Cost of living comparison
compared to
Ames vs. Auckland Cost of Living Summary
Ames is 7.0% cheaper than Auckland.
Ames vs. Auckland Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Ames instead of Auckland, you would:
pay 31.3% more for restaurants
|
Auckland
|
Ames
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$14.01
NZ$24.77
|
$18.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$8.96
NZ$15.85
|
$12.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$1.98
NZ$3.50
|
$2.67
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.76
NZ$3.12
|
$2.31
|
|
Auckland vs. Ames - Cost of restaurants
pay 26.4% more for groceries
|
Auckland
|
Ames
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$2.20
NZ$3.90
|
$3.58
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$4.29
NZ$7.59
|
$5.14
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$7.26
NZ$12.84
|
$3.28
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$6.26
NZ$11.08
|
$3.42
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$4.51
NZ$7.97
|
$6.15
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.30
NZ$2.29
|
$2.63
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.95
NZ$1.69
|
$0.83
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.34
NZ$2.37
|
$3.00
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.63
NZ$4.65
|
$2.33
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.95
NZ$1.68
|
$2.00
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.70
NZ$1.24
|
$1.89
|
|
Auckland vs. Ames - Cost of groceries
pay 41.9% less for transportation
|
Auckland
|
Ames
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$6.98
NZ$12.34
|
$3.58
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$121.78
NZ$215.36
|
$35.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$25,206.41
NZ$44,573.67
|
$25,000.00
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$17.93
NZ$31.70
|
$18.68
|
|
Auckland vs. Ames - Cost of transportation
pay 21.6% less for housing
|
Auckland
|
Ames
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$50.70
NZ$89.65
|
$71.25
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,312.12
NZ$2,320.29
|
$1,020.00
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,217.10
NZ$2,152.26
|
$822.75
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$138.93
NZ$245.68
|
$136.55
|
|
Auckland vs. Ames - Cost of housing
pay 50.7% more for childcare
|
Auckland
|
Ames
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,121.14
NZ$1,982.56
|
$1,364.44
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$19,362.77
NZ$34,240.10
|
$36,151.80
|
|
Auckland vs. Ames - Cost of childcare
pay 6.3% more for entertainment and sports
|
Auckland
|
Ames
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$6.72
NZ$11.89
|
$4.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$3.41
NZ$6.02
|
$5.00
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$27.17
NZ$48.05
|
$13.00
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$44.47
NZ$78.65
|
$68.33
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$12.88
NZ$22.78
|
$16.00
|
|
Auckland vs. Ames - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 6.9% less for clothing
|
Auckland
|
Ames
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$79.70
NZ$140.94
|
$57.94
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$40.10
NZ$70.91
|
$44.06
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$92.74
NZ$164.01
|
$90.00
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$109.54
NZ$193.71
|
$106.02
|
|
Auckland vs. Ames - Cost of clothing
We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated October 2026). How we calculate this
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Compare further: Auckland vs. Ames
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