Cost of living comparison
compared to
South Dakota vs. New Zealand Cost of Living Summary
South Dakota is 5.7% more expensive than New Zealand overall.
- Restaurants
-
pay 7.5% more in South Dakota
- Groceries
-
pay 12.8% more in South Dakota
- Transportation
-
pay 30.3% less in South Dakota
- Housing
-
pay 30.4% more in South Dakota
- Childcare
-
pay 26.8% less in South Dakota
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 0.8% more in South Dakota
- Clothing
-
pay 0.4% more in South Dakota
South Dakota vs. New Zealand Cost Breakdown
If you lived in South Dakota instead of New Zealand, you would:
pay 7.5% more for restaurants
|
New Zealand
|
South Dakota
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$13.26
NZ$23.46
|
$13.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$8.99
NZ$15.90
|
$10.33
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.04
NZ$3.61
|
$2.53
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.83
NZ$3.24
|
$2.05
|
|
New Zealand vs. South Dakota - Cost of restaurants
pay 12.8% more for groceries
|
New Zealand
|
South Dakota
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.73
NZ$3.05
|
$2.80
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$3.78
NZ$6.69
|
$5.94
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$6.47
NZ$11.45
|
$3.55
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$5.79
NZ$10.24
|
$4.65
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$3.83
NZ$6.77
|
$4.17
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.22
NZ$2.15
|
$1.85
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.94
NZ$1.67
|
$0.81
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.32
NZ$2.33
|
$1.51
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.20
NZ$3.89
|
$1.69
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.89
NZ$1.57
|
$1.22
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.67
NZ$1.18
|
$1.30
|
|
New Zealand vs. South Dakota - Cost of groceries
pay 30.3% less for transportation
|
New Zealand
|
South Dakota
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$6.34
NZ$11.21
|
$3.52
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$83.43
NZ$147.53
|
$30.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$24,108.51
NZ$42,632.21
|
$35,246.50
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$17.20
NZ$30.41
|
$15.02
|
|
New Zealand vs. South Dakota - Cost of transportation
pay 30.4% more for housing
|
New Zealand
|
South Dakota
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$49.30
NZ$87.18
|
$58.99
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$976.74
NZ$1,727.21
|
$1,145.83
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$843.74
NZ$1,492.02
|
$1,105.14
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$95.64
NZ$169.12
|
$168.11
|
|
New Zealand vs. South Dakota - Cost of housing
pay 26.8% less for childcare
|
New Zealand
|
South Dakota
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$716.92
NZ$1,267.75
|
$833.31
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$16,937.81
NZ$29,951.92
|
$7,800.00
|
|
New Zealand vs. South Dakota - Cost of childcare
pay 0.8% more for entertainment and sports
|
New Zealand
|
South Dakota
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$5.70
NZ$10.07
|
$4.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$3.26
NZ$5.77
|
$4.71
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$22.75
NZ$40.22
|
$9.54
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$39.17
NZ$69.26
|
$47.44
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$10.27
NZ$18.16
|
$12.25
|
|
New Zealand vs. South Dakota - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 0.4% more for clothing
|
New Zealand
|
South Dakota
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$63.30
NZ$111.94
|
$46.56
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$33.63
NZ$59.46
|
$43.33
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$91.48
NZ$161.76
|
$91.03
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$114.46
NZ$202.41
|
$123.17
|
|
New Zealand vs. South Dakota - 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 further: New Zealand vs. South Dakota
Compare countries by overall cost of living
See the
cost of living in New Zealand vs. United States.
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