Cost of living comparison
compared to
San Diego vs. New Zealand Cost of Living Summary
San Diego is 64.1% more expensive than New Zealand overall.
- Restaurants
-
pay 44.4% more in San Diego
- Groceries
-
pay 46.3% more in San Diego
- Transportation
-
pay 3.2% more in San Diego
- Housing
-
pay 2.5 times more in San Diego
- Childcare
-
pay 2.4 times more in San Diego
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 43.5% more in San Diego
- Clothing
-
pay 16.2% more in San Diego
The cost of housing, childcare, groceries, restaurants, entertainment and sports, and clothing in San Diego are more expensive than in New Zealand. Notably, housing and childcare are significantly more expensive in San Diego.
San Diego vs. New Zealand Cost Breakdown
If you lived in San Diego instead of New Zealand, you would:
pay 44.4% more for restaurants
|
New Zealand
|
San Diego
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$14.45
NZ$25.01
|
$21.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$9.14
NZ$15.82
|
$15.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.11
NZ$3.65
|
$3.03
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.02
NZ$3.49
|
$2.50
|
|
New Zealand vs. San Diego - Cost of restaurants
pay 46.3% more for groceries
|
New Zealand
|
San Diego
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.74
NZ$3.01
|
$4.57
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$3.88
NZ$6.72
|
$7.36
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$6.34
NZ$10.97
|
$4.78
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$5.96
NZ$10.31
|
$5.84
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$4.01
NZ$6.93
|
$6.07
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.18
NZ$2.04
|
$2.22
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.95
NZ$1.65
|
$0.78
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.29
NZ$2.24
|
$1.91
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.11
NZ$3.65
|
$2.26
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.85
NZ$1.47
|
$1.42
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.80
NZ$1.38
|
$1.12
|
|
New Zealand vs. San Diego - Cost of groceries
pay 3.2% more for transportation
|
New Zealand
|
San Diego
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$6.08
NZ$10.52
|
$4.76
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$74.52
NZ$128.99
|
$72.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$24,777.66
NZ$42,890.20
|
$31,965.00
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$17.81
NZ$30.83
|
$19.40
|
|
New Zealand vs. San Diego - Cost of transportation
pay 2.5 times more for housing
|
New Zealand
|
San Diego
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$50.00
NZ$86.54
|
$82.19
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$978.36
NZ$1,693.54
|
$3,033.00
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$810.06
NZ$1,402.22
|
$2,538.64
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$95.66
NZ$165.59
|
$205.84
|
|
New Zealand vs. San Diego - Cost of housing
pay 2.4 times more for childcare
|
New Zealand
|
San Diego
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$635.34
NZ$1,099.78
|
$1,750.00
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$13,463.91
NZ$23,306.07
|
$28,750.00
|
|
New Zealand vs. San Diego - Cost of childcare
pay 43.5% more for entertainment and sports
|
New Zealand
|
San Diego
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$6.04
NZ$10.46
|
$8.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$3.35
NZ$5.80
|
$5.90
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$23.12
NZ$40.03
|
$12.00
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$37.72
NZ$65.30
|
$73.21
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$10.72
NZ$18.56
|
$17.50
|
|
New Zealand vs. San Diego - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 16.2% more for clothing
|
New Zealand
|
San Diego
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$65.22
NZ$112.90
|
$60.72
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$39.23
NZ$67.91
|
$58.44
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$90.28
NZ$156.27
|
$105.68
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$119.43
NZ$206.73
|
$126.25
|
|
New Zealand vs. San Diego - Cost of clothing
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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