Cost of living comparison
compared to
Wellington vs. Christchurch Cost of Living Summary
Wellington is 8.6% more expensive than Christchurch.
Wellington vs. Christchurch Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Wellington instead of Christchurch, you would:
pay 0.7% less for restaurants
|
Christchurch
|
Wellington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$14.01
NZ$24.59
|
$13.73
NZ$24.10
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$8.96
NZ$15.74
|
$9.02
NZ$15.84
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.29
NZ$4.02
|
$2.42
NZ$4.25
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.81
NZ$3.17
|
$1.71
NZ$3.00
|
|
Christchurch vs. Wellington - Cost of restaurants
pay 16.7% more for groceries
|
Christchurch
|
Wellington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.83
NZ$3.22
|
$2.16
NZ$3.79
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$3.65
NZ$6.41
|
$4.62
NZ$8.12
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$6.40
NZ$11.23
|
$7.12
NZ$12.50
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$5.84
NZ$10.26
|
$6.89
NZ$12.10
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$4.20
NZ$7.38
|
$4.37
NZ$7.68
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.14
NZ$2.01
|
$1.40
NZ$2.45
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.04
NZ$1.82
|
$0.99
NZ$1.73
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.22
NZ$2.14
|
$1.37
NZ$2.40
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.74
NZ$3.06
|
$2.93
NZ$5.15
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.68
NZ$1.20
|
$0.95
NZ$1.67
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.65
NZ$1.14
|
$0.57
NZ$1.00
|
|
Christchurch vs. Wellington - Cost of groceries
pay 0.3% less for transportation
|
Christchurch
|
Wellington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$7.14
NZ$12.53
|
$7.03
NZ$12.35
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$100.84
NZ$177.05
|
$101.23
NZ$177.74
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$25,203.61
NZ$44,251.79
|
$25,203.61
NZ$44,251.79
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$15.97
NZ$28.03
|
$16.19
NZ$28.43
|
|
Christchurch vs. Wellington - Cost of transportation
pay 11.4% more for housing
|
Christchurch
|
Wellington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$45.23
NZ$79.41
|
$53.32
NZ$93.62
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,208.64
NZ$2,122.10
|
$1,215.08
NZ$2,133.41
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$969.15
NZ$1,701.61
|
$1,141.32
NZ$2,003.90
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$120.70
NZ$211.93
|
$149.83
NZ$263.06
|
|
Christchurch vs. Wellington - Cost of housing
pay 3.2% less for childcare
|
Christchurch
|
Wellington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$668.74
NZ$1,174.16
|
$1,055.30
NZ$1,852.87
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$21,713.88
NZ$38,124.63
|
$12,899.11
NZ$22,647.90
|
|
Christchurch vs. Wellington - Cost of childcare
pay 18.3% more for entertainment and sports
|
Christchurch
|
Wellington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$6.72
NZ$11.80
|
$7.28
NZ$12.79
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$3.22
NZ$5.66
|
$3.34
NZ$5.87
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$23.83
NZ$41.84
|
$25.18
NZ$44.21
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$23.47
NZ$41.20
|
$38.09
NZ$66.88
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$11.20
NZ$19.67
|
$12.04
NZ$21.15
|
|
Christchurch vs. Wellington - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 4.7% more for clothing
|
Christchurch
|
Wellington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$58.65
NZ$102.98
|
$77.76
NZ$136.52
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$39.39
NZ$69.16
|
$28.15
NZ$49.42
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$99.20
NZ$174.17
|
$101.77
NZ$178.69
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$123.35
NZ$216.58
|
$152.66
NZ$268.03
|
|
Christchurch vs. Wellington - Cost of clothing
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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