Cost of living comparison

New Zealand

compared to

United States

Poughkeepsie vs. Nelson Cost of Living Summary

Poughkeepsie is 34.7% more expensive than Nelson.

Restaurants: pay 44.0% more in Poughkeepsie
Groceries: pay 24.9% more in Poughkeepsie
Transportation: pay 0.2% less in Poughkeepsie
Housing: pay 79.4% more in Poughkeepsie
Childcare: pay 2.1 times more in Poughkeepsie
Entertainment and Sports: pay 30.1% less in Poughkeepsie
Clothing: pay 6.2% more in Poughkeepsie

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

Planning a move to United States? Get up to 5 free, no-obligation quotes from vetted international movers. Get free quotes →

Poughkeepsie vs. Nelson Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Poughkeepsie instead of Nelson, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 44.0% more for restaurants

	Nelson	Poughkeepsie
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$13.73 NZ$24.46	$23.50	+71.2%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$8.40 NZ$14.97	$12.50	+48.8%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.75 NZ$3.12	$2.00	+14.2%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.68 NZ$2.99	$1.25	-25.6%
Average			+44.0%

Nelson vs. Poughkeepsie - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 24.9% more for groceries

	Nelson	Poughkeepsie
Bread 1 loaf	$2.11 NZ$3.76	$3.27	+55.2%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.62 NZ$8.24	$6.61	+43.1%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.12 NZ$12.69	$3.94	-44.7%
Eggs 1 dozen	$5.68 NZ$10.12	$5.23	-7.9%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.39 NZ$6.04	$7.21	+112.7%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.40 NZ$2.49	$2.19	+57.1%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.99 NZ$1.76	$0.45	-54.5%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.37 NZ$2.44	$2.50	+83.0%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.59 NZ$4.62	$2.14	-17.4%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.95 NZ$1.70	$1.46	+53.5%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.57 NZ$1.01	$1.65	+189.0%
Average			+24.9%

Nelson vs. Poughkeepsie - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 0.2% less for transportation

	Nelson	Poughkeepsie
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.97 NZ$10.64	$3.57	-40.2%
Monthly public transit pass	??	??
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$17,086.24 NZ$30,448.62	$31,000.00	+81.4%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$16.19 NZ$28.85	$16.15	-0.2%
Average			-0.2%

Nelson vs. Poughkeepsie - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 79.4% more for housing

	Nelson	Poughkeepsie
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$42.72 NZ$76.12	$68.33	+60.0%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,022.37 NZ$1,821.93	$1,700.00	+66.3%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$812.30 NZ$1,447.56	$1,650.00	+103.1%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$98.59 NZ$175.69	$161.67	+64.0%
Average			+79.4%

Nelson vs. Poughkeepsie - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 2.1 times more for childcare

	Nelson	Poughkeepsie
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$448.16 NZ$798.65	$1,493.75	+233.3%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$12,899.11 NZ$22,986.93	$17,000.00	+31.8%
Average			+109.6%

Nelson vs. Poughkeepsie - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 30.1% less for entertainment and sports

	Nelson	Poughkeepsie
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$7.28 NZ$12.98	$6.00	-17.6%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.22 NZ$5.74	$4.50	+39.7%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$25.18 NZ$44.87	$14.50	-42.4%
Monthly membership at local gym	$100.84 NZ$179.70	$20.00	-80.2%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$11.20 NZ$19.97	$15.00	+33.9%
Average			-30.1%

Nelson vs. Poughkeepsie - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 6.2% more for clothing

	Nelson	Poughkeepsie
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$52.29 NZ$93.18	$54.80	+4.8%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$28.15 NZ$50.16	$39.77	+41.3%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$101.77 NZ$181.36	$112.50	+10.5%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$138.65 NZ$247.08	$107.83	-22.2%
Average			+6.2%

Nelson vs. Poughkeepsie - Cost of clothing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

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

Compare further: Nelson vs. Poughkeepsie

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in Poughkeepsie?

More cost comparisons

Nelson vs.

Beijing

Nelson vs.

Washington

Nelson vs.

Madrid

Nelson vs.

Moscow

Nelson vs.

Paris

Nelson vs.

Bangkok

Nelson vs.

London

Nelson vs.

Warsaw

Share this

Compare countries by overall cost of living

See the cost of living in New Zealand vs. United States. This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within New Zealand and United States.

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

Add prices for Nelson

Add prices for Poughkeepsie

Ask the Elsewhere Community

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Poughkeepsie or Nelson. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.