Why is there no single monthly household cost budget for the Solomon Islands?

Prices differ between Honiara, other towns, rural communities and outer islands, while customary land, household production, shared food and informal services reduce some cash payments without removing labour, transport or time costs. The CPI covers Honiara, Auki, Gizo and Noro rather than every locality and does not represent a complete rural household budget.

How should households in the Solomon Islands compare housing and utility costs?

Compare rent or customary-land maintenance with electricity, cooking fuel, water, wastewater, connection charges and commuting. Solomon Water tariffs apply in its service areas, while households elsewhere may rely on rainwater, public taps, springs, wells, tankers or community systems; electricity access and costs also differ sharply between towns and rural areas.

Which education costs should a household include in a Solomon Islands living-cost budget?

Include regulated school fees together with uniforms, stationery, excursions, extracurricular activities, transport and boarding supplies. For tertiary study, add tuition, application and registration fees, accommodation and meals; Solomon Islands National University fees vary by programme and semester.

How should a household budget for transport and health costs across the Solomon Islands?

Add normal local fares and a reserve for cargo, fuel, waiting days, meals, lodging and inter-island travel, especially when medical or education access requires travel. Public care is generally free for Solomon Islands nationals, but medicines, supplies, private treatment, authorised facility fees, transport and evacuation can create substantial household costs.

Costs in Solomon Islands

Living costs in Solomon Islands are paid in Solomon Islands dollars (SBD) and vary sharply by island, town, household and access to services. Food, transport, housing and utilities take the largest regular shares, while education, health, communication, family obligations and leisure add further costs. There is no single national monthly budget because cash prices, customary support and local service access differ between Honiara, other towns and rural communities.

Tip

Build a locality-specific household budget instead of relying on a national average. Separate unavoidable cash costs from customary support, household production and shared resources, then add reserves for travel, health, education, price changes and service disruptions.

byDoreen&George

The March 2026 national consumer price index rose 3.1% from the previous year and 4.2% over three months. Honiara rose 4.3%, Auki 2.4%, Gizo 0.3% and Noro 2.8%; Honiara carries 88.102% of the index weight, so its price movements strongly affect the national result. The index assigns 34.290% to food and non-alcoholic beverages, 17.549% to transport, 16.585% to housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels, 6.329% to communication, 2.656% to education, 0.272% to health and 1.372% to recreation and culture. These figures cover four urban places and are not a complete rural household budget. The SINSO HIES 2024–25 fieldwork covered all ten provinces, but new expenditure results were not yet published in the available research, and the CPI basket still relies on HIES 2012–13 data. Housing costs depend on tenure and customary land arrangements. In the 2019 Census, 79.9% of households occupied an owner-occupied home, including 82.0% in rural areas; 57.0% of urban households owned their homes outright. Among urban households, 18.2% rented from a private landlord, 9.3% lived rent-free and 6.2% had subsidised rent. Honiara contains 66.7% of all households renting from private landlords, while 58.2% of all households occupy customary-land leases. Rural village housing often involves tribal or kinship land with little direct cash rent but may require maintenance, customary access arrangements or other contributions. Urban housing on government or private leases more often adds rent, deposits, utilities and commuting costs. No reliable nationwide private-rent bands were found. Public Service Rental through the Government Housing Division follows a public-service process involving Human Resource Management endorsement, public-service approval, compliance checking, inspection, rental valuation, rent approval and a tenancy agreement; access depends on the public-service pathway, available funding and priority. Electricity is supplied by Solomon Power, also called SIEA, in areas with service access. Domestic prepaid electricity tariffs in May 2026 were SBD 6.05 per kWh below 50 kWh, SBD 6.56 from 50 to 200 kWh and SBD 7.09 above 200 kWh. A non-regular demand charge was SBD 1,081.62 per kW per month, plus fuel-related charges. Electricity access remains concentrated in towns: 15.3% of households used electricity-network lighting nationally, compared with 62.3% in Honiara and 4.0% in rural areas; solar was used by 81.1% nationally and 85.5% of rural households. Wood and coconut remained common cooking fuels, used by 84.0% of households nationally and 85.3% rurally, while gas use reached 55.8% in Honiara. Solomon Water serves Honiara, Tulagi, Auki and Noro. Its 2025 domestic water tariff was SBD 10.43 per kL for the first 15 kL, SBD 15.49 for 15–30 kL and SBD 18.01 above 30 kL. Wastewater charges were SBD 5.12, SBD 7.64 and SBD 8.89 per kL for the same bands, with a SBD 72.43 monthly standing charge and a SBD 3.13 per kL CashWater surcharge. A new connection required a SBD 1,370 deposit and SBD 1,675 installation charge. Outside service areas, households may depend on rainwater, public taps, springs, tankers, wells, surface water or community systems. Improved drinking-water sources covered 78.3% of households nationally, 90.6% in urban areas and 74.2% rurally; rainwater was the primary source for 22% nationally. Season and locality can therefore change both cash cost and the time required to obtain water. Food has the largest CPI weight. In March 2026, food prices rose 1.8% from the previous year, with food weights of 33.262% in Honiara, 40.300% in Auki, 43.624% in Gizo and 41.784% in Noro. Fresh produce, fish, household gardens, gifts and customary sharing can reduce cash spending, but they still involve labour, transport and opportunity costs. Imported staples and island freight create stronger provincial and seasonal price changes. The Consumer Affairs and Price Control Division of the Ministry of Commerce, Industry, Labour and Immigration monitors compliance with Price Control Act orders and maximum retail prices, especially in Honiara. Exact prices depend on the current order, outlet, island and season, and no single national food-basket amount was identified. Transport costs include fares, cargo, fuel, waiting time, meals and lodging. In Honiara, the licensed public bus fare is SBD 3 for adults and SBD 2 for school children or children on the Central Market–White River, KGVI and Borderline services. Outside Honiara, no unified national public-fare schedule was found. Inter-island boat and air prices vary by provider, destination, weather and season, and a rural or outer-island journey may require several days of waiting. Walking, shared rides, small boats and informal transport can reduce cash payments but may increase time and reliability risks. Vehicle ownership, fuel and maintenance create a high cash burden. Public outpatient and inpatient care is generally free for Solomon Islands nationals, but specific dental, radiology, laboratory, records, document and specialist outpatient services may carry fees. The National Referral Hospital budget includes medical fees, fees and charges and X-ray fee revenue lines, but no current public patient fee schedule was located. Household health costs commonly include medicines, supplies, private treatment, food, lodging, transport and medical evacuation. Non-residents and temporary residents may face different charges, so the facility should confirm the tariff before payment and payment should go through an authorised cashier. Regulated school fees provide clearer limits than many other costs. The fee caps maintained for 2025 set annual maximums of SBD 1,200 for urban primary day schools and SBD 250 for non-urban primary day schools; junior secondary day fees are capped at SBD 2,000 urban and SBD 800 non-urban, while junior secondary boarding is SBD 4,500 urban and SBD 2,800 non-urban. Senior secondary day fees are capped at SBD 4,000 urban and SBD 3,000 non-urban, and boarding fees at SBD 9,000 urban and SBD 7,200 non-urban. Schools cannot add compulsory enrolment, attendance or examination levies, and voluntary contributions cannot prevent attendance. Uniforms, stationery, excursions, extracurricular activities, transport and boarding supplies remain additional costs. Self-funded schools outside the regulated system may follow different fees, and hardship payment arrangements can be discussed with the school under the Education Regulations 2024. At Solomon Islands National University, many 2025 certificates cost about SBD 5,400–6,750 per semester, diplomas about SBD 6,600–9,900 and bachelor's programmes about SBD 7,500–12,200; application, registration and late-registration fees were SBD 50, SBD 500 and SBD 100. Accommodation was SBD 100 per term or SBD 7,000 for a ten-week block, while full meals cost SBD 100 per term and lunch SBD 50 per term. Semester schedules, scholarships and sponsorships require separate confirmation. Family costs are largely informal and include food, schooling, health, transport, crowded housing, care work, ceremonies, remittances, gifts and customary kin obligations. No nationwide universal family allowance or standard childcare payment was identified. The Child and Family Welfare System Multisectoral Implementation Plan 2025–2030 concerns protection and referral systems rather than a general cash benefit. SafeNet and related agencies can provide counselling, medical and legal support, shelter, child protection and police referral, with access based on the case and vulnerability. Communication is mainly prepaid or pay-as-you-go. Our Telekom RedHot offers included 1 GB for SBD 6 for one day, 4 GB for SBD 10 for one day, 10 GB for SBD 18 for two days, 20 GB for SBD 50 for six days and 35 GB for SBD 200 for 30 days. Voice packages included 20 minutes for SBD 5 for one day and 80 minutes for SBD 20 for seven days; text packages included 70 messages for SBD 3 and 260 for SBD 9. Our Telekom mobile rates were SBD 0.99 per minute on-net, SBD 1.50 off-net and SBD 0.50 per text. bmobile prepaid rates were SBD 1.45 per minute on-net, SBD 1.80 off-net, SBD 0.50 per on-net text and SBD 1.25 per off-net text. Device purchase, charging, solar power, travel to a top-up agent and data sharing add to the direct tariff. Selected Honiara locations offer public Wi-Fi with the first 15 minutes free. Leisure may require little cash in rural and community settings, but Honiara facilities and events can charge fixed prices. A Honiara Gazette schedule lists gym access at SBD 10 per session for affiliated members and SBD 20 for non-members, with membership at SBD 200 for three months. Field or tennis use costs about SBD 350 per session or day. Domestic sports entry is SBD 20 for adults and SBD 10 for children in Honiara, SBD 50 and SBD 20 provincially, and SBD 60 and SBD 30 internationally. Venue and event hire ranges from about SBD 150 to SBD 12,000 per session depending on the type of use. Community sport, church and cultural events, beaches and customary recreation may have no fixed entry price but still involve transport, food and time. A workable household budget should use separate envelopes for housing or customary-land maintenance, water, electricity, lighting and cooking, food, mobility including an inter-island reserve, communication, health and medicine, education, family and ceremonial obligations, leisure and emergencies. Use Honiara, Auki, Gizo or Noro CPI as an urban price signal rather than a national rural budget. Review food, fuel, transport and utility prices regularly, and include non-cash production, shared resources and travel time rather than counting cash payments alone. Banks are payment and top-up channels, debt concerns begin when arrears or credit obligations arise, and taxes may already be included in prices; these subjects should not be confused with the household cost itself.