Cost of living comparison
compared to
Wellington vs. Helena Cost of Living Summary
Wellington is 19.2% cheaper than Helena.
Wellington vs. Helena Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Wellington instead of Helena, you would:
pay 35.4% less for restaurants
|
Helena
|
Wellington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$21.50
|
$13.73
NZ$24.46
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$18.00
|
$9.02
NZ$16.07
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.22
|
$2.42
NZ$4.31
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.75
|
$1.71
NZ$3.04
|
|
Helena vs. Wellington - Cost of restaurants
pay 2.8% less for groceries
|
Helena
|
Wellington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$3.78
|
$2.16
NZ$3.85
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$9.00
|
$4.62
NZ$8.24
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$3.96
|
$7.12
NZ$12.69
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$3.67
|
$6.89
NZ$12.29
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$4.08
|
$4.37
NZ$7.79
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.14
|
$1.40
NZ$2.49
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.81
|
$0.99
NZ$1.76
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.04
|
$1.37
NZ$2.44
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.84
|
$2.93
NZ$5.23
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.99
|
$0.95
NZ$1.70
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.68
|
$0.57
NZ$1.01
|
|
Helena vs. Wellington - Cost of groceries
pay 17.3% more for transportation
|
Helena
|
Wellington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.77
|
$7.03
NZ$12.53
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$60.00
|
$101.23
NZ$180.40
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$35,850.00
|
$25,203.61
NZ$44,914.21
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$37.34
|
$16.19
NZ$28.85
|
|
Helena vs. Wellington - Cost of transportation
pay 32.8% less for housing
|
Helena
|
Wellington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$91.74
|
$53.32
NZ$95.02
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,786.67
|
$1,215.08
NZ$2,165.35
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,533.33
|
$1,141.32
NZ$2,033.90
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$287.72
|
$149.83
NZ$267.00
|
|
Helena vs. Wellington - Cost of housing
pay 49.6% less for childcare
|
Helena
|
Wellington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,937.00
|
$1,055.30
NZ$1,880.60
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$27,700.00
|
$12,899.11
NZ$22,986.93
|
|
Helena vs. Wellington - Cost of childcare
pay 0.1% less for entertainment and sports
|
Helena
|
Wellington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$5.00
|
$7.28
NZ$12.98
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.12
|
$3.34
NZ$5.96
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$10.38
|
$25.18
NZ$44.87
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$52.50
|
$38.09
NZ$67.89
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$12.00
|
$12.04
NZ$21.46
|
|
Helena vs. Wellington - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 18.7% less for clothing
|
Helena
|
Wellington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$64.75
|
$77.76
NZ$138.57
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$118.33
|
$28.15
NZ$50.16
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$82.25
|
$101.77
NZ$181.36
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$123.50
|
$152.66
NZ$272.04
|
|
Helena 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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