Cost of living comparison

compared to

Invercargill vs. Palmerston North Cost of Living Summary

Invercargill is 11.0% cheaper than Palmerston North.

Restaurants: pay 25.8% less in Invercargill
Groceries: pay 0.8% more in Invercargill
Transportation: pay 3.2% less in Invercargill
Housing: pay 4.9% less in Invercargill
Childcare: pay 41.8% less in Invercargill
Entertainment and Sports: pay 7.3% more in Invercargill
Clothing: pay 9.1% less in Invercargill

The cost of entertainment and sports and groceries in Invercargill are more expensive than in Palmerston North. Expenses including childcare, restaurants, clothing, housing, and transportation are lower in Invercargill.

Invercargill vs. Palmerston North Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 25.8% less for restaurants

	Palmerston North	Invercargill
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$14.42 NZ$24.97	$14.42 NZ$24.97
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$9.91 NZ$17.16	$8.37 NZ$14.48	-15.6%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.36 NZ$4.08	$1.63 NZ$2.83	-30.7%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$2.01 NZ$3.48	$1.38 NZ$2.40	-31.2%
Average			-25.8%

Palmerston North vs. Invercargill - Cost of restaurants

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pay 0.8% more for groceries

	Palmerston North	Invercargill
Bread 1 loaf	$1.99 NZ$3.45	$1.80 NZ$3.11	-9.7%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.89 NZ$6.74	$4.12 NZ$7.13	+5.8%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.12 NZ$12.32	$6.10 NZ$10.55	-14.3%
Eggs 1 dozen	$5.13 NZ$8.88	$5.84 NZ$10.10	+13.7%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.99 NZ$6.91	$3.40 NZ$5.89	-14.7%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.07 NZ$1.86	$1.18 NZ$2.04	+9.8%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.80 NZ$1.39	$0.99 NZ$1.72	+23.7%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.08 NZ$1.87	$1.18 NZ$2.04	+9.1%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.48 NZ$2.55	$1.61 NZ$2.79	+9.3%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.91 NZ$1.58	$0.86 NZ$1.49	-5.6%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.95 NZ$1.65	$0.78 NZ$1.34	-18.6%
Average			+0.8%

Palmerston North vs. Invercargill - Cost of groceries

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pay 3.2% less for transportation

	Palmerston North	Invercargill
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$6.11 NZ$10.57	$6.09 NZ$10.55	-0.2%
Monthly public transit pass	$70.50 NZ$122.03	$57.69 NZ$99.87	-18.2%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$22,211.80 NZ$38,448.69	$24,519.23 NZ$42,442.86	+10.4%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$18.92 NZ$32.76	$18.00 NZ$31.16	-4.9%
Average			-3.2%

Palmerston North vs. Invercargill - Cost of transportation

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pay 4.9% less for housing

	Palmerston North	Invercargill
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$45.43 NZ$78.65	$47.54 NZ$82.29	+4.6%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$807.70 NZ$1,398.13	$615.39 NZ$1,065.25	-23.8%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$663.47 NZ$1,148.47	$561.55 NZ$972.04	-15.4%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$64.71 NZ$112.00	$74.34 NZ$128.68	+14.9%
Average			-4.9%

Palmerston North vs. Invercargill - Cost of housing

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pay 41.8% less for childcare

	Palmerston North	Invercargill
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$961.55 NZ$1,664.45	$559.62 NZ$968.71	-41.8%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$4,843.04 NZ$8,383.31	??
Average			-41.8%

Palmerston North vs. Invercargill - Cost of childcare

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pay 7.3% more for entertainment and sports

	Palmerston North	Invercargill
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$6.44 NZ$11.14	$5.77 NZ$9.99	-10.3%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.32 NZ$5.74	$3.21 NZ$5.56	-3.3%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$17.88 NZ$30.96	$21.29 NZ$36.85	+19.0%
Monthly membership at local gym	$22.69 NZ$39.28	$28.27 NZ$48.93	+24.6%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.65 NZ$14.98	$9.23 NZ$15.98	+6.7%
Average			+7.3%

Palmerston North vs. Invercargill - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 9.1% less for clothing

	Palmerston North	Invercargill
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$66.35 NZ$114.85	$63.46 NZ$109.85	-4.3%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$36.06 NZ$62.42	$33.65 NZ$58.26	-6.7%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$87.26 NZ$151.05	$72.12 NZ$124.83	-17.4%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$87.98 NZ$152.30	$80.77 NZ$139.81	-8.2%
Average			-9.1%

Palmerston North vs. Invercargill - 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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