Cost of living comparison
compared to
Montana vs. New Zealand Cost of Living Summary
Montana is 25.5% more expensive than New Zealand overall.
Montana vs. New Zealand Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Montana instead of New Zealand, you would:
pay 40.5% more for restaurants
|
New Zealand
|
Montana
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$13.26
NZ$23.64
|
$19.71
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$8.99
NZ$16.02
|
$12.64
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.04
NZ$3.64
|
$2.63
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.83
NZ$3.26
|
$2.17
|
|
New Zealand vs. Montana - Cost of restaurants
pay 17.8% more for groceries
|
New Zealand
|
Montana
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.73
NZ$3.08
|
$3.53
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$3.78
NZ$6.74
|
$8.47
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$6.47
NZ$11.54
|
$4.12
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$5.79
NZ$10.32
|
$4.27
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$3.83
NZ$6.82
|
$4.42
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.22
NZ$2.17
|
$2.17
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.94
NZ$1.68
|
$0.77
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.32
NZ$2.35
|
$1.82
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.20
NZ$3.92
|
$1.76
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.89
NZ$1.59
|
$0.89
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.67
NZ$1.19
|
$1.01
|
|
New Zealand vs. Montana - Cost of groceries
pay 21.7% less for transportation
|
New Zealand
|
Montana
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$6.34
NZ$11.29
|
$3.79
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$83.43
NZ$148.67
|
$39.33
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$24,108.51
NZ$42,962.69
|
$33,165.71
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$17.20
NZ$30.64
|
$22.70
|
|
New Zealand vs. Montana - Cost of transportation
pay 56.8% more for housing
|
New Zealand
|
Montana
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$49.30
NZ$87.85
|
$76.54
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$976.74
NZ$1,740.60
|
$1,573.69
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$843.74
NZ$1,503.59
|
$1,265.88
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$95.64
NZ$170.44
|
$157.35
|
|
New Zealand vs. Montana - Cost of housing
pay 47.8% more for childcare
|
New Zealand
|
Montana
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$716.92
NZ$1,277.58
|
$1,469.66
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$16,937.81
NZ$30,184.10
|
$18,042.22
|
|
New Zealand vs. Montana - Cost of childcare
pay 18.5% more for entertainment and sports
|
New Zealand
|
Montana
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$5.70
NZ$10.15
|
$5.30
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$3.26
NZ$5.81
|
$5.04
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$22.75
NZ$40.53
|
$9.95
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$39.17
NZ$69.80
|
$64.33
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$10.27
NZ$18.30
|
$12.82
|
|
New Zealand vs. Montana - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 10.1% more for clothing
|
New Zealand
|
Montana
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$63.30
NZ$112.81
|
$57.00
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$33.63
NZ$59.92
|
$56.19
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$91.48
NZ$163.02
|
$95.23
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$114.46
NZ$203.98
|
$107.40
|
|
New Zealand vs. Montana - 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
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Compare countries by overall cost of living
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cost of living in New Zealand vs. United States.
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