Cost of living comparison

South Africa

compared to

New Zealand

Palmerston North vs. Cape Town Cost of Living Summary

Palmerston North is 69.0% more expensive than Cape Town.

Restaurants: pay 83.2% more in Palmerston North
Groceries: pay 52.6% more in Palmerston North
Transportation: pay 65.8% more in Palmerston North
Housing: pay 2.3% less in Palmerston North
Childcare: pay 2.6 times more in Palmerston North
Entertainment and Sports: pay 2.3 times more in Palmerston North
Clothing: pay 0.2% more in Palmerston North

The cost of childcare, entertainment and sports, restaurants, transportation, groceries, and clothing in Palmerston North are more expensive than in Cape Town. Notably, childcare, entertainment and sports, and restaurants are significantly more expensive in Palmerston North.

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Palmerston North vs. Cape Town Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Palmerston North instead of Cape Town, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 83.2% more for restaurants

	Cape Town	Palmerston North
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$11.47 ZAR188.63	$14.42 NZ$24.68	+25.7%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.16 ZAR84.88	$9.91 NZ$16.96	+92.0%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.20 ZAR19.77	$2.36 NZ$4.03	+96.1%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.92 ZAR15.09	$2.01 NZ$3.44	+119.2%
Average			+83.2%

Cape Town vs. Palmerston North - Cost of restaurants

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pay 52.6% more for groceries

	Cape Town	Palmerston North
Bread 1 loaf	$1.14 ZAR18.66	$1.99 NZ$3.41	+75.5%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.37 ZAR71.82	$3.89 NZ$6.66	-10.8%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.50 ZAR73.92	$7.12 NZ$12.17	+58.3%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.49 ZAR40.98	$5.13 NZ$8.78	+105.9%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.43 ZAR40.01	$3.99 NZ$6.83	+64.0%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.78 ZAR12.89	$1.07 NZ$1.83	+36.8%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.76 ZAR12.46	$0.80 NZ$1.37	+6.0%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.74 ZAR12.18	$1.08 NZ$1.85	+45.7%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.78 ZAR12.81	$1.48 NZ$2.53	+89.4%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.60 ZAR9.79	$0.91 NZ$1.57	+53.6%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.62 ZAR10.21	$0.95 NZ$1.63	+53.7%
Average			+52.6%

Cape Town vs. Palmerston North - Cost of groceries

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pay 65.8% more for transportation

	Cape Town	Palmerston North
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.73 ZAR77.83	$6.11 NZ$10.45	+29.0%
Monthly public transit pass	$28.68 ZAR471.56	$70.50 NZ$120.62	+145.8%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$21,796.50 ZAR358K	$22,211.80 NZ$38,004.63	+1.9%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$10.15 ZAR166.93	$18.92 NZ$32.38	+86.4%
Average			+65.8%

Cape Town vs. Palmerston North - Cost of transportation

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pay 2.3% less for housing

	Cape Town	Palmerston North
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$42.97 ZAR706.61	$45.43 NZ$77.74	+5.7%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$838.02 ZAR13,779.11	$807.70 NZ$1,381.99	-3.6%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$559.94 ZAR9,206.73	$663.47 NZ$1,135.20	+18.5%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$91.96 ZAR1,511.97	$64.71 NZ$110.71	-29.6%
Average			-2.3%

Cape Town vs. Palmerston North - Cost of housing

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pay 2.6 times more for childcare

	Cape Town	Palmerston North
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$228.00 ZAR3,748.94	$961.55 NZ$1,645.22	+321.7%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$5,090.62 ZAR83,702.59	$4,843.04 NZ$8,286.49	-4.9%
Average			+158.4%

Cape Town vs. Palmerston North - Cost of childcare

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pay 2.3 times more for entertainment and sports

	Cape Town	Palmerston North
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.87 ZAR47.16	$6.44 NZ$11.01	+124.4%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.12 ZAR34.79	$3.32 NZ$5.68	+56.8%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.15 ZAR51.87	$17.88 NZ$30.60	+466.9%
Monthly membership at local gym	$44.05 ZAR724.24	$22.69 NZ$38.83	-48.5%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$6.88 ZAR113.18	$8.65 NZ$14.81	+25.7%
Average			+125.1%

Cape Town vs. Palmerston North - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 0.2% more for clothing

	Cape Town	Palmerston North
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$55.23 ZAR908.10	$66.35 NZ$113.52	+20.1%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$33.91 ZAR557.54	$36.06 NZ$61.70	+6.3%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$117.06 ZAR1,924.84	$87.26 NZ$149.30	-25.5%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$88.13 ZAR1,449.15	$87.98 NZ$150.54	-0.2%
Average			+0.2%

Cape Town 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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