Obuase

Cost of Living inObuase, Ghana

Ashanti, Ghana180KLower middle income

Image credit: Onelija

Purchasing Power vs. United States

Your money goes 2.77x further

Based on GDP per capita (PPP). Ghana: $7,056/capita.

How Far Your Money Goes

Prices are 66% 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
2.9x further
Prices are 66% lower than the global benchmark (New York City = 100).
Rent
9.2x further
Prices are 89% lower than the global benchmark (New York City = 100).
Groceries
2.7x further
Prices are 63% lower than the global benchmark (New York City = 100).
Restaurants
2.8x further
Prices are 65% lower than the global benchmark (New York City = 100).

Income Category

Lower Middle
World Bank GNI

Happiness

4.3 / 10

#118 globally

GDP per Capita

$7,056
PPP, International $

City Population

180K

Child Education

Public-school quality, expat access, instruction language, and homeschool legality for relocating families.

Public schools

Public-schooling rules are set nationally for Ghana; Obuase-specific enrollment notes are still being verified.

Mixed public schools (English-medium)

Quality

Mixed public schools (English-medium)

Expat access

English instruction is a real advantage

conditional

Instruction

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.

โ“ Homeschooling

Not specifically regulated

Ghana 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 โ€” check current regulations before committing.

Source: User-curated family relocation research (initial seed) (2026-04-14)

Childcare & Domestic Help

Estimate-only country fallback for the family-support costs we track in Ghana.

Full-time nanny (5 days)

$400-$550

Estimate-only country fallback

Live-in / 24-7 nanny

$700-$950

Estimate-only country fallback

Source: curated family relocation research(derived country fallback)

Getting Around

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

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.

2 facilities tracked
Facilities updated 2 months ago

Healthcare system

Limited

Coverage looks thinner, doctor staffing is lighter, and hospital capacity looks tighter weigh on this rating.

Public care

Limited

Public coverage looks thinner and country-level outcomes are weaker 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

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

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: 1Pharmacy: 1

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

SDA Hospital
Hospital ยท Emergency
D. B. Twumasi Chemicals OTC Medicine
Pharmacy

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

Safety & Governance

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

Street Safety

Safety Index48/100
Crime Index52/100

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

Political Stability

Political Stability-0.04

World Bank WGI scale: -2.5 to +2.5.

Wages by Sector

SectorMedian
Administrative & Support Servicesโ€”
Agriculture & Farmingโ€”
Arts, Entertainment & Recreationโ€”
Constructionโ€”
Educationโ€”
Finance & Insuranceโ€”
Healthcare & Social Workโ€”
Hospitality & Food Serviceโ€”
Information & Technologyโ€”
Manufacturingโ€”
Mining & Quarryingโ€”
Other Servicesโ€”
Professional & Scientific Servicesโ€”
Public Administration & Defenceโ€”
Real Estateโ€”
Retail & Wholesale Tradeโ€”
Transport & Logisticsโ€”
Utilitiesโ€”

2024 annual wages in Obuase, Ghana ยท Source: ILO ILOSTAT (national)

Price Comparison vs. US

bread 500g
$1.52Estimated55% cheaper
budget hotel
$16.00Estimated56% cheaper
childcare preschool
$1232.13Estimated21% cheaper
eggs dozen
$5.07Estimated5% more
gasoline liter
$1.16Estimated13% more
inexpensive meal
$15.50Estimated27% cheaper
internet 60mbps
$55.09Estimated19% cheaper
luxury hotel
$183.33Estimated62% cheaper
milk liter
$2.75Estimated125% more
monthly pass
$62.27Estimated10% cheaper
rent 1br
$1576.48Estimated13% cheaper
rent 3br
$3108.66Estimated2% cheaper
taxi km
$1.18Estimated37% cheaper
utilities basic
$156.56Estimated27% cheaper

Visa Information (US passport)

Short-stay entry

visa on arrival

US passport holders can obtain a visa on arrival.

Quick comparison FAQ

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

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

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

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

Obuase is cheaper overall than New York City โ€” overall living costs are about 66% cheaper than the global benchmark (New York City) for Obuase. We are using the country-level cost index for Ghana here because a defensible city-level aggregate index is not available yet.

How does rent in Obuase compare with New York City?

Rent in Obuase is about 89% cheaper than the global benchmark (New York City). We are using the country-level cost index for Ghana here because a defensible city-level aggregate index is not available yet.

How expensive are groceries and restaurants in Obuase?

Groceries in Obuase are about 63% cheaper than the global benchmark (New York City), and restaurant prices are about 65% cheaper than the same benchmark. We are using the country-level cost index for Ghana here because a defensible city-level aggregate index is not available yet.

About Obuase

Obuase, more commonly spelled Obuasi, is a mining town in the Ashanti Region of Ghana, sitting in the forest belt about 65 kilometers south of Kumasi. The town is dominated by the Obuasi gold mine, one of the largest in West Africa and now operated by AngloGold Ashanti, with continuous gold extraction recorded since the late 19th century. The local economy is overwhelmingly tied to the mine and its supply chain, with cocoa farming across the surrounding forest belt as the secondary livelihood. English is the working language, with Twi widely spoken. For relocation, the practical context is a humid tropical climate with two rainy seasons, dependence on the mining cycle for formal employment, and road access to Kumasi for tertiary healthcare and air connections via Kumasi Airport.