Cost of living comparison

compared to

Wellington vs. Lower Hutt Cost of Living Summary

Wellington is 39.5% more expensive than Lower Hutt.

Restaurants: pay 2.5% less in Wellington
Groceries: pay 3.7% more in Wellington
Transportation: pay 3.8 times more in Wellington
Housing: pay 5.0% less in Wellington
Childcare: pay 8.4% more in Wellington
Entertainment and Sports: pay 6.5% more in Wellington
Clothing: pay 14.9% less in Wellington

The cost of transportation, childcare, entertainment and sports, and groceries in Wellington are more expensive than in Lower Hutt. Expenses including clothing, housing, and restaurants are lower in Wellington. Notably, transportation is significantly more expensive in Wellington.

Wellington vs. Lower Hutt Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Wellington instead of Lower Hutt, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 2.5% less for restaurants

	Lower Hutt	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	$10.30 NZ$17.83	$9.23 NZ$15.98	-10.4%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.25 NZ$3.89	$2.46 NZ$4.26	+9.3%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$2.12 NZ$3.66	$1.98 NZ$3.42	-6.5%
Average			-2.5%

Lower Hutt vs. Wellington - Cost of restaurants

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pay 3.7% more for groceries

	Lower Hutt	Wellington
Bread 1 loaf	$1.98 NZ$3.42	$1.98 NZ$3.42
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.02 NZ$6.96	$4.02 NZ$6.96
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.79 NZ$11.75	$6.79 NZ$11.75
Eggs 1 dozen	$6.77 NZ$11.73	$6.77 NZ$11.73
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.99 NZ$6.91	$4.77 NZ$8.26	+19.6%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.24 NZ$2.15	$1.36 NZ$2.36	+9.5%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.92 NZ$1.59	$1.01 NZ$1.75	+10.5%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.33 NZ$2.30	$1.33 NZ$2.30
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.32 NZ$4.01	$2.32 NZ$4.01
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.91 NZ$1.58	$0.90 NZ$1.55	-2.0%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.84 NZ$1.45	$0.68 NZ$1.17	-19.0%
Average			+3.7%

Lower Hutt vs. Wellington - Cost of groceries

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pay 3.8 times more for transportation

	Lower Hutt	Wellington
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$6.14 NZ$10.63	$6.14 NZ$10.63
Monthly public transit pass	$28.85 NZ$49.93	$109.62 NZ$189.75	+280.0%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$31,154.21 NZ$53,928.03	$31,154.21 NZ$53,928.03
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$14.55 NZ$25.19	$14.55 NZ$25.19
Average			+280.0%

Lower Hutt vs. Wellington - Cost of transportation

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pay 5.0% less for housing

	Lower Hutt	Wellington
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$48.75 NZ$84.39	$48.75 NZ$84.39
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,442.32 NZ$2,496.67	$1,240.57 NZ$2,147.43	-14.0%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,057.70 NZ$1,830.89	$1,099.37 NZ$1,903.02	+3.9%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$109.37 NZ$189.31	$109.37 NZ$189.31
Average			-5.0%

Lower Hutt vs. Wellington - Cost of housing

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pay 8.4% more for childcare

	Lower Hutt	Wellington
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$692.32 NZ$1,198.40	$768.47 NZ$1,330.22	+11.0%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$11,538.60 NZ$19,973.35	$12,211.68 NZ$21,138.46	+5.8%
Average			+8.4%

Lower Hutt vs. Wellington - Cost of childcare

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pay 6.5% more for entertainment and sports

	Lower Hutt	Wellington
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$6.63 NZ$11.48	$6.63 NZ$11.48
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.46 NZ$5.99	$3.54 NZ$6.13	+2.3%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$19.62 NZ$33.95	$25.67 NZ$44.44	+30.9%
Monthly membership at local gym	$41.83 NZ$72.40	$34.12 NZ$59.06	-18.4%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$10.38 NZ$17.98	$11.54 NZ$19.97	+11.1%
Average			+6.5%

Lower Hutt vs. Wellington - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 14.9% less for clothing

	Lower Hutt	Wellington
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$69.31 NZ$119.97	$69.31 NZ$119.97
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$54.81 NZ$94.87	$46.64 NZ$80.73	-14.9%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$113.30 NZ$196.13	$113.30 NZ$196.13
Men's business shoes (leather)	$146.23 NZ$253.12	$146.23 NZ$253.12
Average			-14.9%

Lower Hutt 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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