.22 CFPF 129

$1.46 NZ$2.58

-16.44%

White Bread (500g)

$3.50 CFPF 370

$1.25 NZ$2.21

180.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.20 CFPF 233

$1.62 NZ$2.86

35.80%

Eggs

$6.02 CFPF 637

$5.35 NZ$9.47

12.52%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$29.56 CFPF 3,128

$5.48 NZ$9.69

439.42%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$28.42 CFPF 3,007

$7.23 NZ$12.79

293.08%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$28.43 CFPF 3,007

$11.60 NZ$20.52

145.09%

Apples (1kg)

$4.70 CFPF 497

$2.45 NZ$4.33

91.84%

Banana (1kg)

$7.18 CFPF 759

$1.90 NZ$3.36

277.89%

Oranges (1kg)

$6.04 CFPF 639

$2.95 NZ$5.22

104.75%

Tomato (1kg)

$8.19 CFPF 866

$6.26 NZ$11.08

30.83%

Potato (1kg)

$5.41 CFPF 572

$2.03 NZ$3.60

166.50%

Onion (1kg)

$3.63 CFPF 384

$1.40 NZ$2.48

159.29%

Lettuce (1 head)

$4.07 CFPF 430

$1.77 NZ$3.14

129.94%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.50 CFPF 158

$1.26 NZ$2.22

19.05%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$19.12 CFPF 2,023

$22.05 NZ$39.00

-13.29%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.93 CFPF 1,792

$8.41 NZ$14.88

101.31%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$5.80 CFPF 614

$2.90 NZ$5.14

100.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.76 NZ$6.65

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.59 CFPF 486

$1.70 NZ$3.00

170.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$74.3 NZ$131

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$6.87 CFPF 726

$3.61 NZ$6.39

90.30%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.11 CFPF 117

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$21.45 CFPF 2,269

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.58 CFPF 167

$1.65 NZ$2.92

-4.24%

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

$32.2K CFPF 3.4M

$26.4K NZ$46.8K

21.79%

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

$37.1K CFPF 3.9M

$22.6K NZ$39.9K

64.17%

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

$201 CFPF 21.3K

$127 NZ$225

58.07%

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

$42.95 CFPF 4,544

$27.63 NZ$48.87

55.45%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$49.00 CFPF 5,185

$47.97 NZ$84.8

2.15%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.91 CFPF 5,280

$42.55 NZ$75.3

17.30%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$8.60 CFPF 910

Cinema Ticket

$13.91 CFPF 1,472

$8.00 NZ$14.14

73.88%

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

$762 CFPF 80.6K

$669 NZ$1,183

13.88%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,253 CFPF 978.9K

$22.8K NZ$40.2K

-59.34%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$107 CFPF 11.4K

$61.6 NZ$109

74.12%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$64.7 CFPF 6,844

$38.35 NZ$67.8

68.66%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$96.9 CFPF 10.3K

$87.7 NZ$155

10.50%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$249 CFPF 26.3K

$103 NZ$182

142.33%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$751 CFPF 79.4K

$911 NZ$1,612

-17.62%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$773 CFPF 81.8K

$853 NZ$1,508

-9.34%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,494 CFPF 158.1K

$1,719 NZ$3,040

-13.09%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,359 CFPF 143.7K

$1,542 NZ$2,727

-11.90%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,622 CFPF 489.0K

$3,136 NZ$5,547

47.37%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,488 CFPF 369.1K

$2,566 NZ$4,539

35.92%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,663 CFPF 281.7K

$2,766 NZ$4,891

-3.72%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.13

5.93

-47.22%

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

Last update for Noumea: October 10, 2026

Last update for New Plymouth: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Noumea

$773 32.3%

New Plymouth

$853 46.8% 10.3% $80

Groceries & Markets

Noumea

$648 * 27.1%

New Plymouth

$279 15.3% 57% $369

Eating Out

Noumea

$335 14%

New Plymouth

$212 11.7% 36.6% $123

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Noumea

$293 12.3%

New Plymouth

$203 11.1% 30.8% $90

Clothing & Footwear

Noumea

$233 9.7%

New Plymouth

$131 7.2% 43.9% $102

Sport & Entertainment

Noumea

$78 3.3%

New Plymouth

$59 3.2% 24.7% $19

Getting Around

Noumea

$31 * 1.3%

New Plymouth

$85 * 4.7% 175% $54

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 $751 in Noumea and $911 in New Plymouth. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

New Plymouth pays 4% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $111 in Noumea vs $67.0 in New Plymouth for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $648 vs $279 per month, with New Plymouth cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇳🇨 Noumea

🇳🇿 New Plymouth

🕒 Local time

00:27 12:27 AM

02:27 2:27 AM

2 h ahead of Noumea

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

91,386 Capital

58,400

💱 Currency

CFP Franc XPF Fr

New Zealand Dollar NZD $

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 XPF = 9.45 USD

1,000 XPF = 8.41 EUR

1 NZD = 0.565 USD

1 NZD = 0.503 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

NZD, USD, EUR to XPF – CFP Franc Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🌐 CFP Franc (Fr)

CFP Franc exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 106 XPF (1,000 XPF = 9.45 USD). 1 EUR = 119 XPF (1,000 XPF = 8.41 EUR).

New Zealand Dollar exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 1.77 NZD (1 NZD = 0.565 USD). 1 EUR = 1.99 NZD (1 NZD = 0.503 EUR).

USD to XPF in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Noumea New Plymouth 2,000 km ≈ 3 h nonstop flight

From you

Noumea
New Plymouth

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

Noumea vs New Plymouth: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Noumea and New Plymouth differ by about 31% in total monthly costs ($2,391 vs $1,821 including rent). New Plymouth is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 4% lower in New Plymouth. 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: $751 in Noumea versus $911 in New Plymouth. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $762 in Noumea versus $669 in New Plymouth. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in New Plymouth – a meal for two runs $67.0 versus $111 in Noumea. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,821 in New Plymouth versus $2,391 in Noumea, a $3,000 budget is realistic in New Plymouth but tight or insufficient in Noumea. The gap between the two cities makes New Plymouth the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

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.

Safety-wise, Noumea and New Plymouth are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find New Plymouth gentler on the wallet – expenses run 31% less than in Noumea. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.