Cost of living comparison

compared to

Rome vs. Palmerston North Cost of Living Summary

Rome is 25.6% more expensive than Palmerston North.

Restaurants: pay 3.0% more in Rome
Groceries: pay 21.9% more in Rome
Transportation: pay 5.0% more in Rome
Housing: pay 63.5% more in Rome
Childcare: pay 42.6% more in Rome
Entertainment and Sports: pay 27.6% more in Rome
Clothing: pay 15.6% more in Rome

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

Rome vs. Palmerston North Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 3.0% more for restaurants

	Palmerston North	Rome
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$14.42 NZ$24.97	$17.52 €15.05	+21.5%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$9.91 NZ$17.16	$11.68 €10.03	+17.8%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.36 NZ$4.08	$2.50 €2.15	+6.2%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$2.01 NZ$3.48	$1.34 €1.15	-33.5%
Average			+3.0%

Palmerston North vs. Rome - Cost of restaurants

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pay 21.9% more for groceries

	Palmerston North	Rome
Bread 1 loaf	$1.99 NZ$3.45	$2.21 €1.90	+11.0%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.89 NZ$6.74	$9.54 €8.19	+144.9%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.12 NZ$12.32	$7.12 €6.11
Eggs 1 dozen	$5.13 NZ$8.88	$4.62 €3.97	-9.9%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.99 NZ$6.91	$5.53 €4.75	+38.5%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.07 NZ$1.86	$1.21 €1.04	+12.9%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.80 NZ$1.39	$1.04 €0.89	+29.6%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.08 NZ$1.87	$1.08 €0.92	-0.3%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.48 NZ$2.55	$1.44 €1.23	-2.7%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.91 NZ$1.58	$0.85 €0.73	-7.1%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.95 NZ$1.65	$0.98 €0.84	+2.6%
Average			+21.9%

Palmerston North vs. Rome - Cost of groceries

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pay 5.0% more for transportation

	Palmerston North	Rome
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$6.11 NZ$10.57	$7.66 €6.58	+25.5%
Monthly public transit pass	$70.50 NZ$122.03	$40.88 €35.11	-42.0%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$22,211.80 NZ$38,448.69	$29,199.74 €25,077.06	+31.5%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$18.92 NZ$32.76	$19.86 €17.05	+4.9%
Average			+5.0%

Palmerston North vs. Rome - Cost of transportation

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pay 63.5% more for housing

	Palmerston North	Rome
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$45.43 NZ$78.65	$32.12 €27.58	-29.3%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$807.70 NZ$1,398.13	$1,436.63 €1,233.79	+77.9%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$663.47 NZ$1,148.47	$927.65 €796.68	+39.8%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$64.71 NZ$112.00	$171.74 €147.49	+165.4%
Average			+63.5%

Palmerston North vs. Rome - Cost of housing

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pay 42.6% more for childcare

	Palmerston North	Rome
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$961.55 NZ$1,664.45	$568.18 €487.96	-40.9%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$4,843.04 NZ$8,383.31	$10,951.36 €9,405.15	+126.1%
Average			+42.6%

Palmerston North vs. Rome - Cost of childcare

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pay 27.6% more for entertainment and sports

	Palmerston North	Rome
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$6.44 NZ$11.14	$5.84 €5.02	-9.2%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.32 NZ$5.74	$2.01 €1.73	-39.3%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$17.88 NZ$30.96	$7.18 €6.17	-59.8%
Monthly membership at local gym	$22.69 NZ$39.28	$70.65 €60.67	+211.3%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.65 NZ$14.98	$11.68 €10.03	+35.0%
Average			+27.6%

Palmerston North vs. Rome - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 15.6% more for clothing

	Palmerston North	Rome
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$66.35 NZ$114.85	$81.76 €70.22	+23.2%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$36.06 NZ$62.42	$37.76 €32.43	+4.7%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$87.26 NZ$151.05	$88.68 €76.16	+1.6%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$87.98 NZ$152.30	$116.80 €100.31	+32.8%
Average			+15.6%

Palmerston North vs. Rome - 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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