Cost of Living: New York vs Maldives (Malé)
How expensive is the Maldives compared with New York City? The national price level of everyday spending versus the New York metro area, and the salary — in US dollars and MVR — that buys the same standard of living.
Salary converter
Before taxes. Income tax, sales tax and benefits differ a lot between places and aren’t included.
The numbers
- Cities
- Malé
- Price level vs US average
- 62.1 (New York metro: 112.6)
- Exchange rate (2025 avg.)
- 1 USD = 15.4 MVR
- Purchasing-power parity
- 1 USD of US-average spending ≈ 9.574 MVR
- Source
- World Bank, PPP conversion factor for private consumption ÷ exchange rate (2025); New York: BEA 2024
⚠️ This is the Maldives’s national average. Major cities — especially Malé — are usually more expensive, mostly because of rent, so treat this as a lower bound for big-city living.
Frequently asked questions
Is the Maldives cheaper than New York?
Yes. The Maldives is 45% cheaper than the New York metro area overall (index 55, New York = 100).
What salary in the Maldives equals $100,000 in New York?
About $55,176 a year (about MVR 850,570 at purchasing-power parity) buys the same standard of living in the Maldives as $100,000 in the New York metro area, before taxes.
Is Malé more expensive than the Maldives’s national average?
Usually, yes. The comparison here uses the Maldives’s national average price level; large cities such as Malé typically cost more than the national figure, especially for rent.
Where does this data come from?
World Bank price levels of household consumption for 2025 (purchasing power parity conversion factor divided by the market exchange rate), compared with BEA’s 2024 figure for the New York metro area.