Cost of living comparison

China

compared to

New Zealand

New Zealand vs. China Cost of Living Summary

New Zealand is 2.2 times more expensive than China overall.

Restaurants: pay 3.3 times more in New Zealand
Groceries: pay 73.4% more in New Zealand
Transportation: pay 93.6% more in New Zealand
Housing: pay 3.2 times more in New Zealand
Childcare: pay 13.3% more in New Zealand
Entertainment and Sports: pay 89.8% more in New Zealand
Clothing: pay 24.8% more in New Zealand

The cost of restaurants, housing, transportation, entertainment and sports, groceries, and clothing in New Zealand are more expensive than in China. Notably, restaurants, housing, and transportation are significantly more expensive in New Zealand.

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New Zealand vs. China Cost Breakdown

If you lived in New Zealand instead of China, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 3.3 times more for restaurants

	China	New Zealand
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$3.02 CN¥20.18	$13.26 NZ$23.46	+339.8%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.16 CN¥34.52	$8.99 NZ$15.90	+74.3%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.51 CN¥3.39	$2.04 NZ$3.61	+302.7%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.29 CN¥1.97	$1.83 NZ$3.24	+521.3%
Average			+226.4%

China vs. New Zealand - Cost of restaurants

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pay 73.4% more for groceries

	China	New Zealand
Bread 1 loaf	$1.66 CN¥11.09	$1.73 NZ$3.05	+4.1%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$6.71 CN¥44.88	$3.78 NZ$6.69	-43.6%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.65 CN¥44.53	$6.47 NZ$11.45	-2.7%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.57 CN¥10.47	$5.79 NZ$10.24	+270.0%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.52 CN¥10.14	$3.83 NZ$6.77	+152.6%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.83 CN¥5.55	$1.22 NZ$2.15	+46.6%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.59 CN¥3.92	$0.94 NZ$1.67	+61.2%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.67 CN¥4.46	$1.32 NZ$2.33	+97.7%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.58 CN¥3.90	$2.20 NZ$3.89	+276.9%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.33 CN¥2.18	$0.89 NZ$1.57	+172.6%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.40 CN¥2.67	$0.67 NZ$1.18	+66.7%
Average			+73.4%

China vs. New Zealand - Cost of groceries

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pay 93.6% more for transportation

	China	New Zealand
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.77 CN¥31.92	$6.34 NZ$11.21	+32.8%
Monthly public transit pass	$20.77 CN¥138.99	$83.43 NZ$147.53	+301.6%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$18,838.53 CN¥126K	$24,108.51 NZ$42,632.21	+28.0%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$4.24 CN¥28.39	$17.20 NZ$30.41	+305.2%
Average			+93.6%

China vs. New Zealand - Cost of transportation

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pay 3.2 times more for housing

	China	New Zealand
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$11.27 CN¥75.42	$49.30 NZ$87.18	+337.4%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$336.09 CN¥2,248.74	$976.74 NZ$1,727.21	+190.6%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$212.64 CN¥1,422.74	$843.74 NZ$1,492.02	+296.8%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$42.92 CN¥287.14	$95.64 NZ$169.12	+122.9%
Average			+222.8%

China vs. New Zealand - Cost of housing

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pay 13.3% more for childcare

	China	New Zealand
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$500.54 CN¥3,348.99	$716.92 NZ$1,267.75	+43.2%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$18,908.16 CN¥127K	$16,937.81 NZ$29,951.92	-10.4%
Average			+13.3%

China vs. New Zealand - Cost of childcare

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pay 89.8% more for entertainment and sports

	China	New Zealand
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.12 CN¥7.52	$5.70 NZ$10.07	+406.9%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.84 CN¥19.00	$3.26 NZ$5.77	+14.8%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.71 CN¥24.79	$22.75 NZ$40.22	+513.8%
Monthly membership at local gym	$41.75 CN¥279.37	$39.17 NZ$69.26	-6.2%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$6.28 CN¥41.99	$10.27 NZ$18.16	+63.6%
Average			+89.8%

China vs. New Zealand - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 24.8% more for clothing

	China	New Zealand
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$46.40 CN¥310.43	$63.30 NZ$111.94	+36.4%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$33.97 CN¥227.29	$33.63 NZ$59.46	-1.0%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$73.79 CN¥493.72	$91.48 NZ$161.76	+24.0%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$78.93 CN¥528.10	$114.46 NZ$202.41	+45.0%
Average			+24.8%

China vs. New Zealand - 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

Compare further: China vs. New Zealand

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Size Comparison · See true size

China is about 36 times bigger than New Zealand.

Moving from China to New Zealand · OECD 2023

26,214 people moved from China to New Zealand.

City Size Comparison · See true size

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