Cost of living comparison

New Zealand

compared to

Australia

Sydney vs. Nelson Cost of Living Summary

Sydney is 57.9% more expensive than Nelson.

Restaurants: pay 35.2% more in Sydney
Groceries: pay 22.6% more in Sydney
Transportation: pay 17.8% more in Sydney
Housing: pay 2.1 times more in Sydney
Childcare: pay 3.3 times more in Sydney
Entertainment and Sports: pay 15.7% more in Sydney
Clothing: pay 40.7% more in Sydney

The cost of childcare, housing, clothing, restaurants, groceries, and transportation in Sydney are more expensive than in Nelson. Notably, childcare and housing are significantly more expensive in Sydney.

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Sydney vs. Nelson Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 35.2% more for restaurants

	Nelson	Sydney
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$13.73 NZ$24.27	$17.41 A$25.04	+26.8%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$8.40 NZ$14.86	$11.84 A$17.03	+40.9%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.75 NZ$3.10	$2.81 A$4.04	+60.5%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.68 NZ$2.97	$2.22 A$3.19	+31.8%
Average			+35.2%

Nelson vs. Sydney - Cost of restaurants

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pay 22.6% more for groceries

	Nelson	Sydney
Bread 1 loaf	$2.11 NZ$3.73	$2.85 A$4.09	+35.0%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.62 NZ$8.18	$5.93 A$8.54	+28.4%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.12 NZ$12.59	$6.42 A$9.24	-9.9%
Eggs 1 dozen	$5.68 NZ$10.04	$5.56 A$7.99	-2.1%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.39 NZ$5.99	$4.34 A$6.24	+28.0%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.40 NZ$2.47	$1.81 A$2.60	+29.3%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.99 NZ$1.75	$1.45 A$2.09	+47.2%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.37 NZ$2.42	$1.56 A$2.24	+13.8%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.59 NZ$4.58	$1.98 A$2.85	-23.6%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.95 NZ$1.69	$1.48 A$2.12	+54.9%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.57 NZ$1.01	$1.07 A$1.54	+87.9%
Average			+22.6%

Nelson vs. Sydney - Cost of groceries

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pay 17.8% more for transportation

	Nelson	Sydney
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.97 NZ$10.56	$5.40 A$7.77	-9.5%
Monthly public transit pass	??	$151.36 A$217.75
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$17,086.24 NZ$30,214.40	$28,893.97 A$41,568.07	+69.1%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$16.19 NZ$28.63	$16.24 A$23.36	+0.3%
Average			+17.8%

Nelson vs. Sydney - Cost of transportation

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pay 2.1 times more for housing

	Nelson	Sydney
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$42.72 NZ$75.54	$56.21 A$80.87	+31.6%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,022.37 NZ$1,807.91	$2,517.32 A$3,621.52	+146.2%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$812.30 NZ$1,436.42	$1,743.66 A$2,508.51	+114.7%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$98.59 NZ$174.34	$168.46 A$242.35	+70.9%
Average			+113.8%

Nelson vs. Sydney - Cost of housing

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pay 3.3 times more for childcare

	Nelson	Sydney
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$448.16 NZ$792.51	$2,195.71 A$3,158.84	+389.9%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$12,899.11 NZ$22,810.11	$28,441.13 A$40,916.61	+120.5%
Average			+228.7%

Nelson vs. Sydney - Cost of childcare

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pay 15.7% more for entertainment and sports

	Nelson	Sydney
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$7.28 NZ$12.88	$7.66 A$11.02	+5.2%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.22 NZ$5.70	$3.97 A$5.72	+23.3%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$25.18 NZ$44.53	$44.55 A$64.09	+76.9%
Monthly membership at local gym	$100.84 NZ$178.31	$75.28 A$108.30	-25.3%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$11.20 NZ$19.81	$17.41 A$25.04	+55.4%
Average			+15.7%

Nelson vs. Sydney - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 40.7% more for clothing

	Nelson	Sydney
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$52.29 NZ$92.46	$78.68 A$113.19	+50.5%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$28.15 NZ$49.78	$69.62 A$100.16	+147.3%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$101.77 NZ$179.97	$111.40 A$160.26	+9.5%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$138.65 NZ$245.18	$133.24 A$191.68	-3.9%
Average			+40.7%

Nelson vs. Sydney - Cost of clothing

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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

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