Cost of Living inLae, Papua New Guinea
Image credit: Phenss
Purchasing Power vs. United States
Based on GDP per capita (PPP). Papua New Guinea: $4,289/capita.
How Far Your Money Goes
Prices are 53% 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.
Income Category
GDP per Capita
City Population
Child Education
Public-schooling rules and international-school pricing are not sourced for Papua New Guinea 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 Lae. 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.Lae is still missing a verified walkability, transit, airport, and rideshare profile.
Healthcare
System strength, outcome signals, facility coverage, and self-pay visibility in Papua New Guinea.
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
LimitedLow out-of-pocket burden help, but coverage looks thinner and doctor staffing is lighter.
Public care
LimitedStrong public funding and relatively low patient cost-sharing help, but public coverage looks thinner and country-level outcomes are weaker.
Private care
LimitedThe tracked private-style network still looks thin and self-pay pricing transparency is still sparse weigh on this rating.
UHC coverage
32/100
2023
Physicians
0.06/1k
2023
Hospital beds
0.62/1k
2023
Out of pocket
9%
2023
Outcome signals
Life expectancy
66.3 yrs
2024
Maternal mortality
189/100k
2023
Neonatal mortality
20.1/1k
2024
International patient readiness
LimitedPrice transparency is still sparse and headline outcomes are less reassuring weigh on this rating.
Pricing transparency
LimitedPublished self-pay prices are scarce weigh on this rating.
Facility coverage
Self-pay pricing visibility
No verified self-pay prices are published for the tracked facilities in Papua New Guinea 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 Lae, Papua New Guinea · Source: GDP-derived estimate (national)
Price Comparison vs. US
Visa Information (US passport)
Short-stay entry
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 Lae compared with the US?
Your money goes about 1.8x further in Lae than in the US, based on the current PPP estimate. We are using the country-level cost index for Papua New Guinea here because a defensible city-level aggregate index is not available yet.
Is Lae cheaper or more expensive overall than New York City?
Lae is cheaper overall than New York City — overall living costs are about 53% cheaper than the global benchmark (New York City) for Lae. We are using the country-level cost index for Papua New Guinea here because a defensible city-level aggregate index is not available yet.
How does rent in Lae compare with New York City?
Rent in Lae is about 71% cheaper than the global benchmark (New York City). We are using the country-level cost index for Papua New Guinea here because a defensible city-level aggregate index is not available yet.
How expensive are groceries and restaurants in Lae?
Groceries in Lae are about 46% 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 Papua New Guinea here because a defensible city-level aggregate index is not available yet.
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