Cost of living comparison

compared to

Wellington vs. Jaco Beach Cost of Living Summary

Wellington is 54.3% more expensive than Jaco Beach.

Restaurants: pay 41.6% more in Wellington
Groceries: pay 30.4% more in Wellington
Transportation: pay 4.3% less in Wellington
Housing: pay 76.5% more in Wellington
Childcare: pay 80.3% more in Wellington
Entertainment and Sports: pay 2.1 times more in Wellington
Clothing: pay 49.8% more in Wellington

The cost of entertainment and sports, childcare, housing, clothing, restaurants, and groceries in Wellington are more expensive than in Jaco Beach. Notably, entertainment and sports, childcare, and housing are significantly more expensive in Wellington.

Wellington vs. Jaco Beach Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Wellington instead of Jaco Beach, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 41.6% more for restaurants

	Jaco Beach	Wellington
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$7.73 CRC3,774.04	$14.42 NZ$24.97	+86.7%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$9.91 CRC4,838.51	$9.23 NZ$15.98	-6.8%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.58 CRC770.52	$2.46 NZ$4.26	+55.9%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.51 CRC738.26	$1.98 NZ$3.42	+30.8%
Average			+41.6%

Jaco Beach vs. Wellington - Cost of restaurants

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pay 30.4% more for groceries

	Jaco Beach	Wellington
Bread 1 loaf	$2.03 CRC991.89	$1.98 NZ$3.42	-2.7%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.95 CRC2,419.25	$4.02 NZ$6.96	-18.8%
Milk (1 gallon)	$5.39 CRC2,632.15	$6.79 NZ$11.75	+26.0%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.39 CRC1,165.19	$6.77 NZ$11.73	+184.0%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.68 CRC1,799.66	$4.77 NZ$8.26	+29.5%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.94 CRC946.86	$1.36 NZ$2.36	-29.8%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.65 CRC319.23	$1.01 NZ$1.75	+54.9%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.89 CRC921.78	$1.33 NZ$2.30	-29.5%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.43 CRC697.92	$2.32 NZ$4.01	+62.1%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.62 CRC302.87	$0.90 NZ$1.55	+44.6%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.59 CRC289.70	$0.68 NZ$1.17	+14.3%
Average			+30.4%

Jaco Beach vs. Wellington - Cost of groceries

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pay 4.3% less for transportation

	Jaco Beach	Wellington
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.39 CRC2,631.82	$6.14 NZ$10.63	+13.9%
Monthly public transit pass	??	$109.62 NZ$189.75
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$37,640.45 CRC18,386,324.93	$31,154.21 NZ$53,928.03	-17.2%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$16.12 CRC7,872.25	$14.55 NZ$25.19	-9.7%
Average			-4.3%

Jaco Beach vs. Wellington - Cost of transportation

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pay 76.5% more for housing

	Jaco Beach	Wellington
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$42.59 CRC20,805.58	$48.75 NZ$84.39	+14.5%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$730.71 CRC356,931.46	$1,240.57 NZ$2,147.43	+69.8%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$497.43 CRC242,979.15	$1,099.37 NZ$1,903.02	+121.0%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$54.43 CRC26,587.39	$109.37 NZ$189.31	+100.9%
Average			+76.5%

Jaco Beach vs. Wellington - Cost of housing

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pay 80.3% more for childcare

	Jaco Beach	Wellington
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$438.62 CRC214,254.88	$768.47 NZ$1,330.22	+75.2%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$6,584.85 CRC3,216,516.75	$12,211.68 NZ$21,138.46	+85.5%
Average			+80.3%

Jaco Beach vs. Wellington - Cost of childcare

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pay 2.1 times more for entertainment and sports

	Jaco Beach	Wellington
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.67 CRC1,306.40	$6.63 NZ$11.48	+148.1%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.78 CRC1,845.66	$3.54 NZ$6.13	-6.3%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$5.15 CRC2,516.02	$25.67 NZ$44.44	+398.4%
Monthly membership at local gym	$47.55 CRC23,224.83	$34.12 NZ$59.06	-28.2%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$9.91 CRC4,838.51	$11.54 NZ$19.97	+16.5%
Average			+105.7%

Jaco Beach vs. Wellington - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 49.8% more for clothing

	Jaco Beach	Wellington
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$24.98 CRC12,201.65	$69.31 NZ$119.97	+177.5%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$51.31 CRC25,062.18	$46.64 NZ$80.73	-9.1%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$120.28 CRC58,753.29	$113.30 NZ$196.13	-5.8%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$106.98 CRC52,255.87	$146.23 NZ$253.12	+36.7%
Average			+49.8%

Jaco Beach vs. Wellington - 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: December 2025

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