Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Pohnpei and New Plymouth

For one person, living is cheaper in Pohnpei: $1,667 a month against $1,821 in New Plymouth, rent and utilities included – about $1,800 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in New Plymouth outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

81

Cost of Living Index in Pohnpei
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Pohnpei Living Index
88

Cost of Living Index in New Plymouth
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New Plymouth Living Index

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Pohnpei

🇫🇲 Micronesia

$1,667

/mo nomad

New Plymouth

🇳🇿 New Zealand

$1,821

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Pohnpei 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 Pohnpei and in New Plymouth actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,667 in Pohnpei versus $1,821 in New Plymouth.

Pohnpei $1,667
New Plymouth $1,821

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,527 in Pohnpei versus $2,787 in New Plymouth.

Pohnpei $2,527
New Plymouth $2,787

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,388 in Pohnpei versus $3,753 in New Plymouth.

Pohnpei $3,388
New Plymouth $3,753

Living in Pohnpei costs roughly 8% less than in New Plymouth, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in utilities.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Pohnpei 23% above, New Plymouth 35% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.38 $11.38

$11.79 NZ$20.86

-3.48%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$44.31 $44.31

$66.5 NZ$118

-33.39%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.36 $7.36

$8.42 NZ$14.89

-12.59%

Cappuccino

$2.94 $2.94

$3.31 NZ$5.85

-11.18%

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

$1.26 $1.26

$2.10 NZ$3.71

-40.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.08 $4.08

$1.84 NZ$3.25

121.74%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.25 NZ$9.28

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.02 $3.02

$5.51 NZ$9.75

-45.19%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.25 $0.25

$1.46 NZ$2.58

-82.88%

White Bread (500g)

$3.40 $3.40

$1.25 NZ$2.21

172.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.10 $3.10

$1.62 NZ$2.86

91.36%

Eggs

$7.27 $7.27

$5.35 NZ$9.47

35.89%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.94 $6.94

$5.48 NZ$9.69

26.64%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.87 $4.87

$7.23 NZ$12.79

-32.64%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.31 $11.31

$11.60 NZ$20.52

-2.50%

Apples (1kg)

$5.82 $5.82

$2.45 NZ$4.33

137.55%

Banana (1kg)

$3.60 $3.60

$1.90 NZ$3.36

89.47%

Oranges (1kg)

$5.47 $5.47

$2.95 NZ$5.22

85.42%

Tomato (1kg)

$6.26 NZ$11.08

Potato (1kg)

$5.10 $5.10

$2.03 NZ$3.60

151.23%

Onion (1kg)

$4.95 $4.95

$1.40 NZ$2.48

253.57%

Lettuce (1 head)

$3.77 $3.77

$1.77 NZ$3.14

112.99%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.98 $0.98

$1.26 NZ$2.22

-22.22%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$8.98 $8.98

$22.05 NZ$39.00

-59.27%

Wine (Bottle)

$2.92 $2.92

$8.41 NZ$14.88

-65.28%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.90 NZ$5.14

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.41 $2.41

$3.76 NZ$6.65

-35.90%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.02 $1.02

$1.70 NZ$3.00

-40.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$74.3 NZ$131

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.05 $5.05

$3.61 NZ$6.39

39.89%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.22 $1.22

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.05 $4.05

Gasoline (1 liter)

$3.81 $3.81

$1.65 NZ$2.92

130.91%

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

$26.4K NZ$46.8K

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

$22.6K NZ$39.9K

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

$134 $134

$127 NZ$225

5.31%

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

$39.58 $39.58

$27.63 NZ$48.87

43.25%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$200 $200

$47.97 NZ$84.8

316.76%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$20.18 $20.18

$42.55 NZ$75.3

-52.57%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$49.10 $49.10

Cinema Ticket

$8.00 NZ$14.14

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

$168 $168

$669 NZ$1,183

-74.84%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$22.8K NZ$40.2K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$78.4 $78.4

$61.6 NZ$109

27.26%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$69.2 $69.2

$38.35 NZ$67.8

80.52%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$110 $110

$87.7 NZ$155

25.72%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$97.9 $97.9

$103 NZ$182

-4.68%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$907 $907

$911 NZ$1,612

-0.46%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$630 $630

$853 NZ$1,508

-26.19%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,580 $1,580

$1,719 NZ$3,040

-8.07%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,208 $1,208

$1,542 NZ$2,727

-21.69%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,136 NZ$5,547

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,566 NZ$4,539

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$349 $349

$2,766 NZ$4,891

-87.36%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

360000

5.93

6070726.31%

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

Last update for Pohnpei: October 12, 2026

Last update for New Plymouth: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Pohnpei

$630 37.8%

New Plymouth

$853 46.8% 35.5% $223

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Pohnpei

$373 22.4%

New Plymouth

$203 11.1% 45.7% $171

Groceries & Markets

Pohnpei

$292 * 17.5%

New Plymouth

$279 15.3% 4.5% $13

Eating Out

Pohnpei

$176 * 10.6%

New Plymouth

$212 11.7% 20.7% $36

Clothing & Footwear

Pohnpei

$160 9.6%

New Plymouth

$131 7.2% 18.4% $29

Sport & Entertainment

Pohnpei

$20 * 1.2%

New Plymouth

$59 3.2% 190% $38

Getting Around

Pohnpei

$15 * 0.9%

New Plymouth

$85 * 4.7% 457% $69

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 $907 in Pohnpei and $911 in New Plymouth. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

New Plymouth pays 691% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $44.00 in Pohnpei vs $67.0 in New Plymouth. Groceries flip the comparison at $292 vs $279, with New Plymouth cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇫🇲 Pohnpei

🇳🇿 New Plymouth

🕒 Local time

09:39 9:39 AM

11:39 11:39 AM

2 h ahead of Pohnpei

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

34,486

58,400

💱 Currency

United States Dollar USD $

New Zealand Dollar NZD $

📈 Exchange rate

1 USD = 0.89 EUR

1 NZD = 0.565 USD

1 NZD = 0.503 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

NZD, EUR to USD – United States Dollar Converter

🇳🇿 New Zealand Dollar ($)

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

United States Dollar exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.89 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).

NZD to USD in detail →

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Between locations

Pohnpei New Plymouth 5,360 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Pohnpei
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

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

Pohnpei and New Plymouth differ by about 9% in total monthly costs ($1,667 vs $1,821 including rent). Pohnpei is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 691% 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: $907 in Pohnpei versus $911 in New Plymouth. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $168 in Pohnpei 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 Pohnpei – a meal for two runs $44.00 versus $67.0 in New Plymouth. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,667 in Pohnpei versus $1,821 in New Plymouth, a $2,500 budget is realistic in Pohnpei but tight or insufficient in New Plymouth. The gap between the two cities makes Pohnpei 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, Pohnpei 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 Pohnpei gentler on the wallet – expenses run 9% less than in New Plymouth. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.