Cost of living comparison

compared to

Tonga vs. Cook Islands Cost of Living Summary

Tonga is 9.5% cheaper than Cook Islands overall.

Restaurants: pay 7.3% more in Tonga
Groceries: pay 9.5% less in Tonga
Transportation: pay 45.4% less in Tonga
Housing: pay 50.9% more in Tonga
Childcare: pay 82.4% less in Tonga
Entertainment and Sports: pay 89.6% more in Tonga
Clothing: pay 76.8% less in Tonga

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

Tonga vs. Cook Islands Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Tonga instead of Cook Islands, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 7.3% more for restaurants

	Cook Islands	Tonga
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$8.96 NZ$15.63	$8.40 TOP20.23	-6.2%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$8.21 NZ$14.32	$10.50 TOP25.29	+27.9%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.84 NZ$4.95	$2.66 TOP6.41	-6.2%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$2.09 NZ$3.65	$2.38 TOP5.73	+13.9%
Average			+7.3%

Cook Islands vs. Tonga - Cost of restaurants

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pay 9.5% less for groceries

	Cook Islands	Tonga
Bread 1 loaf	$3.22 NZ$5.61	$1.05 TOP2.53	-67.4%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.15 NZ$8.99	$4.55 TOP10.96	-11.6%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.63 NZ$13.31	$5.99 TOP14.42	-21.5%
Eggs 1 dozen	$5.76 NZ$10.05	$5.15 TOP12.41	-10.6%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.52 NZ$6.14	$2.70 TOP6.50	-23.3%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.35 NZ$2.35	$1.27 TOP3.06	-5.7%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.08 NZ$1.89	$1.27 TOP3.06	+17.2%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.62 NZ$2.82	$1.33 TOP3.21	-17.6%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.84 NZ$4.96	$1.71 TOP4.13	-39.7%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.08 NZ$1.89	$1.46 TOP3.52	+34.8%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.85 NZ$1.49	$1.21 TOP2.91	+41.4%
Average			-9.5%

Cook Islands vs. Tonga - Cost of groceries

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pay 45.4% less for transportation

	Cook Islands	Tonga
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$6.79 NZ$11.85	$5.57 TOP13.40	-18.1%
Monthly public transit pass	??	$42.01 TOP101.15
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$11,944.29 NZ$20,836.10	$5,881.34 TOP14,160.85	-50.8%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$212.01 NZ$369.84	$69.32 TOP166.90	-67.3%
Average			-45.4%

Cook Islands vs. Tonga - Cost of transportation

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pay 50.9% more for housing

	Cook Islands	Tonga
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$104.21 NZ$181.79	$126.03 TOP303.45	+20.9%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$155.28 NZ$270.87	??
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$155.28 NZ$270.87	??
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$79.92 NZ$139.42	$144.56 TOP348.07	+80.9%
Average			+50.9%

Cook Islands vs. Tonga - Cost of housing

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pay 82.4% less for childcare

	Cook Islands	Tonga
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	??	$159.64 TOP384.37
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$1,433.32 NZ$2,500.33	$252.06 TOP606.89	-82.4%
Average			-82.4%

Cook Islands vs. Tonga - Cost of childcare

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pay 89.6% more for entertainment and sports

	Cook Islands	Tonga
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$5.23 NZ$9.12	$3.36 TOP8.09	-35.7%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.83 NZ$6.68	$2.94 TOP7.08	-23.3%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$14.93 NZ$26.05	$10.29 TOP24.78	-31.1%
Monthly membership at local gym	$24.88 NZ$43.41	$31.51 TOP75.86	+26.6%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$6.87 NZ$11.98	$42.01 TOP101.15	+511.7%
Average			+89.6%

Cook Islands vs. Tonga - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 76.8% less for clothing

	Cook Islands	Tonga
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$66.89 NZ$116.68	$4.20 TOP10.11	-93.7%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	??	$17.85 TOP42.99
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	??	$21.00 TOP50.57
Men's business shoes (leather)	$73.46 NZ$128.14	$29.41 TOP70.80	-60.0%
Average			-76.8%

Cook Islands vs. Tonga - Cost of clothing

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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: February 2025

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