Cost of living comparison

United Arab Emirates

compared to

New Zealand

Palmerston North vs. Abu Dhabi Cost of Living Summary

Palmerston North is 29.9% more expensive than Abu Dhabi.

Restaurants: pay 2.2 times more in Palmerston North
Groceries: pay 26.5% more in Palmerston North
Transportation: pay 94.5% more in Palmerston North
Housing: pay 46.3% less in Palmerston North
Childcare: pay 4.2% less in Palmerston North
Clothing: pay 10.2% less in Palmerston North

The cost of restaurants, transportation, and groceries in Palmerston North are more expensive than in Abu Dhabi. Expenses including housing, clothing, childcare, and entertainment and sports are lower in Palmerston North. Notably, restaurants and transportation are significantly more expensive in Palmerston North.

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Palmerston North vs. Abu Dhabi Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Palmerston North instead of Abu Dhabi, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 2.2 times more for restaurants

	Abu Dhabi	Palmerston North
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$10.89 AED40.00	$14.42 NZ$24.68	+32.4%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$9.53 AED35.00	$9.91 NZ$16.96	+4.0%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.29 AED4.74	$2.36 NZ$4.03	+82.8%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.44 AED1.61	$2.01 NZ$3.44	+357.5%
Average			+119.2%

Abu Dhabi vs. Palmerston North - Cost of restaurants

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pay 26.5% more for groceries

	Abu Dhabi	Palmerston North
Bread 1 loaf	$1.60 AED5.89	$1.99 NZ$3.41	+24.3%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.28 AED19.39	$3.89 NZ$6.66	-26.2%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.50 AED27.54	$7.12 NZ$12.17	-5.1%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.64 AED13.37	$5.13 NZ$8.78	+41.0%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$4.12 AED15.11	$3.99 NZ$6.83	-3.0%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.15 AED4.21	$1.07 NZ$1.83	-6.5%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.82 AED3.00	$0.80 NZ$1.37	-1.5%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.83 AED3.05	$1.08 NZ$1.85	+30.2%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.67 AED2.46	$1.48 NZ$2.53	+119.9%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.53 AED1.96	$0.91 NZ$1.57	+71.6%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.65 AED2.39	$0.95 NZ$1.63	+46.3%
Average			+26.5%

Abu Dhabi vs. Palmerston North - Cost of groceries

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pay 94.5% more for transportation

	Abu Dhabi	Palmerston North
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$2.94 AED10.80	$6.11 NZ$10.45	+107.7%
Monthly public transit pass	$25.87 AED95.00	$70.50 NZ$120.62	+172.5%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$44,639.07 AED164K	$22,211.80 NZ$38,004.63	-50.2%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$7.62 AED28.00	$18.92 NZ$32.38	+148.2%
Average			+94.5%

Abu Dhabi vs. Palmerston North - Cost of transportation

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pay 46.3% less for housing

	Abu Dhabi	Palmerston North
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$100.96 AED370.79	$45.43 NZ$77.74	-55.0%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,490.68 AED5,474.52	$807.70 NZ$1,381.99	-45.8%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,109.19 AED4,073.48	$663.47 NZ$1,135.20	-40.2%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$115.93 AED425.75	$64.71 NZ$110.71	-44.2%
Average			-46.3%

Abu Dhabi vs. Palmerston North - Cost of housing

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pay 4.2% less for childcare

	Abu Dhabi	Palmerston North
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$625.43 AED2,296.88	$961.55 NZ$1,645.22	+53.7%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$12,786.81 AED46,959.57	$4,843.04 NZ$8,286.49	-62.1%
Average			-4.2%

Abu Dhabi vs. Palmerston North - Cost of childcare

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pay (unknown) more for entertainment and sports

	Abu Dhabi	Palmerston North
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$11.29 AED41.45	$6.44 NZ$11.01	-43.0%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$5.77 AED21.18	$3.32 NZ$5.68	-42.5%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$6.26 AED23.00	$17.88 NZ$30.60	+185.6%
Monthly membership at local gym	$62.90 AED230.98	$22.69 NZ$38.83	-63.9%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$13.61 AED50.00	$8.65 NZ$14.81	-36.4%

Abu Dhabi vs. Palmerston North - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 10.2% less for clothing

	Abu Dhabi	Palmerston North
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$60.62 AED222.62	$66.35 NZ$113.52	+9.5%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$51.93 AED190.71	$36.06 NZ$61.70	-30.6%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$98.09 AED360.23	$87.26 NZ$149.30	-11.0%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$96.21 AED353.33	$87.98 NZ$150.54	-8.6%
Average			-10.2%

Abu Dhabi vs. Palmerston North - Cost of clothing

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The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you. We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: July 2026

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