Cost of living comparison

compared to

Canberra vs. Palmerston North Cost of Living Summary

Canberra is 49.7% more expensive than Palmerston North.

Restaurants: pay 8.3% more in Canberra
Groceries: pay 18.6% more in Canberra
Transportation: pay 25.8% more in Canberra
Housing: pay 81.9% more in Canberra
Childcare: pay 2.3 times more in Canberra
Entertainment and Sports: pay 57.5% more in Canberra
Clothing: pay 26.8% more in Canberra

The cost of childcare, housing, entertainment and sports, clothing, transportation, and groceries in Canberra are more expensive than in Palmerston North. Notably, childcare and housing are significantly more expensive in Canberra.

Canberra vs. Palmerston North Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Canberra instead of Palmerston North, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 8.3% more for restaurants

	Palmerston North	Canberra
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$14.42 NZ$24.97	$16.34 A$24.61	+13.3%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$9.91 NZ$17.16	$9.81 A$14.76	-1.1%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.36 NZ$4.08	$2.59 A$3.90	+9.7%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$2.01 NZ$3.48	$2.24 A$3.37	+11.2%
Average			+8.3%

Palmerston North vs. Canberra - Cost of restaurants

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pay 18.6% more for groceries

	Palmerston North	Canberra
Bread 1 loaf	$1.99 NZ$3.45	$2.71 A$4.07	+35.8%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.89 NZ$6.74	$4.99 A$7.51	+28.0%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.12 NZ$12.32	$5.50 A$8.27	-22.8%
Eggs 1 dozen	$5.13 NZ$8.88	$4.31 A$6.50	-16.0%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.99 NZ$6.91	$4.17 A$6.28	+4.5%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.07 NZ$1.86	$1.48 A$2.23	+38.0%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.80 NZ$1.39	$1.35 A$2.03	+67.6%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.08 NZ$1.87	$1.33 A$2.01	+23.6%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.48 NZ$2.55	$1.86 A$2.80	+26.0%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.91 NZ$1.58	$1.01 A$1.52	+10.6%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.95 NZ$1.65	$1.04 A$1.57	+9.2%
Average			+18.6%

Palmerston North vs. Canberra - Cost of groceries

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pay 25.8% more for transportation

	Palmerston North	Canberra
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$6.11 NZ$10.57	$4.42 A$6.65	-27.7%
Monthly public transit pass	$70.50 NZ$122.03	$122.90 A$185.04	+74.3%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$22,211.80 NZ$38,448.69	$29,041.09 A$43,723.43	+30.7%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$18.92 NZ$32.76	$18.93 A$28.49
Average			+25.8%

Palmerston North vs. Canberra - Cost of transportation

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pay 81.9% more for housing

	Palmerston North	Canberra
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$45.43 NZ$78.65	$51.97 A$78.25	+14.4%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$807.70 NZ$1,398.13	$1,554.45 A$2,340.33	+92.5%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$663.47 NZ$1,148.47	$1,160.39 A$1,747.05	+74.9%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$64.71 NZ$112.00	$159.03 A$239.43	+145.8%
Average			+81.9%

Palmerston North vs. Canberra - Cost of housing

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pay 2.3 times more for childcare

	Palmerston North	Canberra
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$961.55 NZ$1,664.45	$1,754.20 A$2,641.08	+82.4%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$4,843.04 NZ$8,383.31	$13,323.22 A$20,059.06	+175.1%
Average			+128.8%

Palmerston North vs. Canberra - Cost of childcare

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pay 57.5% more for entertainment and sports

	Palmerston North	Canberra
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$6.44 NZ$11.14	$6.54 A$9.84	+1.6%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.32 NZ$5.74	$3.41 A$5.13	+2.7%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$17.88 NZ$30.96	$31.05 A$46.75	+73.6%
Monthly membership at local gym	$22.69 NZ$39.28	$58.70 A$88.37	+158.7%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.65 NZ$14.98	$13.07 A$19.69	+51.1%
Average			+57.5%

Palmerston North vs. Canberra - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 26.8% more for clothing

	Palmerston North	Canberra
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$66.35 NZ$114.85	$69.40 A$104.48	+4.6%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$36.06 NZ$62.42	$57.75 A$86.94	+60.1%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$87.26 NZ$151.05	$94.06 A$141.61	+7.8%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$87.98 NZ$152.30	$118.40 A$178.26	+34.6%
Average			+26.8%

Palmerston North vs. Canberra - 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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