Cost of living comparison

Avarua, Cook Islands

compared to

Panama City, Panama

Panama City vs. Avarua Cost of Living Summary

Panama City is 55.8% more expensive than Avarua.

Restaurants: pay 18.1% less in Panama City
Groceries: pay 17.6% less in Panama City
Housing: pay 4.2 times more in Panama City
Entertainment and Sports: pay 16.4% less in Panama City
Clothing: pay 14.3% more in Panama City

The cost of housing and clothing in Panama City are more expensive than in Avarua. Expenses including restaurants, groceries, and entertainment and sports are lower in Panama City. Notably, housing is significantly more expensive in Panama City.

Panama City vs. Avarua Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Panama City instead of Avarua, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 18.1% less for restaurants

	Avarua	Panama City
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	??	$13.25 PAB13.25
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$8.96 NZ$15.02	$8.00 PAB8.00	-10.7%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.39 NZ$4.01	$1.86 PAB1.86	-22.3%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.79 NZ$3.00	$1.41 PAB1.41	-21.2%
Average			-18.1%

Avarua vs. Panama City - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 17.6% less for groceries

	Avarua	Panama City
Bread 1 loaf	$3.52 NZ$5.91	$2.51 PAB2.51	-28.9%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.97 NZ$10.02	$6.39 PAB6.39	+6.9%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.78 NZ$11.37	$6.80 PAB6.80	+0.3%
Eggs 1 dozen	$5.08 NZ$8.51	$2.68 PAB2.68	-47.3%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.79 NZ$6.36	$3.41 PAB3.41	-10.2%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.35 NZ$2.27	$1.48 PAB1.48	+9.4%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.81 NZ$1.36	$0.72 PAB0.72	-11.0%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.63 NZ$2.73	$1.24 PAB1.24	-23.7%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$4.33 NZ$7.27	$1.40 PAB1.40	-67.8%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.35 NZ$2.27	$0.98 PAB0.98	-27.4%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.08 NZ$1.82	$1.15 PAB1.15	+5.8%
Average			-17.6%

Avarua vs. Panama City - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay (unknown) more for transportation

	Avarua	Panama City
Gasoline (1 gallon)	??	$3.69 PAB3.69
Monthly public transit pass	??	$25.00 PAB25.00
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	??	$19,750.00 PAB19,750.00
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	??	$16.71 PAB16.71

Avarua vs. Panama City - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 4.2 times more for housing

	Avarua	Panama City
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	??	$52.10 PAB52.10
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$155.28 NZ$260.40	$1,023.81 PAB1,023.81	+559.3%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$155.28 NZ$260.40	$755.88 PAB755.88	+386.8%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$91.34 NZ$153.18	$94.84 PAB94.84	+3.8%
Average			+316.6%

Avarua vs. Panama City - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay (unknown) more for childcare

	Avarua	Panama City
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	??	$439.17 PAB439.17
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	??	$10,092.67 PAB10,092.67

Avarua vs. Panama City - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 16.4% less for entertainment and sports

	Avarua	Panama City
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$4.48 NZ$7.51	$3.00 PAB3.00	-33.0%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.58 NZ$6.01	$3.59 PAB3.59	+0.2%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	??	$5.50 PAB5.50
Monthly membership at local gym	??	$47.27 PAB47.27
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	??	$7.00 PAB7.00
Average			-16.4%

Avarua vs. Panama City - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 14.3% more for clothing

	Avarua	Panama City
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$66.89 NZ$112.17	$53.91 PAB53.91	-19.4%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	??	$37.78 PAB37.78
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	??	$87.62 PAB87.62
Men's business shoes (leather)	$73.46 NZ$123.19	$108.75 PAB108.75	+48.0%
Average			+14.3%

Avarua vs. Panama City - Cost of clothing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you. We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: June 2025

More cost comparisons

Avarua vs.

Delhi

Avarua vs.

Manila

Avarua vs.

Bangkok

Avarua vs.

Ottawa

Avarua vs.

Lima

Avarua vs.

Dublin

Avarua vs.

Wellington

Avarua vs.

Singapore

Share this

Compare countries by overall cost of living

See the cost of living in Cook Islands vs. Panama. This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within Cook Islands and Panama.

Help us improve these prices

MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate. Learn more

Add prices for Avarua

Add prices for Panama City

ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Panama City or Avarua. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.