Foumban

Cost of Living inFoumban, Cameroon

West, Cameroon130KLower middle income

Image credit: ForestWander

Purchasing Power vs. United States

Your money goes 2.84x further

Based on GDP per capita (PPP). Cameroon: $4,917/capita.

How Far Your Money Goes

Prices are 59% lower than the global benchmark (New York City = 100).

Using the country-level NYC comparison for now. We do not have a defensible city-level aggregate cost index for this city yet.

Overall
2.5x further
Prices are 59% lower than the global benchmark (New York City = 100).
Rent
5.2x further
Prices are 81% lower than the global benchmark (New York City = 100).
Groceries
2.6x further
Prices are 62% lower than the global benchmark (New York City = 100).
Restaurants
2.2x further
Prices are 54% lower than the global benchmark (New York City = 100).

Income Category

Lower Middle
World Bank GNI

Happiness

4.9 / 10

#103 globally

GDP per Capita

$4,917
PPP, International $

City Population

130K

Child Education

Public-schooling rules and international-school pricing are not sourced for Cameroon yet. Quality, expat-access, instruction language, and tuition will appear here once verified.

Childcare & Domestic Help

Nanny, housekeeper, and driver pricing is not yet sourced for Foumban. We publish this section only when we can tie it to local job-board, agency, or country fallback evidence.

Getting Around

Neighborhood mobility profiles are rolling out city by city.Foumban is still missing a verified walkability, transit, airport, and rideshare profile.

Healthcare

System strength, outcome signals, facility coverage, and self-pay visibility in Cameroon.

Method: country metrics come from public system indicators, facility coverage reflects mapped providers we can inventory, direct pricing only reflects observed self-pay pages, and relative care cost can fall back to broad cost-of-living healthcare indices. Sparse pricing does not imply sparse healthcare availability.

4 facilities tracked
Facilities updated 2 months ago

Healthcare system

Limited

Coverage looks thinner, doctor staffing is lighter, and households still pay a large share themselves weigh on this rating.

Public care

Limited

Public coverage looks thinner, public funding looks lighter, and patients still shoulder a meaningful share of costs weigh on this rating.

Private care

Limited

The tracked private-style network still looks thin and self-pay pricing transparency is still sparse weigh on this rating.

UHC coverage

48/100

2023

Physicians

0.14/1k

2022

Hospital beds

2.65/1k

2016

Out of pocket

68%

2023

Outcome signals

Life expectancy

64.0 yrs

2024

Maternal mortality

258/100k

2023

Neonatal mortality

24.8/1k

2024

International patient readiness

Limited

Price transparency is still sparse and headline outcomes are less reassuring weigh on this rating.

Pricing transparency

Limited

Published self-pay prices are scarce and few facilities expose web pages we can verify weigh on this rating.

Facility coverage

Hospital: 2Clinic: 1Doctor: 1

Self-pay pricing visibility

No verified self-pay prices are published for the tracked facilities in Cameroon yet.

This usually reflects low online price transparency rather than a lack of healthcare providers.

Notable facilities

Hôpital de district de Foumban
Hospital · Emergency
Hopital du palais
Hospital · Emergency
Hopital de District de Foumban
Clinic
general
Croix Rouge Camerounaise
Doctor

System metrics: World Bank WDI · Updated 2026-06-01

Safety & Governance

City-level perceived-crime data is not sourced for Foumban yet. Showing Cameroon national safety and governance signals until a matched city row lands.

Street Safety

Safety Index26/100
Crime Index74/100

Source: Numbeo where a city row is matched; otherwise World Bank WGI and country-level safety context.

Political Stability

Political Stability-1.40

World Bank WGI scale: -2.5 to +2.5.

Wages by Sector

SectorMedian
Administrative & Support Services
Agriculture & Farming
Arts, Entertainment & Recreation
Construction
Education
Finance & Insurance
Healthcare & Social Work
Hospitality & Food Service
Information & Technology
Manufacturing
Mining & Quarrying
Other Services
Professional & Scientific Services
Public Administration & Defence
Retail & Wholesale Trade
Transport & Logistics
Utilities

2014 annual wages in Foumban, Cameroon · Source: ILO ILOSTAT (national)

Price Comparison vs. US

budget hotel
$20.00Estimated45% cheaper
luxury hotel
$190.00Estimated60% cheaper

Visa Information (US passport)

Short-stay entry

evisa

US passport holders need advance travel authorization or a visa before entry.

Quick comparison FAQ

Structured from the deltas already shown on this page — no invented facts, no extra data sources.

How far does your money go in Foumban compared with the US?

Your money goes about 2.8x further in Foumban than in the US, based on the current PPP estimate. We are using the country-level cost index for Cameroon here because a defensible city-level aggregate index is not available yet.

Is Foumban cheaper or more expensive overall than New York City?

Foumban is cheaper overall than New York City — overall living costs are about 59% cheaper than the global benchmark (New York City) for Foumban. We are using the country-level cost index for Cameroon here because a defensible city-level aggregate index is not available yet.

How does rent in Foumban compare with New York City?

Rent in Foumban is about 81% cheaper than the global benchmark (New York City). We are using the country-level cost index for Cameroon here because a defensible city-level aggregate index is not available yet.

How expensive are groceries and restaurants in Foumban?

Groceries in Foumban are about 62% cheaper than the global benchmark (New York City), and restaurant prices are about 55% cheaper than the same benchmark. We are using the country-level cost index for Cameroon here because a defensible city-level aggregate index is not available yet.

About Foumban

Foumban is the historic seat of the Bamoun sultanate in the West Region of Cameroon, sitting on the Western Highlands plateau roughly four hours by road northwest of Yaoundé. Population is about 130,000, and the town is the cultural center of the Bamoun people, with the Sultan's Palace, an ethnographic museum, and a long tradition of brass-casting, embroidery, and wood carving that supplies craft markets across Central Africa. French is the working language as in the rest of francophone Cameroon. Elevation around 1,200 meters gives a mild tropical highland climate with cool nights, a long rainy season from March to October, and a drier cooler stretch into early year. Foreign relocation is rare, mostly limited to researchers, French-speaking NGO staff, and the occasional craft-trade buyer working through Bamenda or Yaoundé.