Cost of living comparison
compared to
Wellington vs. Nelson Cost of Living Summary
Wellington is 22.0% more expensive than Nelson.
- Restaurants
-
pay 5.4% more in Wellington
- Groceries
-
pay 12.9% less in Wellington
- Transportation
-
pay 80.6% more in Wellington
- Housing
-
pay 27.7% more in Wellington
- Childcare
-
pay 53.8% more in Wellington
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 5.9% less in Wellington
- Clothing
-
pay 5.4% more in Wellington
The cost of transportation, childcare, housing, restaurants, and clothing in Wellington are more expensive than in Nelson. Expenses including groceries and entertainment and sports are lower in Wellington. Notably, transportation is significantly more expensive in Wellington.
Wellington vs. Nelson Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Wellington instead of Nelson, you would:
pay 5.4% more for restaurants
|
Nelson
|
Wellington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$15.00
NZ$25.97
|
$14.42
NZ$24.97
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$8.94
NZ$15.48
|
$9.23
NZ$15.98
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$1.80
NZ$3.12
|
$2.46
NZ$4.26
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.31
NZ$3.99
|
$1.98
NZ$3.42
|
|
Nelson vs. Wellington - Cost of restaurants
pay 12.9% less for groceries
|
Nelson
|
Wellington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$2.17
NZ$3.76
|
$1.98
NZ$3.42
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$4.81
NZ$8.32
|
$4.02
NZ$6.96
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$8.06
NZ$13.94
|
$6.79
NZ$11.75
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$5.85
NZ$10.12
|
$6.77
NZ$11.73
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$3.49
NZ$6.04
|
$4.77
NZ$8.26
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.67
NZ$2.89
|
$1.36
NZ$2.36
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.05
NZ$1.81
|
$1.01
NZ$1.75
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.60
NZ$2.77
|
$1.33
NZ$2.30
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.97
NZ$5.13
|
$2.32
NZ$4.01
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.44
NZ$2.49
|
$0.90
NZ$1.55
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.50
NZ$2.60
|
$0.68
NZ$1.17
|
|
Nelson vs. Wellington - Cost of groceries
pay 80.6% more for transportation
|
Nelson
|
Wellington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$6.11
NZ$10.57
|
$6.14
NZ$10.63
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$28.85
NZ$49.93
|
$109.62
NZ$189.75
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$17,596.36
NZ$30,459.35
|
$31,154.21
NZ$53,928.03
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$22.50
NZ$38.95
|
$14.55
NZ$25.19
|
|
Nelson vs. Wellington - Cost of transportation
pay 27.7% more for housing
|
Nelson
|
Wellington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$47.60
NZ$82.39
|
$48.75
NZ$84.39
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$817.32
NZ$1,414.78
|
$1,240.57
NZ$2,147.43
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$625.01
NZ$1,081.89
|
$1,099.37
NZ$1,903.02
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$135.71
NZ$234.91
|
$109.37
NZ$189.31
|
|
Nelson vs. Wellington - Cost of housing
pay 53.8% more for childcare
|
Nelson
|
Wellington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$461.54
NZ$798.93
|
$768.47
NZ$1,330.22
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$8,653.95
NZ$14,980.01
|
$12,211.68
NZ$21,138.46
|
|
Nelson vs. Wellington - Cost of childcare
pay 5.9% less for entertainment and sports
|
Nelson
|
Wellington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$7.21
NZ$12.48
|
$6.63
NZ$11.48
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$3.27
NZ$5.66
|
$3.54
NZ$6.13
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$28.85
NZ$49.93
|
$25.67
NZ$44.44
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$46.54
NZ$80.56
|
$34.12
NZ$59.06
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$10.67
NZ$18.48
|
$11.54
NZ$19.97
|
|
Nelson vs. Wellington - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 5.4% more for clothing
|
Nelson
|
Wellington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$57.69
NZ$99.87
|
$69.31
NZ$119.97
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$63.46
NZ$109.85
|
$46.64
NZ$80.73
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$125.48
NZ$217.21
|
$113.30
NZ$196.13
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$106.16
NZ$183.75
|
$146.23
NZ$253.12
|
|
Nelson vs. Wellington - Cost of clothing
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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