Cost of living comparison

New Zealand

compared to

Canada

Whitby vs. Nelson Cost of Living Summary

Whitby is 24.8% more expensive than Nelson.

Restaurants: pay 0.5% more in Whitby
Groceries: pay 18.2% more in Whitby
Transportation: pay 4.2% less in Whitby
Housing: pay 67.7% more in Whitby
Childcare: pay 75.3% more in Whitby
Entertainment and Sports: pay 28.6% less in Whitby
Clothing: pay 18.9% more in Whitby

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

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Whitby vs. Nelson Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 0.5% more for restaurants

	Nelson	Whitby
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$13.73 NZ$24.27	$14.03 CA$19.86	+2.2%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$8.40 NZ$14.86	$8.42 CA$11.92	+0.2%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.75 NZ$3.10	$1.98 CA$2.81	+13.3%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.68 NZ$2.97	$1.40 CA$1.99	-16.5%
Average			+0.5%

Nelson vs. Whitby - Cost of restaurants

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pay 18.2% more for groceries

	Nelson	Whitby
Bread 1 loaf	$2.11 NZ$3.73	$2.79 CA$3.96	+32.5%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.62 NZ$8.18	$4.58 CA$6.48	-1.0%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.12 NZ$12.59	$9.76 CA$13.82	+37.1%
Eggs 1 dozen	$5.68 NZ$10.04	$4.19 CA$5.94	-26.1%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.39 NZ$5.99	$4.75 CA$6.73	+40.3%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.40 NZ$2.47	$1.92 CA$2.72	+37.6%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.99 NZ$1.75	$0.81 CA$1.15	-17.8%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.37 NZ$2.42	$1.55 CA$2.19	+13.3%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.59 NZ$4.58	$1.67 CA$2.37	-35.4%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.95 NZ$1.69	$1.54 CA$2.17	+61.0%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.57 NZ$1.01	$1.44 CA$2.04	+152.5%
Average			+18.2%

Nelson vs. Whitby - Cost of groceries

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pay 4.2% less for transportation

	Nelson	Whitby
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.97 NZ$10.56	$4.24 CA$6.00	-29.0%
Monthly public transit pass	??	$84.17 CA$119.16
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$17,086.24 NZ$30,214.40	$27,760.48 CA$39,301.90	+62.5%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$16.19 NZ$28.63	$9.12 CA$12.91	-43.7%
Average			-4.2%

Nelson vs. Whitby - Cost of transportation

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pay 67.7% more for housing

	Nelson	Whitby
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$42.72 NZ$75.54	$52.60 CA$74.47	+23.1%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,022.37 NZ$1,807.91	$1,753.44 CA$2,482.43	+71.5%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$812.30 NZ$1,436.42	$1,648.23 CA$2,333.49	+102.9%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$98.59 NZ$174.34	$103.92 CA$147.12	+5.4%
Average			+67.7%

Nelson vs. Whitby - Cost of housing

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pay 75.3% more for childcare

	Nelson	Whitby
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$448.16 NZ$792.51	$1,028.69 CA$1,456.36	+129.5%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$12,899.11 NZ$22,810.11	$17,271.39 CA$24,451.98	+33.9%
Average			+75.3%

Nelson vs. Whitby - Cost of childcare

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pay 28.6% less for entertainment and sports

	Nelson	Whitby
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$7.28 NZ$12.88	$5.61 CA$7.94	-23.0%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.22 NZ$5.70	$3.45 CA$4.88	+7.1%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$25.18 NZ$44.53	$14.03 CA$19.86	-44.3%
Monthly membership at local gym	$100.84 NZ$178.31	$47.34 CA$67.03	-53.0%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$11.20 NZ$19.81	$9.12 CA$12.91	-18.6%
Average			-28.6%

Nelson vs. Whitby - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 18.9% more for clothing

	Nelson	Whitby
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$52.29 NZ$92.46	$56.11 CA$79.44	+7.3%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$28.15 NZ$49.78	$55.64 CA$78.78	+97.7%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$101.77 NZ$179.97	$103.45 CA$146.46	+1.7%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$138.65 NZ$245.18	$128.59 CA$182.05	-7.3%
Average			+18.9%

Nelson vs. Whitby - 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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