Cost of living comparison
compared to
New Zealand vs. Illinois Cost of Living Summary
New Zealand is 17.9% cheaper than Illinois.
New Zealand vs. Illinois Cost Breakdown
If you lived in New Zealand instead of Illinois, you would:
pay 18.2% less for restaurants
|
Illinois
|
New Zealand
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$16.90
|
$13.26
NZ$23.46
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$10.89
|
$8.99
NZ$15.90
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.49
|
$2.04
NZ$3.61
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.93
|
$1.83
NZ$3.24
|
|
Illinois vs. New Zealand - Cost of restaurants
pay 16.7% less for groceries
|
Illinois
|
New Zealand
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$3.10
|
$1.73
NZ$3.05
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$6.14
|
$3.78
NZ$6.69
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$3.46
|
$6.47
NZ$11.45
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$3.85
|
$5.79
NZ$10.24
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$5.41
|
$3.83
NZ$6.77
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.35
|
$1.22
NZ$2.15
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.76
|
$0.94
NZ$1.67
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.10
|
$1.32
NZ$2.33
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.00
|
$2.20
NZ$3.89
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.07
|
$0.89
NZ$1.57
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.25
|
$0.67
NZ$1.18
|
|
Illinois vs. New Zealand - Cost of groceries
pay 11.8% more for transportation
|
Illinois
|
New Zealand
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.94
|
$6.34
NZ$11.21
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$72.27
|
$83.43
NZ$147.53
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$33,124.22
|
$24,108.51
NZ$42,632.21
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$16.42
|
$17.20
NZ$30.41
|
|
Illinois vs. New Zealand - Cost of transportation
pay 29.2% less for housing
|
Illinois
|
New Zealand
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$71.42
|
$49.30
NZ$87.18
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,397.04
|
$976.74
NZ$1,727.21
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,090.29
|
$843.74
NZ$1,492.02
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$164.01
|
$95.64
NZ$169.12
|
|
Illinois vs. New Zealand - Cost of housing
pay 37.2% less for childcare
|
Illinois
|
New Zealand
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,217.84
|
$716.92
NZ$1,267.75
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$25,292.64
|
$16,937.81
NZ$29,951.92
|
|
Illinois vs. New Zealand - Cost of childcare
pay 13.6% less for entertainment and sports
|
Illinois
|
New Zealand
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$5.30
|
$5.70
NZ$10.07
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.19
|
$3.26
NZ$5.77
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$11.30
|
$22.75
NZ$40.22
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$52.78
|
$39.17
NZ$69.26
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$13.24
|
$10.27
NZ$18.16
|
|
Illinois vs. New Zealand - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 2.8% less for clothing
|
Illinois
|
New Zealand
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$57.56
|
$63.30
NZ$111.94
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$41.90
|
$33.63
NZ$59.46
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$91.76
|
$91.48
NZ$161.76
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$112.64
|
$114.46
NZ$202.41
|
|
Illinois vs. New Zealand - 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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cost of living in United States vs. New Zealand.
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