Cost of living comparison
compared to
Nelson vs. Kalamazoo Cost of Living Summary
Nelson is 9.9% cheaper than Kalamazoo.
Nelson vs. Kalamazoo Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Nelson instead of Kalamazoo, you would:
pay 32.4% less for restaurants
|
Kalamazoo
|
Nelson
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$25.00
|
$13.73
NZ$24.27
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$10.00
|
$8.40
NZ$14.86
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.51
|
$1.75
NZ$3.10
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.14
|
$1.68
NZ$2.97
|
|
Kalamazoo vs. Nelson - Cost of restaurants
pay 12.1% less for groceries
|
Kalamazoo
|
Nelson
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$2.94
|
$2.11
NZ$3.73
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$4.72
|
$4.62
NZ$8.18
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$2.82
|
$7.12
NZ$12.59
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$2.79
|
$5.68
NZ$10.04
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$4.33
|
$3.39
NZ$5.99
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.45
|
$1.40
NZ$2.47
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.60
|
$0.99
NZ$1.75
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$4.25
|
$1.37
NZ$2.42
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.55
|
$2.59
NZ$4.58
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.30
|
$0.95
NZ$1.69
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.50
|
$0.57
NZ$1.01
|
|
Kalamazoo vs. Nelson - Cost of groceries
pay 8.4% less for transportation
|
Kalamazoo
|
Nelson
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.60
|
$5.97
NZ$10.56
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$60.00
|
?? | |
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$35,866.37
|
$17,086.24
NZ$30,214.40
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$19.91
|
$16.19
NZ$28.63
|
|
Kalamazoo vs. Nelson - Cost of transportation
pay 9.8% less for housing
|
Kalamazoo
|
Nelson
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$94.65
|
$42.72
NZ$75.54
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,310.00
|
$1,022.37
NZ$1,807.91
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$768.43
|
$812.30
NZ$1,436.42
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$90.12
|
$98.59
NZ$174.34
|
|
Kalamazoo vs. Nelson - Cost of housing
pay 43.7% less for childcare
|
Kalamazoo
|
Nelson
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,638.33
|
$448.16
NZ$792.51
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$11,136.00
|
$12,899.11
NZ$22,810.11
|
|
Kalamazoo vs. Nelson - Cost of childcare
pay 43.1% more for entertainment and sports
|
Kalamazoo
|
Nelson
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$5.00
|
$7.28
NZ$12.88
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.04
|
$3.22
NZ$5.70
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$8.69
|
$25.18
NZ$44.53
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$41.00
|
$100.84
NZ$178.31
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$9.50
|
$11.20
NZ$19.81
|
|
Kalamazoo vs. Nelson - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 15.2% more for clothing
|
Kalamazoo
|
Nelson
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$53.33
|
$52.29
NZ$92.46
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$21.50
|
$28.15
NZ$49.78
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$108.33
|
$101.77
NZ$179.97
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$95.00
|
$138.65
NZ$245.18
|
|
Kalamazoo vs. Nelson - 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
Change currency:
Compare further: Kalamazoo vs. Nelson
Compare countries by overall cost of living
See the
cost of living in United States vs. New Zealand.
This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within United States and New Zealand.
Help us improve these prices
MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate.
Learn more
Ask the Elsewhere Community
Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Nelson or Kalamazoo. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.