Cost of living comparison

New Zealand

compared to

United States

Milwaukee vs. Auckland Cost of Living Summary

Milwaukee is 6.2% more expensive than Auckland.

Restaurants: pay 28.0% more in Milwaukee
Groceries: pay 10.0% more in Milwaukee
Transportation: pay 22.1% less in Milwaukee
Housing: pay 13.2% more in Milwaukee
Childcare: pay 42.5% more in Milwaukee
Entertainment and Sports: pay 2.3% less in Milwaukee
Clothing: pay 7.0% less in Milwaukee

The cost of childcare, restaurants, housing, and groceries in Milwaukee are more expensive than in Auckland. Expenses including transportation, clothing, and entertainment and sports are lower in Milwaukee.

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Milwaukee vs. Auckland Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Milwaukee instead of Auckland, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 28.0% more for restaurants

	Auckland	Milwaukee
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$14.01 NZ$24.77	$20.00	+42.8%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$8.96 NZ$15.85	$10.00	+11.6%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.98 NZ$3.50	$2.81	+42.1%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.76 NZ$3.12	$2.01	+14.0%
Average			+28.0%

Auckland vs. Milwaukee - Cost of restaurants

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pay 10.0% more for groceries

	Auckland	Milwaukee
Bread 1 loaf	$2.20 NZ$3.90	$3.50	+59.0%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.29 NZ$7.59	$5.05	+17.7%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.26 NZ$12.84	$3.07	-57.7%
Eggs 1 dozen	$6.26 NZ$11.08	$4.56	-27.1%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$4.51 NZ$7.97	$6.24	+38.4%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.30 NZ$2.29	$2.35	+80.7%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.95 NZ$1.69	$0.68	-29.0%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.34 NZ$2.37	$2.08	+55.4%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.63 NZ$4.65	$2.34	-10.9%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.95 NZ$1.68	$1.15	+21.2%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.70 NZ$1.24	$1.16	+66.3%
Average			+10.0%

Auckland vs. Milwaukee - Cost of groceries

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pay 22.1% less for transportation

	Auckland	Milwaukee
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$6.98 NZ$12.34	$3.83	-45.2%
Monthly public transit pass	$121.78 NZ$215.36	$72.00	-40.9%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$25,206.41 NZ$44,573.67	$35,957.00	+42.7%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$17.93 NZ$31.70	$15.60	-13.0%
Average			-22.1%

Auckland vs. Milwaukee - Cost of transportation

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pay 13.2% more for housing

	Auckland	Milwaukee
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$50.70 NZ$89.65	$71.38	+40.8%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,312.12 NZ$2,320.29	$1,725.50	+31.5%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,217.10 NZ$2,152.26	$1,168.00	-4.0%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$138.93 NZ$245.68	$152.08	+9.5%
Average			+13.2%

Auckland vs. Milwaukee - Cost of housing

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pay 42.5% more for childcare

	Auckland	Milwaukee
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,121.14 NZ$1,982.56	$1,821.67	+62.5%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$19,362.77 NZ$34,240.10	$24,200.00	+25.0%
Average			+42.5%

Auckland vs. Milwaukee - Cost of childcare

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pay 2.3% less for entertainment and sports

	Auckland	Milwaukee
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$6.72 NZ$11.89	$6.00	-10.7%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.41 NZ$6.02	$5.06	+48.4%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$27.17 NZ$48.05	$10.73	-60.5%
Monthly membership at local gym	$44.47 NZ$78.65	$42.55	-4.3%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$12.88 NZ$22.78	$14.22	+10.4%
Average			-2.3%

Auckland vs. Milwaukee - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 7.0% less for clothing

	Auckland	Milwaukee
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$79.70 NZ$140.94	$54.20	-32.0%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$40.10 NZ$70.91	$40.85	+1.9%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$92.74 NZ$164.01	$93.20	+0.5%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$109.54 NZ$193.71	$117.51	+7.3%
Average			-7.0%

Auckland vs. Milwaukee - Cost of clothing

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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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Auckland is about 20 times bigger than Milwaukee.

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