Cost of living comparison
compared to
Costa Mesa vs. New Zealand Cost of Living Summary
Costa Mesa is 66.2% more expensive than New Zealand overall.
Costa Mesa vs. New Zealand Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Costa Mesa instead of New Zealand, you would:
pay 55.5% more for restaurants
|
New Zealand
|
Costa Mesa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$13.26
NZ$23.91
|
$20.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$8.99
NZ$16.20
|
$15.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.04
NZ$3.68
|
$3.33
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.83
NZ$3.30
|
$2.43
|
|
New Zealand vs. Costa Mesa - Cost of restaurants
pay 47.7% more for groceries
|
New Zealand
|
Costa Mesa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.73
NZ$3.11
|
$4.05
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$3.78
NZ$6.82
|
$6.48
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$6.47
NZ$11.67
|
$4.22
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$5.79
NZ$10.44
|
$5.00
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$3.83
NZ$6.90
|
$8.99
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.22
NZ$2.19
|
$2.25
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.94
NZ$1.70
|
$1.12
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.32
NZ$2.38
|
$2.00
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.20
NZ$3.96
|
$2.62
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.89
NZ$1.60
|
$2.00
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.67
NZ$1.20
|
$1.03
|
|
New Zealand vs. Costa Mesa - Cost of groceries
pay 4.6% more for transportation
|
New Zealand
|
Costa Mesa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$6.34
NZ$11.42
|
$5.65
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$83.43
NZ$150.36
|
$69.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$24,108.51
NZ$43,450.50
|
$36,998.00
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$17.20
NZ$30.99
|
?? | |
New Zealand vs. Costa Mesa - Cost of transportation
pay 2.6 times more for housing
|
New Zealand
|
Costa Mesa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$49.30
NZ$88.85
|
$71.25
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$976.74
NZ$1,760.36
|
$2,733.33
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$843.74
NZ$1,520.66
|
$2,466.67
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$95.64
NZ$172.37
|
$166.32
|
|
New Zealand vs. Costa Mesa - Cost of housing
pay 64.6% more for childcare
|
New Zealand
|
Costa Mesa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$716.92
NZ$1,292.09
|
$1,180.00
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$16,937.81
NZ$30,526.82
|
?? | |
New Zealand vs. Costa Mesa - Cost of childcare
pay 24.5% more for entertainment and sports
|
New Zealand
|
Costa Mesa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$5.70
NZ$10.26
|
$7.25
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$3.26
NZ$5.88
|
$5.75
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$22.75
NZ$40.99
|
$11.71
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$39.17
NZ$70.59
|
$40.00
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$10.27
NZ$18.51
|
$16.50
|
|
New Zealand vs. Costa Mesa - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 10.7% more for clothing
|
New Zealand
|
Costa Mesa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$63.30
NZ$114.09
|
$57.50
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$33.63
NZ$60.60
|
$48.00
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$91.48
NZ$164.87
|
$93.33
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$114.46
NZ$206.29
|
$130.00
|
|
New Zealand vs. Costa Mesa - Cost of clothing
We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated November 2026). How we calculate this
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Compare further: New Zealand vs. Costa Mesa
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.
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