Cost of living comparison
compared to
Wellington vs. Invercargill Cost of Living Summary
Wellington is 33.7% more expensive than Invercargill.
- Restaurants
-
pay 34.5% more in Wellington
- Groceries
-
pay 12.8% more in Wellington
- Transportation
-
pay 24.7% more in Wellington
- Housing
-
pay 61.8% more in Wellington
- Childcare
-
pay 37.3% more in Wellington
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 18.3% more in Wellington
- Clothing
-
pay 46.5% more in Wellington
The cost of housing, clothing, childcare, restaurants, transportation, and entertainment and sports in Wellington are more expensive than in Invercargill.
Wellington vs. Invercargill Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Wellington instead of Invercargill, you would:
pay 34.5% more for restaurants
|
Invercargill
|
Wellington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$14.42
NZ$24.97
|
$14.42
NZ$24.97
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$8.37
NZ$14.48
|
$9.23
NZ$15.98
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$1.63
NZ$2.83
|
$2.46
NZ$4.26
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.38
NZ$2.40
|
$1.98
NZ$3.42
|
|
Invercargill vs. Wellington - Cost of restaurants
pay 12.8% more for groceries
|
Invercargill
|
Wellington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.80
NZ$3.11
|
$1.98
NZ$3.42
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$4.12
NZ$7.13
|
$4.02
NZ$6.96
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$6.10
NZ$10.55
|
$6.79
NZ$11.75
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$5.84
NZ$10.10
|
$6.77
NZ$11.73
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$3.40
NZ$5.89
|
$4.77
NZ$8.26
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.18
NZ$2.04
|
$1.36
NZ$2.36
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.99
NZ$1.72
|
$1.01
NZ$1.75
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.18
NZ$2.04
|
$1.33
NZ$2.30
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.61
NZ$2.79
|
$2.32
NZ$4.01
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.86
NZ$1.49
|
$0.90
NZ$1.55
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.78
NZ$1.34
|
$0.68
NZ$1.17
|
|
Invercargill vs. Wellington - Cost of groceries
pay 24.7% more for transportation
|
Invercargill
|
Wellington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$6.09
NZ$10.55
|
$6.14
NZ$10.63
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$57.69
NZ$99.87
|
$109.62
NZ$189.75
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$24,519.23
NZ$42,442.86
|
$31,154.21
NZ$53,928.03
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$18.00
NZ$31.16
|
$14.55
NZ$25.19
|
|
Invercargill vs. Wellington - Cost of transportation
pay 61.8% more for housing
|
Invercargill
|
Wellington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$47.54
NZ$82.29
|
$48.75
NZ$84.39
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$615.39
NZ$1,065.25
|
$1,240.57
NZ$2,147.43
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$561.55
NZ$972.04
|
$1,099.37
NZ$1,903.02
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$74.34
NZ$128.68
|
$109.37
NZ$189.31
|
|
Invercargill vs. Wellington - Cost of housing
pay 37.3% more for childcare
|
Invercargill
|
Wellington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$559.62
NZ$968.71
|
$768.47
NZ$1,330.22
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters | ?? |
$12,211.68
NZ$21,138.46
|
|
Invercargill vs. Wellington - Cost of childcare
pay 18.3% more for entertainment and sports
|
Invercargill
|
Wellington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$5.77
NZ$9.99
|
$6.63
NZ$11.48
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$3.21
NZ$5.56
|
$3.54
NZ$6.13
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$21.29
NZ$36.85
|
$25.67
NZ$44.44
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$28.27
NZ$48.93
|
$34.12
NZ$59.06
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$9.23
NZ$15.98
|
$11.54
NZ$19.97
|
|
Invercargill vs. Wellington - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 46.5% more for clothing
|
Invercargill
|
Wellington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$63.46
NZ$109.85
|
$69.31
NZ$119.97
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$33.65
NZ$58.26
|
$46.64
NZ$80.73
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$72.12
NZ$124.83
|
$113.30
NZ$196.13
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$80.77
NZ$139.81
|
$146.23
NZ$253.12
|
|
Invercargill vs. Wellington - 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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