Quality of life comparison

compared to

If you lived in New Zealand instead of New York, you would:

Health

be 13.8% more likely to be obese

In New York, 29.9% of adults are obese as of 2022. In New Zealand, that number is 34.0% of people as of 2024.

View global rankings →

Economy

be 15.5% more likely to be unemployed

In New York, 4.4% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In New Zealand, that number is 5.1% as of 2025.

View global rankings →

make 46.1% less money

New York has a GDP per capita of $91,992 as of 2024, while in New Zealand, the GDP per capita is $49,591 as of 2025.

View global rankings →

Sources: World Bank (2025), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (PLACES) (2022), World Health Organization (2024), Bureau of Labor Statistics (2025), Bureau of Economic Analysis (2024). How we calculate this

Compare further: New York vs. New Zealand

Cost of Living Comparison · 6 categories - 2026 data
New Zealand is 32.7% cheaper than New York
→
Size Comparison · See true size
New York is about 2.2 times smaller than New Zealand.
→
Moving from New York to New Zealand · Cost, visas & climate
Compare cost of living, salary and climate.
→
City Size Comparison · See true size
Compare the size of New York City vs Auckland
→

New Zealand: At a glance

New Zealand (sometimes abbreviated NZ) is a sovereign country in Australia-Oceania, with a total land area of approximately 264,537 sq km. The Polynesian Maori reached New Zealand in about A.D. 800. In 1840, their chieftains entered into a compact with Britain, the Treaty of Waitangi, in which they ceded sovereignty to Queen Victoria while retaining territorial rights. That same year, the British began the first organized colonial settlement. A series of land wars between 1843 and 1872 ended with the defeat of the native peoples. The British colony of New Zealand became an independent dominion in 1907 and supported the UK militarily in both world wars. New Zealand's full participation in a number of defense alliances lapsed by the 1980s. In recent years, the government has sought to address longstanding Maori grievances.
Read more

How big is New Zealand compared to New York? See an in-depth size comparison.

Share this

Ask the Elsewhere Community

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about New Zealand or United States. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.