North America · Santo Domingo
Cost of living in Dominican Republic
Dominican Republic is 60% cheaper than the US, ranking #117 of 203 countries we cover for cost of living.
World Bank data through 2024 · last reviewed 2026-06.
What drives the cost here
Price levels by category, where the world average = 100. Above 100 is pricier than the global norm; below it is cheaper.
In Dominican Republic, communication is the priciest category relative to the world (129), while housing & utilities is the most affordable (26).
Category price levels: World Bank ICP 2021 (world average = 100) · source
What your money is worth here
A $100,000 US lifestyle would cost roughly $40,000 in Dominican Republic.
Quality of life
69/100 · #121 of 198Beyond cost — health, safety, and connectivity. The score is a transparent, equal-weight composite of the verified metrics below (see methodology).
About Dominican Republic
The Taino -- indigenous inhabitants of Hispaniola prior to the arrival of Europeans -- divided the island now known as the Dominican Republic and Haiti into five chiefdoms and territories. Christopher COLUMBUS explored and claimed the island on his first voyage in 1492; it became a springboard for Spanish conquest of the Caribbean and the American mainland. In 1697, Spain recognized French dominion over the western third of the island, which in 1804 became Haiti.
Read the full background
The remainder of the island, by then known as Santo Domingo, sought to gain its own independence in 1821, but the Haitians conquered and ruled it for 22 years; it finally attained independence as the Dominican Republic in 1844. In 1861, the Dominicans voluntarily returned to the Spanish Empire, but two years later, they launched a war that restored independence in 1865. A legacy of unsettled and mostly non-representative rule followed, capped by the dictatorship of Rafael Leonidas TRUJILLO from 1930 to 1961. Juan BOSCH was elected president in 1962 but was deposed in a military coup in 1963. In 1965, the US led an intervention in the midst of a civil war sparked by an uprising to restore BOSCH. In 1966, Joaquin BALAGUER defeated BOSCH in the presidential election. BALAGUER maintained a tight grip on power for most of the next 30 years, until international reaction to flawed elections forced him to curtail his term in 1996. Since then, regular competitive elections have been held.
Background from the CIA World Factbook (public domain), archived 2026-06-03.
Frequently asked
Is Dominican Republic expensive to live in?
Dominican Republic is 60% cheaper than the US, ranking #117 of the 203 countries we track. Its most expensive category relative to the world is communication; housing & utilities costs the least.
How much money do you need to live in Dominican Republic?
A lifestyle that costs $100,000 in the United States would cost roughly $40,000 in Dominican Republic, going by overall price levels. The salary translator turns your own figure into a local equivalent.
Is Dominican Republic cheaper than the United States?
Yes. Its overall price level is 40.1, against 100 for the United States.
What is the quality of life in Dominican Republic?
Dominican Republic scores 69 out of 100 on our quality-of-life index (#121 of 198), a composite of life expectancy, safety, health, and connectivity, with life expectancy around 74 years.
Every number, sourced.
We cite the exact source and year for each figure. Derived values are computed at build time, never hand-entered.
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