Cost of Living inAccra, Ghana
Image credit: Guido Sohne
Purchasing Power vs. United States
Based on GDP per capita (PPP). Ghana: $7,056/capita.
How Far Your Money Goes
Prices are 63% lower than the global benchmark (New York City = 100).
Income Category
Happiness
4.3 / 10
#118 globally
GDP per Capita
City Population
Monthly Costs
Rent
Food
Transport
Utilities
Education
Child Education
Public-school quality + expat access, alongside international and private school cost — the two paths a relocating family weighs.
Public schools
Public-schooling rules are set nationally for Ghana; Accra-specific enrollment notes are still being verified.
Quality
Mixed public schools (English-medium)
Expat access
English instruction is a real advantage
conditionalInstruction
English
Language fit is more manageable.
PISA / outcomes
Qualitative only
Using curated quality notes for now.
Why this quality rating
Ghana is unusual in West Africa for having English as the official instruction language throughout public schooling. Quality varies widely. Accra has a growing private and international school ecosystem for expat families.
Why the expat-access rating looks like this
Resident families can enroll in public schools with English-medium instruction. Quality and infrastructure vary by district; private schools are common for expat families wanting higher quality.
❓ Homeschooling
Not specifically regulatedGhana does not have specific homeschooling laws. Basic education is free and compulsory, but homeschooling is not explicitly prohibited. Some families homeschool in Accra without interference.
Homeschool legality in Ghana — check current regulations before committing.
Source: User-curated family relocation research (initial seed) (2026-04-14)
International & private schools
Childcare & Domestic Help
Current nanny and household-help pricing snapshot for Accra, Ghana.
Full-time nanny (5 days)
$400-$550
monthly · confidence 0.65
Live-in / 24-7 nanny
$700-$950
monthly · confidence 0.65
Source: curated family relocation research
Getting Around
The concrete mobility picture for Accra: airport access, urban transit, and rideshare practicality.
Airport
International airport
Kotoka gives Accra practical regional and long-haul air coverage without the scale of a major multi-hub gateway.
Urban transit
Bus and tro-tro network
Accra remains road-led, with buses and tro-tros handling most daily mobility rather than rail or metro.
Rideshare
Uber and Bolt available
Uber and Bolt are a normal complement when bus routes are indirect or timing is weak.
Source: User-curated family relocation research (initial seed) (2026-04-14)
Healthcare
System strength, outcome signals, facility coverage, and self-pay visibility in Ghana.
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.
Healthcare system
LimitedCoverage looks thinner, doctor staffing is lighter, and hospital capacity looks tighter weigh on this rating.
Public care
LimitedA visible public hospital footprint help, but public coverage looks thinner and country-level outcomes are weaker.
Private care
MixedA meaningful tracked hospital and clinic network and a clearly private facility base help, but self-pay pricing transparency is still sparse.
UHC coverage
56/100
2023
Physicians
0.27/1k
2023
Hospital beds
0.69/1k
2015
Out of pocket
27%
2023
Outcome signals
Life expectancy
65.7 yrs
2024
Maternal mortality
234/100k
2023
Neonatal mortality
18.1/1k
2024
International patient readiness
MixedA visible private hospital base and multiple facilities have websites help, but price transparency is still sparse and headline outcomes are less reassuring.
Pricing transparency
LimitedMultiple facilities have crawlable websites help, but published self-pay prices are scarce.
Facility coverage
Self-pay pricing visibility
No verified self-pay prices are published for the tracked facilities in Ghana yet.
This usually reflects low online price transparency rather than a lack of healthcare providers.
Notable facilities
System metrics: World Bank WDI · Updated 2026-06-01
Safety & Governance
Street Safety
Source: Numbeo where a city row is matched; otherwise World Bank WGI and country-level safety context.
Political Stability
World Bank WGI scale: -2.5 to +2.5.
Wages by Sector
| Sector | Median |
|---|---|
| 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 | — |
| Real Estate | — |
| Retail & Wholesale Trade | — |
| Transport & Logistics | — |
| Utilities | — |
2024 annual wages in Accra, Ghana · Source: ILO ILOSTAT (national)
Price Comparison vs. US
Visa Information (US passport)
Short-stay entry
US passport holders can obtain a visa on arrival.
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 Accra compared with the US?
Your money goes about 2.8x further in Accra than in the US, based on the current PPP estimate.
Is Accra cheaper or more expensive overall than New York City?
Accra is cheaper overall than New York City — overall living costs are about 63% cheaper than the global benchmark (New York City) for Accra.
How does rent in Accra compare with New York City?
Rent in Accra is about 90% cheaper than the global benchmark (New York City).
How expensive are groceries and restaurants in Accra?
Groceries in Accra are about 58% cheaper than the global benchmark (New York City), and restaurant prices are about 61% cheaper than the same benchmark.
About Accra
Accra is the capital of Ghana and the principal city on West Africa's Gulf of Guinea coast, anchoring an economy built on gold, cocoa, oil, and a fast-growing services sector. It has positioned itself as one of the most stable democracies on the continent, which combined with English as the official language and a 2023 visa-free policy for African passports has made it a leading hub for returnee diaspora and remote workers across the region. Relocators should weigh real infrastructure tradeoffs: chronic dumsor power cuts, congested traffic, and rapid rent inflation in Cantonments, Airport Residential, and East Legon. Climate is hot and humid year-round with a relatively dry harmattan window from December to February.
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