Cost of living comparison

United States

compared to

New Zealand

Palmerston North vs. Des Moines Cost of Living Summary

Palmerston North is 5.7% cheaper than Des Moines.

Restaurants: pay 12.2% less in Palmerston North
Groceries: pay 1.1% more in Palmerston North
Transportation: pay 43.4% more in Palmerston North
Housing: pay 30.7% less in Palmerston North
Childcare: pay 44.4% less in Palmerston North
Entertainment and Sports: pay 5.8% more in Palmerston North
Clothing: pay 2.9% less in Palmerston North

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

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Palmerston North vs. Des Moines Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Palmerston North instead of Des Moines, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 12.2% less for restaurants

	Des Moines	Palmerston North
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$17.00	$14.42 NZ$24.68	-15.2%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$12.00	$9.91 NZ$16.96	-17.4%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.61	$2.36 NZ$4.03	-9.6%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$2.15	$2.01 NZ$3.44	-6.6%
Average			-12.2%

Des Moines vs. Palmerston North - Cost of restaurants

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pay 1.1% more for groceries

	Des Moines	Palmerston North
Bread 1 loaf	$3.03	$1.99 NZ$3.41	-34.2%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$6.36	$3.89 NZ$6.66	-38.7%
Milk (1 gallon)	$3.56	$7.12 NZ$12.17	+99.7%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.61	$5.13 NZ$8.78	+42.2%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.67	$3.99 NZ$6.83	+8.6%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.77	$1.07 NZ$1.83	-39.4%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.65	$0.80 NZ$1.37	+23.3%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.66	$1.08 NZ$1.85	-35.0%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.59	$1.48 NZ$2.53	-7.2%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.75	$0.91 NZ$1.57	+22.8%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.36	$0.95 NZ$1.63	-30.0%
Average			+1.1%

Des Moines vs. Palmerston North - Cost of groceries

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pay 43.4% more for transportation

	Des Moines	Palmerston North
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$2.93	$6.11 NZ$10.45	+108.2%
Monthly public transit pass	$58.00	$70.50 NZ$120.62	+21.5%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$26,000.00	$22,211.80 NZ$38,004.63	-14.6%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$11.94	$18.92 NZ$32.38	+58.5%
Average			+43.4%

Des Moines vs. Palmerston North - Cost of transportation

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pay 30.7% less for housing

	Des Moines	Palmerston North
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$57.86	$45.43 NZ$77.74	-21.5%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,214.00	$807.70 NZ$1,381.99	-33.5%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$912.50	$663.47 NZ$1,135.20	-27.3%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$108.83	$64.71 NZ$110.71	-40.5%
Average			-30.7%

Des Moines vs. Palmerston North - Cost of housing

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pay 44.4% less for childcare

	Des Moines	Palmerston North
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,369.17	$961.55 NZ$1,645.22	-29.8%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$11,812.00	$4,843.04 NZ$8,286.49	-59.0%
Average			-44.4%

Des Moines vs. Palmerston North - Cost of childcare

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pay 5.8% more for entertainment and sports

	Des Moines	Palmerston North
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$5.00	$6.44 NZ$11.01	+28.7%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$5.47	$3.32 NZ$5.68	-39.3%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$7.14	$17.88 NZ$30.60	+150.3%
Monthly membership at local gym	$71.67	$22.69 NZ$38.83	-68.3%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$15.00	$8.65 NZ$14.81	-42.3%
Average			+5.8%

Des Moines vs. Palmerston North - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 2.9% less for clothing

	Des Moines	Palmerston North
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$56.67	$66.35 NZ$113.52	+17.1%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$41.00	$36.06 NZ$61.70	-12.0%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$73.00	$87.26 NZ$149.30	+19.5%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$138.33	$87.98 NZ$150.54	-36.4%
Average			-2.9%

Des Moines 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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