Cost of living comparison

Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea

compared to

San Jose, Costa Rica

San Jose vs. Port Moresby Cost of Living Summary

San Jose is 33.2% more expensive than Port Moresby.

Restaurants: pay 58.2% more in San Jose
Groceries: pay 9.2% more in San Jose
Transportation: pay 42.7% more in San Jose
Housing: pay 48.6% less in San Jose
Childcare: pay 90.8% more in San Jose
Entertainment and Sports: pay 26.2% more in San Jose
Clothing: pay 54.1% more in San Jose

The cost of childcare, restaurants, clothing, transportation, entertainment and sports, and groceries in San Jose are more expensive than in Port Moresby. Notably, childcare is significantly more expensive in San Jose.

San Jose vs. Port Moresby Cost Breakdown

If you lived in San Jose instead of Port Moresby, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 58.2% more for restaurants

	Port Moresby	San Jose
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$12.38 PGK51.03	$10.83 CRC5,411.93	-12.5%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$7.43 PGK30.62	$9.72 CRC4,855.71	+30.8%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.80 PGK3.28	$1.99 CRC996.28	+150.5%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.89 PGK3.67	$1.46 CRC730.05	+63.9%
Average			+58.2%

Port Moresby vs. San Jose - Cost of restaurants

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pay 9.2% more for groceries

	Port Moresby	San Jose
Bread 1 loaf	$1.49 PGK6.12	$2.60 CRC1,297.53	+74.8%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$2.20 PGK9.06	$4.26 CRC2,131.12	+94.1%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.01 PGK28.91	$7.23 CRC3,614.14	+3.1%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.68 PGK15.19	$3.26 CRC1,630.29	-11.5%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.28 PGK13.50	$4.41 CRC2,202.02	+34.5%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.56 PGK6.41	$1.95 CRC974.72	+25.4%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.19 PGK4.92	$0.63 CRC314.94	-47.2%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.74 PGK7.18	$1.59 CRC795.04	-8.7%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.02 PGK8.33	$1.35 CRC673.65	-33.3%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.57 PGK6.48	$1.30 CRC649.37	-17.4%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.37 PGK5.63	$1.19 CRC595.13	-12.9%
Average			+9.2%

Port Moresby vs. San Jose - Cost of groceries

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pay 42.7% more for transportation

	Port Moresby	San Jose
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.29 PGK17.68	$5.49 CRC2,742.30	+28.0%
Monthly public transit pass	$16.69 PGK68.78	$38.02 CRC19,000.61	+127.9%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$25,877.21 PGK106,653.16	$36,925.49 CRC18,451,701.73	+42.7%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$22.04 PGK90.83	$15.94 CRC7,965.79	-27.7%
Average			+42.7%

Port Moresby vs. San Jose - Cost of transportation

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pay 48.6% less for housing

	Port Moresby	San Jose
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$309.54 PGK1,275.76	$53.59 CRC26,781.29	-82.7%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$2,346.03 PGK9,669.21	$742.08 CRC370,817.73	-68.4%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$609.17 PGK2,510.69	$463.60 CRC231,662.02	-23.9%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$78.11 PGK321.94	$63.06 CRC31,508.95	-19.3%
Average			-48.6%

Port Moresby vs. San Jose - Cost of housing

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pay 90.8% more for childcare

	Port Moresby	San Jose
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$494.23 PGK2,036.96	$521.49 CRC260,589.82	+5.5%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$4,498.59 PGK18,540.98	$12,425.72 CRC6,209,142.52	+176.2%
Average			+90.8%

Port Moresby vs. San Jose - Cost of childcare

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pay 26.2% more for entertainment and sports

	Port Moresby	San Jose
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.48 PGK10.21	$2.92 CRC1,456.71	+17.7%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$1.83 PGK7.55	$3.69 CRC1,844.55	+101.4%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$7.48 PGK30.82	$5.05 CRC2,524.97	-32.4%
Monthly membership at local gym	$45.19 PGK186.26	$59.70 CRC29,832.68	+32.1%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.67 PGK35.72	$9.72 CRC4,855.71	+12.1%
Average			+26.2%

Port Moresby vs. San Jose - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 54.1% more for clothing

	Port Moresby	San Jose
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$39.25 PGK161.77	$73.59 CRC36,771.08	+87.5%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$44.57 PGK183.71	$50.81 CRC25,391.00	+14.0%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$64.38 PGK265.36	$125.98 CRC62,954.11	+95.7%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$98.43 PGK405.69	$117.31 CRC58,621.78	+19.2%
Average			+54.1%

Port Moresby vs. San Jose - 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: April 2025

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