Port Moresby vs South Tarawa - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated: March 11, 2026

	Port Moresby	South Tarawa
🚶 Cost of living one person	$572	$538
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family	$1392	$1303
🏠 One person rent	$243	$233
🏘️ Family rent	$405	$392
🍽️ Food expenses	$232	$226
🚐 Transport expenses	$37.6	$22.7
💳 Monthly salary after tax	$197	$164
😷 Air quality	Excellent	Excellent
✈️ Airport proximity	9 km	20 km
🎓 Higher education	16	1
😀 Quality of life	49	28
🏙️ Population	317K	63.4K

The cost of living in Port Moresby is 6% more expensive than in South Tarawa. Cities ranked 8199th and 8474th ($572 vs $538) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 1st and 2nd in Papua New Guinea and Kiribati, respectively. Check Papua New Guinea vs Kiribati comparison.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 0.3 months in Port Moresby compared to 0.3 months in South Tarawa. Port Moresby ranked 1st best city to live in Papua New Guinea vs South Tarawa ranked 1st in Kiribati, while ranked 6768th and 8872nd among best cities to live in the world.

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the estimated difference in money purchasing power

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<img src="https://livingcost.org/assets/photo/cost/port-moresby/south-tarawa.jpg" alt="Cost of living in Port Moresby vs South Tarawa infographic" style="max-width: 100%; height: auto;"><p>Source: <a href="https://livingcost.org/cost/port-moresby/south-tarawa" target="_blank">Port Moresby vs South Tarawa - Cost of Living Comparison</a></p>

Prices in Port Moresby vs South Tarawa

Prices for goods and services in Port Moresby and South Tarawa are partly crowdsourced by our visitors, just like yourself. Please consider telling us about your city.

	Port Moresby	South Tarawa
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu	$4.2	$4
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2	$23.2	$22.3
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's	$5.33	$5.15
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$1.86	$1.82
☕ Cappuccino	$1.97	$1.93
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz	$0.67	$0.63
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$240	$226
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$159	$151
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$430	$412
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$285	$274
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$42	$41
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$64.5	$63.8
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited	$25.9	$26.1
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years	12.16%	12.43%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$1396	$1374
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$864	$845
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket	$0.45	$0.41
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport	$17.8	$15.9
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi	$7.7	$7.47
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal	$1.04	$1.01
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt	$1.22	$1.22
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb	$0.84	$0.76
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.23	$1.21
🥚 Eggs, x12	$1.79	$1.73
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$7.42	$7.22
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$4.58	$4.59
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$7.39	$7.22
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.37	$2.38
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.29	$1.25
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.66	$1.67
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.2	$1.16
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.07	$1.04
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.06	$1.04
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt	$0.4	$0.39
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz	$1.29	$1.24
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle	$8.14	$8
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$1.46	$1.46
🚬 Cigarette pack	$3.01	$2.98
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week	$4.03	$3.96
🧴 Hair Shampoo	$3.16	$3.05
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls	$1.59	$1.6
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube	$1.29	$1.27
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month	$24.4	$24.1
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person	$4.66	$4.49
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit	$21.4	$19.1
💇 Haircut, simple	$4.58	$4.22
👖 Brand Jeans	$33.6	$31.4
👟 Brand Sneakers	$68.5	$65.8
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month	$147	$131
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year	$4671	$4200

Cost of living in other countries

Cost of living

Cost of Living in the nearest cities

Cities near Port Moresby

Distance	City	Cost of living
306 km or 190 mi	Lae	$558
841 km or 523 mi	Cairns	$1695
1050 km or 652 mi	Jayapura	$506
1088 km or 676 mi	Townsville	$1839
1404 km or 872 mi	Honiara	$1422
1489 km or 925 mi	Auki	$1422
1586 km or 986 mi	Rockhampton	$1635
1656 km or 1029 mi	Gladstone	$1640
1734 km or 1077 mi	Manokwari	$494
1796 km or 1116 mi	Bundaberg	$1727
1810 km or 1125 mi	Darwin	$1861
1859 km or 1155 mi	Hervey Bay	$1864
2003 km or 1244 mi	Sorong	$506
2008 km or 1248 mi	Sunshine Coast	$1835
2026 km or 1259 mi	Caloundra	$1864
2049 km or 1273 mi	Caboolture	$1988
2071 km or 1287 mi	Toowoomba	$1766
2093 km or 1301 mi	Brisbane	$2269
2101 km or 1306 mi	Ipswich	$1813
2119 km or 1317 mi	Alice Springs	$1590
2157 km or 1341 mi	Southport	$2352
2163 km or 1344 mi	Gold Coast	$2528
2192 km or 1362 mi	Ambon	$506
2235 km or 1389 mi	Byron Bay	$2703
2273 km or 1413 mi	Luganville	$2062
2276 km or 1414 mi	Baucau	$512
2342 km or 1455 mi	Melekeok	$1176
2343 km or 1456 mi	Ngerulmud	$1175
2371 km or 1473 mi	Dili	$522
2376 km or 1477 mi	Ainaro	$513
2384 km or 1481 mi	Armidale	$1288
2397 km or 1489 mi	Coffs Harbour	$2172
2403 km or 1493 mi	Yaren	$783
2407 km or 1496 mi	Maliana	$514
2461 km or 1529 mi	Port Vila	$2068
2470 km or 1535 mi	Ternate	$437
2487 km or 1545 mi	Paita	$1865
2495 km or 1550 mi	Dumbea	$1865
2502 km or 1554 mi	Noumea	$1928
2512 km or 1561 mi	Port Macquarie	$1796

Cities near South Tarawa

Distance	City	Cost of living
658 km or 409 mi	Majuro	$1507
661 km or 411 mi	Djarrit	$1510
706 km or 439 mi	Yaren	$783
1302 km or 809 mi	Vaiaku	$714
1302 km or 809 mi	Funafuti	$718
1768 km or 1099 mi	Auki	$1422
1879 km or 1167 mi	Honiara	$1422
1988 km or 1235 mi	Luganville	$2062
2172 km or 1349 mi	Lautoka	$633
2190 km or 1361 mi	Nadi	$1039
2190 km or 1361 mi	Port Vila	$2068
2248 km or 1397 mi	Nasinu	$857
2253 km or 1400 mi	Suva	$879
2310 km or 1435 mi	Manase	$790
2382 km or 1480 mi	Apia	$791
2712 km or 1685 mi	Dumbea	$1865
2713 km or 1686 mi	Paita	$1865
2725 km or 1693 mi	Noumea	$1928
2817 km or 1750 mi	Nukualofa	$1035
2825 km or 1756 mi	Mua	$1033
3022 km or 1878 mi	Lae	$558
3104 km or 1929 mi	Port Moresby	$572
3286 km or 2042 mi	London	$539
3357 km or 2086 mi	Saipan	$1415
3375 km or 2097 mi	Dededo	$2401
3383 km or 2102 mi	Hagatna	$3009
3611 km or 2244 mi	Cairns	$1695
3612 km or 2244 mi	Jayapura	$506
3658 km or 2273 mi	Gladstone	$1640
3665 km or 2277 mi	Townsville	$1839
3668 km or 2279 mi	Bundaberg	$1727
3672 km or 2282 mi	Hervey Bay	$1864
3673 km or 2282 mi	Rockhampton	$1635
3762 km or 2338 mi	Kauai	$2821
3779 km or 2348 mi	Sunshine Coast	$1835
3788 km or 2354 mi	Caloundra	$1864
3822 km or 2375 mi	Caboolture	$1988
3851 km or 2393 mi	Waipahu	$2700
3854 km or 2395 mi	Brisbane	$2269
3855 km or 2396 mi	Pearl	$2610