Cost of living comparison
compared to
New Zealand vs. Costa Mesa Cost of Living Summary
New Zealand is 16.2% cheaper than Costa Mesa.
- Restaurants
-
pay 24.2% less in New Zealand
- Groceries
-
pay 19.1% less in New Zealand
- Transportation
-
pay 10.0% more in New Zealand
- Housing
-
pay 52.0% less in New Zealand
- Childcare
-
pay 47.3% less in New Zealand
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 2.7% more in New Zealand
- Clothing
-
pay 16.7% more in New Zealand
The cost of clothing, transportation, and entertainment and sports in New Zealand are more expensive than in Costa Mesa. Expenses including housing, childcare, restaurants, and groceries are lower in New Zealand.
New Zealand vs. Costa Mesa Cost Breakdown
If you lived in New Zealand instead of Costa Mesa, you would:
pay 24.2% less for restaurants
|
Costa Mesa
|
New Zealand
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$20.00
|
$14.45
NZ$25.01
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$12.00
|
$9.14
NZ$15.82
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$3.33
|
$2.11
NZ$3.65
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.20
|
$2.02
NZ$3.49
|
|
Costa Mesa vs. New Zealand - Cost of restaurants
pay 19.1% less for groceries
|
Costa Mesa
|
New Zealand
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$3.76
|
$1.74
NZ$3.01
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$5.32
|
$3.88
NZ$6.72
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.28
|
$6.34
NZ$10.97
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.99
|
$5.96
NZ$10.31
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$4.74
|
$4.01
NZ$6.93
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.00
|
$1.18
NZ$2.04
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.87
|
$0.95
NZ$1.65
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.00
|
$1.29
NZ$2.24
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.56
|
$2.11
NZ$3.65
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$2.00
|
$0.85
NZ$1.47
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.32
|
$0.80
NZ$1.38
|
|
Costa Mesa vs. New Zealand - Cost of groceries
pay 10.0% more for transportation
|
Costa Mesa
|
New Zealand
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.74
|
$6.08
NZ$10.52
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass | ?? |
$74.52
NZ$128.99
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$26,999.00
|
$24,777.66
NZ$42,890.20
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) | ?? |
$17.81
NZ$30.83
|
|
Costa Mesa vs. New Zealand - Cost of transportation
pay 52.0% less for housing
|
Costa Mesa
|
New Zealand
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$62.33
|
$50.00
NZ$86.54
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$2,798.67
|
$978.36
NZ$1,693.54
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$2,466.67
|
$810.06
NZ$1,402.22
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$216.33
|
$95.66
NZ$165.59
|
|
Costa Mesa vs. New Zealand - Cost of housing
pay 47.3% less for childcare
|
Costa Mesa
|
New Zealand
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,206.00
|
$635.34
NZ$1,099.78
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters | ?? |
$13,463.91
NZ$23,306.07
|
|
Costa Mesa vs. New Zealand - Cost of childcare
pay 2.7% more for entertainment and sports
|
Costa Mesa
|
New Zealand
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$7.00
|
$6.04
NZ$10.46
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.83
|
$3.35
NZ$5.80
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$11.00
|
$23.12
NZ$40.03
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$40.00
|
$37.72
NZ$65.30
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$16.50
|
$10.72
NZ$18.56
|
|
Costa Mesa vs. New Zealand - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 16.7% more for clothing
|
Costa Mesa
|
New Zealand
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$54.27
|
$65.22
NZ$112.90
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$34.67
|
$39.23
NZ$67.91
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$90.25
|
$90.28
NZ$156.27
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$102.25
|
$119.43
NZ$206.73
|
|
Costa Mesa vs. New Zealand - Cost of clothing
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: December 2025
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