Cost of living comparison

compared to

Ottawa vs. Palmerston North Cost of Living Summary

Ottawa is 30.2% more expensive than Palmerston North.

Restaurants: pay 0.5% less in Ottawa
Groceries: pay 28.3% more in Ottawa
Transportation: pay 1.9% less in Ottawa
Housing: pay 64.7% more in Ottawa
Childcare: pay 2.0 times more in Ottawa
Entertainment and Sports: pay 19.2% more in Ottawa
Clothing: pay 1.8% less in Ottawa

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

Ottawa vs. Palmerston North Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 0.5% less for restaurants

	Palmerston North	Ottawa
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$14.42 NZ$24.97	$17.99 CA$24.87	+24.7%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$9.91 NZ$17.16	$11.01 CA$15.22	+11.1%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.36 NZ$4.08	$2.00 CA$2.77	-15.1%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$2.01 NZ$3.48	$1.56 CA$2.15	-22.6%
Average			-0.5%

Palmerston North vs. Ottawa - Cost of restaurants

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pay 28.3% more for groceries

	Palmerston North	Ottawa
Bread 1 loaf	$1.99 NZ$3.45	$2.73 CA$3.77	+36.9%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.89 NZ$6.74	$5.85 CA$8.09	+50.2%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.12 NZ$12.32	$8.65 CA$11.97	+21.6%
Eggs 1 dozen	$5.13 NZ$8.88	$3.52 CA$4.86	-31.5%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.99 NZ$6.91	$5.74 CA$7.94	+43.9%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.07 NZ$1.86	$1.91 CA$2.64	+78.1%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.80 NZ$1.39	$0.60 CA$0.83	-25.3%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.08 NZ$1.87	$1.63 CA$2.25	+50.9%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.48 NZ$2.55	$1.67 CA$2.30	+12.9%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.91 NZ$1.58	$1.11 CA$1.53	+20.9%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.95 NZ$1.65	$1.46 CA$2.02	+53.0%
Average			+28.3%

Palmerston North vs. Ottawa - Cost of groceries

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pay 1.9% less for transportation

	Palmerston North	Ottawa
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$6.11 NZ$10.57	$4.05 CA$5.60	-33.7%
Monthly public transit pass	$70.50 NZ$122.03	$97.12 CA$134.31	+37.8%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$22,211.80 NZ$38,448.69	$24,444.83 CA$33,803.54	+10.1%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$18.92 NZ$32.76	$14.82 CA$20.49	-21.7%
Average			-1.9%

Palmerston North vs. Ottawa - Cost of transportation

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pay 64.7% more for housing

	Palmerston North	Ottawa
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$45.43 NZ$78.65	$49.93 CA$69.04	+9.9%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$807.70 NZ$1,398.13	$1,452.55 CA$2,008.67	+79.8%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$663.47 NZ$1,148.47	$1,228.71 CA$1,699.13	+85.2%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$64.71 NZ$112.00	$118.93 CA$164.46	+83.8%
Average			+64.7%

Palmerston North vs. Ottawa - Cost of housing

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pay 2.0 times more for childcare

	Palmerston North	Ottawa
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$961.55 NZ$1,664.45	$788.18 CA$1,089.93	-18.0%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$4,843.04 NZ$8,383.31	$15,753.32 CA$21,784.48	+225.3%
Average			+103.7%

Palmerston North vs. Ottawa - Cost of childcare

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pay 19.2% more for entertainment and sports

	Palmerston North	Ottawa
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$6.44 NZ$11.14	$5.76 CA$7.96	-10.6%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.32 NZ$5.74	$3.74 CA$5.18	+12.9%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$17.88 NZ$30.96	$12.95 CA$17.91	-27.6%
Monthly membership at local gym	$22.69 NZ$39.28	$44.60 CA$61.68	+96.6%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.65 NZ$14.98	$10.79 CA$14.92	+24.7%
Average			+19.2%

Palmerston North vs. Ottawa - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 1.8% less for clothing

	Palmerston North	Ottawa
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$66.35 NZ$114.85	$52.82 CA$73.05	-20.4%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$36.06 NZ$62.42	$38.91 CA$53.81	+7.9%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$87.26 NZ$151.05	$87.10 CA$120.44	-0.2%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$87.98 NZ$152.30	$92.91 CA$128.48	+5.6%
Average			-1.8%

Palmerston North vs. Ottawa - 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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