Cost of living comparison

New Zealand

compared to

United States

Minneapolis vs. Auckland Cost of Living Summary

Minneapolis is 16.1% more expensive than Auckland.

Restaurants: pay 46.1% more in Minneapolis
Groceries: pay 27.3% more in Minneapolis
Transportation: pay 16.1% less in Minneapolis
Housing: pay 17.1% more in Minneapolis
Childcare: pay 50.7% more in Minneapolis
Entertainment and Sports: pay 24.2% more in Minneapolis
Clothing: pay 4.7% less in Minneapolis

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

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Minneapolis vs. Auckland Cost Breakdown

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

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pay 46.1% more for restaurants

	Auckland	Minneapolis
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$14.01 NZ$24.77	$22.00	+57.1%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$8.96 NZ$15.85	$12.00	+33.9%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.98 NZ$3.50	$3.16	+59.7%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.76 NZ$3.12	$2.31	+31.3%
Average			+46.1%

Auckland vs. Minneapolis - Cost of restaurants

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pay 27.3% more for groceries

	Auckland	Minneapolis
Bread 1 loaf	$2.20 NZ$3.90	$3.58	+62.5%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.29 NZ$7.59	$5.14	+19.7%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.26 NZ$12.84	$3.28	-54.8%
Eggs 1 dozen	$6.26 NZ$11.08	$3.66	-41.5%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$4.51 NZ$7.97	$6.15	+36.5%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.30 NZ$2.29	$2.63	+102.3%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.95 NZ$1.69	$0.83	-12.6%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.34 NZ$2.37	$3.02	+125.9%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.63 NZ$4.65	$2.35	-10.6%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.95 NZ$1.68	$2.00	+110.5%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.70 NZ$1.24	$1.89	+170.6%
Average			+27.3%

Auckland vs. Minneapolis - Cost of groceries

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pay 16.1% less for transportation

	Auckland	Minneapolis
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$6.98 NZ$12.34	$3.96	-43.2%
Monthly public transit pass	$121.78 NZ$215.36	$84.75	-30.4%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$25,206.41 NZ$44,573.67	$36,244.00	+43.8%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$17.93 NZ$31.70	$18.68	+4.2%
Average			-16.1%

Auckland vs. Minneapolis - Cost of transportation

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pay 17.1% more for housing

	Auckland	Minneapolis
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$50.70 NZ$89.65	$71.25	+40.5%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,312.12 NZ$2,320.29	$1,778.29	+35.5%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,217.10 NZ$2,152.26	$1,284.29	+5.5%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$138.93 NZ$245.68	$136.55	-1.7%
Average			+17.1%

Auckland vs. Minneapolis - Cost of housing

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pay 50.7% more for childcare

	Auckland	Minneapolis
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,121.14 NZ$1,982.56	$1,364.44	+21.7%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$19,362.77 NZ$34,240.10	$36,151.80	+86.7%
Average			+50.7%

Auckland vs. Minneapolis - Cost of childcare

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pay 24.2% more for entertainment and sports

	Auckland	Minneapolis
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$6.72 NZ$11.89	$7.00	+4.1%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.41 NZ$6.02	$6.62	+94.5%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$27.17 NZ$48.05	$13.00	-52.2%
Monthly membership at local gym	$44.47 NZ$78.65	$65.11	+46.4%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$12.88 NZ$22.78	$16.00	+24.2%
Average			+24.2%

Auckland vs. Minneapolis - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 4.7% less for clothing

	Auckland	Minneapolis
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$79.70 NZ$140.94	$57.94	-27.3%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$40.10 NZ$70.91	$44.06	+9.9%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$92.74 NZ$164.01	$99.10	+6.9%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$109.54 NZ$193.71	$106.02	-3.2%
Average			-4.7%

Auckland vs. Minneapolis - 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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Size Comparison · See true size

Auckland is about 35 times bigger than Minneapolis.

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