Cost of living comparison

compared to

New Zealand vs. Nelson BC Cost of Living Summary

New Zealand is 3.9% more expensive than Nelson BC.

Restaurants: pay 5.7% more in New Zealand
Groceries: pay 16.2% more in New Zealand
Transportation: pay 42.6% more in New Zealand
Housing: pay 21.1% less in New Zealand
Childcare: pay 28.6% less in New Zealand
Entertainment and Sports: pay 4.8% more in New Zealand
Clothing: pay 7.6% more in New Zealand

The cost of transportation, groceries, clothing, restaurants, and entertainment and sports in New Zealand are more expensive than in Nelson BC. Expenses including childcare and housing are lower in New Zealand.

New Zealand vs. Nelson BC Cost Breakdown

If you lived in New Zealand instead of Nelson BC, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 5.7% more for restaurants

	Nelson BC	New Zealand
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$14.35 CA$19.78	$14.45 NZ$24.89	+0.7%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$8.97 CA$12.36	$9.14 NZ$15.74	+1.9%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.08 CA$2.86	$2.11 NZ$3.63	+1.4%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.70 CA$2.34	$2.02 NZ$3.47	+18.8%
Average			+5.7%

Nelson BC vs. New Zealand - Cost of restaurants

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pay 16.2% more for groceries

	Nelson BC	New Zealand
Bread 1 loaf	$3.02 CA$4.16	$1.74 NZ$2.99	-42.4%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.14 CA$7.08	$3.88 NZ$6.69	-24.4%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.44 CA$10.25	$6.34 NZ$10.92	-14.9%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.64 CA$5.02	$5.96 NZ$10.27	+63.7%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$6.12 CA$8.43	$4.01 NZ$6.90	-34.5%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.42 CA$1.96	$1.18 NZ$2.03	-17.1%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.29 CA$0.40	$0.95 NZ$1.64	+231.9%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.72 CA$0.99	$1.29 NZ$2.23	+80.3%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.97 CA$2.71	$2.11 NZ$3.63	+7.3%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.31 CA$1.81	$0.85 NZ$1.46	-35.1%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.25 CA$1.72	$0.80 NZ$1.37	-36.3%
Average			+16.2%

Nelson BC vs. New Zealand - Cost of groceries

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pay 42.6% more for transportation

	Nelson BC	New Zealand
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.52 CA$6.23	$6.08 NZ$10.47	+34.4%
Monthly public transit pass	$32.29 CA$44.50	$74.52 NZ$128.39	+130.8%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$24,382.26 CA$33,597.54	$24,777.66 NZ$42,690.69	+1.6%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$17.18 CA$23.67	$17.81 NZ$30.69	+3.7%
Average			+42.6%

Nelson BC vs. New Zealand - Cost of transportation

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pay 21.1% less for housing

	Nelson BC	New Zealand
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$57.41 CA$79.10	$50.00 NZ$86.14	-12.9%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,363.42 CA$1,878.73	$978.36 NZ$1,685.66	-28.2%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,148.14 CA$1,582.08	$810.06 NZ$1,395.70	-29.4%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$111.30 CA$153.36	$95.66 NZ$164.82	-14.0%
Average			-21.1%

Nelson BC vs. New Zealand - Cost of housing

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pay 28.6% less for childcare

	Nelson BC	New Zealand
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,040.51 CA$1,433.76	$635.34 NZ$1,094.67	-38.9%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$16,504.56 CA$22,742.46	$13,463.91 NZ$23,197.66	-18.4%
Average			-28.6%

Nelson BC vs. New Zealand - Cost of childcare

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pay 4.8% more for entertainment and sports

	Nelson BC	New Zealand
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$5.02 CA$6.92	$6.04 NZ$10.41	+20.3%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.95 CA$5.44	$3.35 NZ$5.78	-15.1%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$14.35 CA$19.78	$23.12 NZ$39.84	+61.1%
Monthly membership at local gym	$58.84 CA$81.08	$37.72 NZ$64.99	-35.9%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$11.48 CA$15.82	$10.72 NZ$18.47	-6.6%
Average			+4.8%

Nelson BC vs. New Zealand - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 7.6% more for clothing

	Nelson BC	New Zealand
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$50.23 CA$69.22	$65.22 NZ$112.37	+29.8%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$40.66 CA$56.03	$39.23 NZ$67.60	-3.5%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$84.52 CA$116.46	$90.28 NZ$155.55	+6.8%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$122.59 CA$168.92	$119.43 NZ$205.77	-2.6%
Average			+7.6%

Nelson BC vs. New Zealand - 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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