1) Alcohol and/or Tobacco: Cost is low for items such as beer, spirits, wine, and tobacco-related products such as cigarettes. A basket costing USD$1,000 in New York costs USD$560. The average price in a store for a midrange bottle of wine is USD$6.79, domestic/local beer (500ml) USD$0.97, imported/international beer (330ml) USD$1.61 and a pack of 20 cigarettes is USD$1.21.
2) Clothing: Cost is very low for items such as business, casual, and children’s clothing and footwear. A basket costing USD$1,000 in New York costs USD$530. The average price for an international brand of men’s jeans is USD$16, a quality international brand of running shoes USD$49, men’s leather shoes suitable for office wear USD$57 while a medium-size international summer dress from a global chain store is USD$24.
3) Communication: Cost is high for various communication costs such as home telephone rental, internet subscription, mobile service provider tariff, and data costs. A basket costing USD$200 in New York costs USD$252. The average price for a monthly standard plan internet subscription is USD$38, while the benchmark mobile tariff is USD$0.07 per minute.
4) Education: Cost is average for items such as creche / pre-school fees, primary school fees, high school fees, and tertiary study fees. A basket costing USD$30,000 in New York costs USD$26700. Average annual private international school fee (excluding extras) is USD$17,326 for Primary School, and USD$19,280 for High School.
5) Furniture & Appliances: Cost is average for items such as dining table and chairs, home entertainment, kitchen appliances, and sofas. A basket costing USD$2,500 in New York costs USD$1900. The average price for a 6kg front loader Washing Machine is USD$670, and USD$575 for a 46+” LED UHD TV.
6) Groceries: Cost is average for items such as consumables, cleaning products, dairy, fresh fruit & vegetables, general food products, snacks, soft drinks. A basket costing USD$1,000 in New York costs USD$780. Average grocery prices in a major international retail store for 1 kg apples is USD$3.70, 1 kg oranges USD$1.99, 1 head lettuce USD$0.82, 1 kg potatoes USD$1.71, 1 kg boneless, skinless, chicken breast USD$6.88, 1 kg cheddar cheese USD$3.60, 1 dozen large eggs USD$1.90, 500g loaf white bread USD$1.40, 1 L full cream milk USD$2.36, and 1.5 L water USD$0.77.
7) Healthcare: Cost is low for general health care, doctor visits, hospital stays, non-prescription medicine, and medical insurance. A basket costing USD$1,000 in New York costs USD$550. Average healthcare cost for a private practice doctor visit for an uninsured patient is USD$45, and a private hospital stay per day including nursing care, medications, diagnostic tests, food, and related costs is USD$1,373.
8) Household Accommodation: Cost is low for items such as apartment rent, house rent, property purchase, mortgage rate, and utilities. A basket costing USD$5,000 in New York costs USD$1700. The average house/apartment rent for a secure upmarket unfurnished apartment (3 bedrooms) is USD$1,565 in a central location, and USD$985 in a suburban location, per month, excluding utilities.
9) Miscellaneous: Cost is very high for items such as dry cleaning, linen, magazines, newspapers, office supplies, and postage stamps. A basket costing USD$500 in New York costs USD$660. The average price for dry cleaning (1 min 2 pcs suit) is USD$12.83, while an international newspaper is USD$3.95.
10) Personal Care: Cost is low for items such as cosmetics, hair care, and toiletries. A basket costing USD$500 in New York costs USD$235. The average cost for a men’s haircut and blow-dry is USD$19, while a women’s hair color, cut and blow-dry – medium length is USD$94.
11) Recreation & Culture: Cost is low for items such as books, cinema, sport, and theatre tickets. A basket costing USD$500 in New York costs USD$290. The average price for the latest release international cinema ticket (average of on and off-peak where applicable) for one adult is USD$5.20, and an international fitness, recreation or sports club membership cost for one adult is USD$53 per month.
12) Restaurants Meals Out and Hotels: Cost is average for items such as hotel daily room rates, meals, and beverages in a restaurant, and take away food and beverages. A basket costing USD$1,000 in New York costs USD$490. The average cappuccino price (regular, medium) is USD$2.66, coke/Pepsi (330ml) USD$0.75, burger meal (international franchise or similar) USD$10.72, and a mid-range international restaurant meal for 2 USD$29.94.
13) Transport: Cost is average for items such as fuel (petrol/gasoline), car hire, public transport, vehicle purchase, and maintenance. A basket costing USD$1,000 in New York costs USD$800. The average price over the last year for the highest available octane petrol/gasoline (1L) is USD$0.61, while the benchmark car sedan purchase price including taxes/duties for a compact/small / economy vehicle (1.4 L) is USD$13,086.
How does the cost of living in Cotonou compare?
Cotonou is 0.4% more expensive than Houston TX for groceries, -14.9% cheaper for household costs than Kuala Lumpur, and 28.2% more expensive for transport costs than Dubai.
