Cost of living comparison

United States

compared to

New Zealand

Palmerston North vs. Bloomington Cost of Living Summary

Palmerston North is 0.7% more expensive than Bloomington.

Restaurants: pay 13.3% more in Palmerston North
Groceries: pay 6.1% more in Palmerston North
Transportation: pay 63.4% more in Palmerston North
Housing: pay 40.0% less in Palmerston North
Childcare: pay 55.4% less in Palmerston North
Entertainment and Sports: pay 8.5% more in Palmerston North
Clothing: pay 8.9% more in Palmerston North

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

Planning a move to New Zealand? Get up to 5 free, no-obligation quotes from vetted international movers. Get free quotes →

Palmerston North vs. Bloomington Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Palmerston North instead of Bloomington, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 13.3% more for restaurants

	Bloomington	Palmerston North
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$15.00	$14.42 NZ$24.68	-3.8%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$10.00	$9.91 NZ$16.96	-0.9%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.12	$2.36 NZ$4.03	+11.1%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.37	$2.01 NZ$3.44	+46.9%
Average			+13.3%

Bloomington vs. Palmerston North - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 6.1% more for groceries

	Bloomington	Palmerston North
Bread 1 loaf	$2.31	$1.99 NZ$3.41	-13.8%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.18	$3.89 NZ$6.66	-24.8%
Milk (1 gallon)	$2.95	$7.12 NZ$12.17	+141.6%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.41	$5.13 NZ$8.78	+50.3%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$4.72	$3.99 NZ$6.83	-15.4%
Apples (1 lb)	$2.00	$1.07 NZ$1.83	-46.4%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.58	$0.80 NZ$1.37	+37.9%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.00	$1.08 NZ$1.85	+7.9%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.82	$1.48 NZ$2.53	-18.9%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.15	$0.91 NZ$1.57	-20.4%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.37	$0.95 NZ$1.63	-30.4%
Average			+6.1%

Bloomington vs. Palmerston North - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 63.4% more for transportation

	Bloomington	Palmerston North
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$3.01	$6.11 NZ$10.45	+102.7%
Monthly public transit pass	$30.11	$70.50 NZ$120.62	+134.2%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$36,036.53	$22,211.80 NZ$38,004.63	-38.4%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$12.20	$18.92 NZ$32.38	+55.1%
Average			+63.4%

Bloomington vs. Palmerston North - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 40.0% less for housing

	Bloomington	Palmerston North
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$61.07	$45.43 NZ$77.74	-25.6%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,600.00	$807.70 NZ$1,381.99	-49.5%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,333.33	$663.47 NZ$1,135.20	-50.2%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$99.39	$64.71 NZ$110.71	-34.9%
Average			-40.0%

Bloomington vs. Palmerston North - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 55.4% less for childcare

	Bloomington	Palmerston North
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,566.11	$961.55 NZ$1,645.22	-38.6%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$17,408.00	$4,843.04 NZ$8,286.49	-72.2%
Average			-55.4%

Bloomington vs. Palmerston North - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 8.5% more for entertainment and sports

	Bloomington	Palmerston North
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$5.17	$6.44 NZ$11.01	+24.4%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$4.72	$3.32 NZ$5.68	-29.7%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$8.18	$17.88 NZ$30.60	+118.8%
Monthly membership at local gym	$39.99	$22.69 NZ$38.83	-43.3%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$12.00	$8.65 NZ$14.81	-27.9%
Average			+8.5%

Bloomington vs. Palmerston North - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 8.9% more for clothing

	Bloomington	Palmerston North
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$39.71	$66.35 NZ$113.52	+67.1%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$42.50	$36.06 NZ$61.70	-15.2%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$88.89	$87.26 NZ$149.30	-1.8%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$102.78	$87.98 NZ$150.54	-14.4%
Average			+8.9%

Bloomington vs. Palmerston North - Cost of clothing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

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

Compare further: Bloomington vs. Palmerston North

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in Palmerston North?

More cost comparisons

Bloomington vs.

Madrid

Bloomington vs.

Warsaw

Bloomington vs.

Athens

Bloomington vs.

Papeete

Bloomington vs.

Canberra

Bloomington vs.

Algiers

Bloomington vs.

Paris

Bloomington vs.

Kiev

Share this

Compare countries by overall cost of living

See the cost of living in United States vs. New Zealand. This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within United States and New Zealand.

Help us improve these prices

MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate. Learn more

Add prices for Bloomington

Add prices for Palmerston North

Ask the Elsewhere Community

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