Cost of living comparison

compared to

New Plymouth vs. New Zealand Cost of Living Summary

New Plymouth is 1.3% more expensive than New Zealand overall.

Restaurants: pay 5.2% less in New Plymouth
Groceries: pay 11.6% less in New Plymouth
Transportation: pay 2.3% more in New Plymouth
Housing: pay 23.0% less in New Plymouth
Childcare: pay 71.4% more in New Plymouth
Entertainment and Sports: pay 2.3% less in New Plymouth
Clothing: pay 22.8% less in New Plymouth

The cost of childcare and transportation in New Plymouth are more expensive than in New Zealand. Expenses including housing, clothing, groceries, restaurants, and entertainment and sports are lower in New Plymouth.

New Plymouth vs. New Zealand Cost Breakdown

If you lived in New Plymouth instead of New Zealand, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 5.2% less for restaurants

	New Zealand	New Plymouth
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$14.45 NZ$25.01	$12.40 NZ$21.47	-14.1%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$9.14 NZ$15.82	$8.65 NZ$14.98	-5.3%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.11 NZ$3.65	$2.17 NZ$3.76	+3.2%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$2.02 NZ$3.49	$1.92 NZ$3.33	-4.6%
Average			-5.2%

New Zealand vs. New Plymouth - Cost of restaurants

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pay 11.6% less for groceries

	New Zealand	New Plymouth
Bread 1 loaf	$1.74 NZ$3.01	$1.27 NZ$2.19	-27.1%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.88 NZ$6.72	$2.76 NZ$4.78	-28.8%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.34 NZ$10.97	$5.42 NZ$9.38	-14.5%
Eggs 1 dozen	$5.96 NZ$10.31	$5.58 NZ$9.66	-6.3%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$4.01 NZ$6.93	$3.40 NZ$5.89	-15.1%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.18 NZ$2.04	$0.92 NZ$1.59	-22.4%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.95 NZ$1.65	$0.87 NZ$1.51	-8.4%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.29 NZ$2.24	$1.21 NZ$2.10	-6.5%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.11 NZ$3.65	$2.87 NZ$4.96	+36.0%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.85 NZ$1.47	$0.71 NZ$1.22	-16.9%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.80 NZ$1.38	$0.65 NZ$1.13	-18.0%
Average			-11.6%

New Zealand vs. New Plymouth - Cost of groceries

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pay 2.3% more for transportation

	New Zealand	New Plymouth
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$6.08 NZ$10.52	$6.11 NZ$10.57	+0.4%
Monthly public transit pass	$74.52 NZ$128.99	??
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$24,777.66 NZ$42,890.20	$23,077.19 NZ$39,946.69	-6.9%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$17.81 NZ$30.83	$20.19 NZ$34.95	+13.4%
Average			+2.3%

New Zealand vs. New Plymouth - Cost of transportation

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pay 23.0% less for housing

	New Zealand	New Plymouth
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$50.00 NZ$86.54	$38.94 NZ$67.41	-22.1%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$978.36 NZ$1,693.54	$696.16 NZ$1,205.06	-28.8%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$810.06 NZ$1,402.22	$644.24 NZ$1,115.18	-20.5%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$95.66 NZ$165.59	$75.96 NZ$131.48	-20.6%
Average			-23.0%

New Zealand vs. New Plymouth - Cost of housing

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pay 71.4% more for childcare

	New Zealand	New Plymouth
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$635.34 NZ$1,099.78	??
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$13,463.91 NZ$23,306.07	$23,077.19 NZ$39,946.69	+71.4%
Average			+71.4%

New Zealand vs. New Plymouth - Cost of childcare

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pay 2.3% less for entertainment and sports

	New Zealand	New Plymouth
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$6.04 NZ$10.46	$5.05 NZ$8.74	-16.5%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.35 NZ$5.80	$3.51 NZ$6.08	+4.7%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$23.12 NZ$40.03	$20.19 NZ$34.95	-12.7%
Monthly membership at local gym	$37.72 NZ$65.30	$43.27 NZ$74.90	+14.7%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$10.72 NZ$18.56	$10.53 NZ$18.23	-1.8%
Average			-2.3%

New Zealand vs. New Plymouth - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 22.8% less for clothing

	New Zealand	New Plymouth
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$65.22 NZ$112.90	$59.14 NZ$102.36	-9.3%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$39.23 NZ$67.91	$34.62 NZ$59.92	-11.8%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$90.28 NZ$156.27	$69.23 NZ$119.84	-23.3%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$119.43 NZ$206.73	$63.46 NZ$109.85	-46.9%
Average			-22.8%

New Zealand vs. New Plymouth - Cost of clothing

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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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