Cost of living comparison

Panama

compared to

New Zealand

New Zealand vs. Panama Cost of Living Summary

New Zealand is 26.0% more expensive than Panama overall.

Restaurants: pay 33.8% more in New Zealand
Groceries: pay 5.7% less in New Zealand
Transportation: pay 58.5% more in New Zealand
Housing: pay 23.3% more in New Zealand
Childcare: pay 76.0% more in New Zealand
Entertainment and Sports: pay 45.0% more in New Zealand
Clothing: pay 21.2% more in New Zealand

The cost of childcare, transportation, entertainment and sports, restaurants, housing, and clothing in New Zealand are more expensive than in Panama. Notably, childcare is significantly more expensive in New Zealand.

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New Zealand vs. Panama Cost Breakdown

If you lived in New Zealand instead of Panama, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 33.8% more for restaurants

	Panama	New Zealand
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$8.20 PAB8.20	$13.26 NZ$23.46	+61.8%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$8.90 PAB8.90	$8.99 NZ$15.90	+1.0%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.41 PAB1.41	$2.04 NZ$3.61	+45.0%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.30 PAB1.30	$1.83 NZ$3.24	+40.4%
Average			+33.8%

Panama vs. New Zealand - Cost of restaurants

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pay 5.7% less for groceries

	Panama	New Zealand
Bread 1 loaf	$2.28 PAB2.28	$1.73 NZ$3.05	-24.5%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$6.18 PAB6.18	$3.78 NZ$6.69	-38.8%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.09 PAB7.09	$6.47 NZ$11.45	-8.6%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.56 PAB2.56	$5.79 NZ$10.24	+126.5%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.42 PAB3.42	$3.83 NZ$6.77	+11.9%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.86 PAB1.86	$1.22 NZ$2.15	-34.5%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.59 PAB0.59	$0.94 NZ$1.67	+59.7%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.76 PAB1.76	$1.32 NZ$2.33	-25.1%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.67 PAB1.67	$2.20 NZ$3.89	+31.4%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.09 PAB1.09	$0.89 NZ$1.57	-18.5%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.14 PAB1.14	$0.67 NZ$1.18	-41.7%
Average			-5.7%

Panama vs. New Zealand - Cost of groceries

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pay 58.5% more for transportation

	Panama	New Zealand
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.34 PAB4.34	$6.34 NZ$11.21	+46.0%
Monthly public transit pass	$23.00 PAB23.00	$83.43 NZ$147.53	+262.7%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$23,920.67 PAB23,920.67	$24,108.51 NZ$42,632.21	+0.8%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$16.62 PAB16.62	$17.20 NZ$30.41	+3.5%
Average			+58.5%

Panama vs. New Zealand - Cost of transportation

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pay 23.3% more for housing

	Panama	New Zealand
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$49.81 PAB49.81	$49.30 NZ$87.18	-1.0%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$789.50 PAB789.50	$976.74 NZ$1,727.21	+23.7%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$614.84 PAB614.84	$843.74 NZ$1,492.02	+37.2%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$96.53 PAB96.53	$95.64 NZ$169.12	-0.9%
Average			+23.3%

Panama vs. New Zealand - Cost of housing

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pay 76.0% more for childcare

	Panama	New Zealand
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$543.33 PAB543.33	$716.92 NZ$1,267.75	+31.9%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$7,213.83 PAB7,213.83	$16,937.81 NZ$29,951.92	+134.8%
Average			+76.0%

Panama vs. New Zealand - Cost of childcare

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pay 45.0% more for entertainment and sports

	Panama	New Zealand
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.21 PAB2.21	$5.70 NZ$10.07	+157.7%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.73 PAB3.73	$3.26 NZ$5.77	-12.5%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$5.29 PAB5.29	$22.75 NZ$40.22	+329.8%
Monthly membership at local gym	$50.91 PAB50.91	$39.17 NZ$69.26	-23.1%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$6.13 PAB6.13	$10.27 NZ$18.16	+67.5%
Average			+45.0%

Panama vs. New Zealand - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 21.2% more for clothing

	Panama	New Zealand
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$45.56 PAB45.56	$63.30 NZ$111.94	+39.0%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$36.71 PAB36.71	$33.63 NZ$59.46	-8.4%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$69.81 PAB69.81	$91.48 NZ$161.76	+31.0%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$88.33 PAB88.33	$114.46 NZ$202.41	+29.6%
Average			+21.2%

Panama vs. New Zealand - Cost of clothing

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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

Compare further: Panama vs. New Zealand

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in New Zealand?

Quality of Life Comparison · 20 statistics

Make 2.5 times more money in New Zealand

Size Comparison · See true size

Panama is about 3.6 times smaller than New Zealand.

Moving from Panama to New Zealand · OECD 2023

15 people moved from Panama to New Zealand.

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