Cost of living comparison
compared to
District of Columbia vs. New Zealand Cost of Living Summary
District of Columbia is 80.0% more expensive than New Zealand overall.
- Restaurants
-
pay 67.8% more in District of Columbia
- Groceries
-
pay 60.4% more in District of Columbia
- Transportation
-
pay 6.9% more in District of Columbia
- Housing
-
pay 2.5 times more in District of Columbia
- Childcare
-
pay 3.3 times more in District of Columbia
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 78.2% more in District of Columbia
- Clothing
-
pay 16.6% more in District of Columbia
District of Columbia vs. New Zealand Cost Breakdown
If you lived in District of Columbia instead of New Zealand, you would:
pay 67.8% more for restaurants
|
New Zealand
|
District of Columbia
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$13.26
NZ$23.46
|
$28.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$8.99
NZ$15.90
|
$12.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.04
NZ$3.61
|
$3.17
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.83
NZ$3.24
|
$2.64
|
|
New Zealand vs. District of Columbia - Cost of restaurants
pay 60.4% more for groceries
|
New Zealand
|
District of Columbia
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.73
NZ$3.05
|
$4.11
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$3.78
NZ$6.69
|
$8.53
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$6.47
NZ$11.45
|
$4.95
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$5.79
NZ$10.24
|
$5.64
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$3.83
NZ$6.77
|
$7.63
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.22
NZ$2.15
|
$3.17
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.94
NZ$1.67
|
$1.06
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.32
NZ$2.33
|
$2.27
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.20
NZ$3.89
|
$2.64
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.89
NZ$1.57
|
$1.29
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.67
NZ$1.18
|
$1.73
|
|
New Zealand vs. District of Columbia - Cost of groceries
pay 6.9% more for transportation
|
New Zealand
|
District of Columbia
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$6.34
NZ$11.21
|
$4.19
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$83.43
NZ$147.53
|
$120.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$24,108.51
NZ$42,632.21
|
$36,375.00
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$17.20
NZ$30.41
|
$16.73
|
|
New Zealand vs. District of Columbia - Cost of transportation
pay 2.5 times more for housing
|
New Zealand
|
District of Columbia
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$49.30
NZ$87.18
|
$77.77
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$976.74
NZ$1,727.21
|
$2,717.33
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$843.74
NZ$1,492.02
|
$2,228.89
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$95.64
NZ$169.12
|
$161.22
|
|
New Zealand vs. District of Columbia - Cost of housing
pay 3.3 times more for childcare
|
New Zealand
|
District of Columbia
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$716.92
NZ$1,267.75
|
$3,221.33
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$16,937.81
NZ$29,951.92
|
$41,506.00
|
|
New Zealand vs. District of Columbia - Cost of childcare
pay 78.2% more for entertainment and sports
|
New Zealand
|
District of Columbia
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$5.70
NZ$10.07
|
$9.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$3.26
NZ$5.77
|
$6.15
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$22.75
NZ$40.22
|
$13.94
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$39.17
NZ$69.26
|
$114.30
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$10.27
NZ$18.16
|
$18.00
|
|
New Zealand vs. District of Columbia - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 16.6% more for clothing
|
New Zealand
|
District of Columbia
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$63.30
NZ$111.94
|
$71.42
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$33.63
NZ$59.46
|
$44.11
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$91.48
NZ$161.76
|
$104.50
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$114.46
NZ$202.41
|
$125.16
|
|
New Zealand vs. District of Columbia - 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 October 2026). How we calculate this
Change currency:
Compare further: New Zealand vs. District of Columbia
Salary Calculator · Free tool
What salary would you need in District of Columbia?
→
Quality of Life Comparison · 3 statistics
Make 4.2 times more money in District of Columbia
→
Size Comparison · See true size
New Zealand is about 1,519 times bigger than District of Columbia.
→
Moving from New Zealand to District of Columbia · Cost, visas & climate
Compare cost of living, salary and climate.
→
City Size Comparison · See true size
Compare the size of Auckland vs Washington
→
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
Ask the Elsewhere Community
Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about District of Columbia or New Zealand. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.