Cost of living comparison

New Zealand

compared to

United States

Columbia vs. Queenstown Cost of Living Summary

Columbia is 26.2% more expensive than Queenstown.

Restaurants: pay 32.7% more in Columbia
Groceries: pay 26.9% more in Columbia
Transportation: pay 30.3% less in Columbia
Housing: pay 50.2% more in Columbia
Childcare: pay 3.1 times more in Columbia
Entertainment and Sports: pay 13.3% more in Columbia
Clothing: pay 2.9% more in Columbia

The cost of childcare, housing, restaurants, groceries, entertainment and sports, and clothing in Columbia are more expensive than in Queenstown. Notably, childcare is significantly more expensive in Columbia.

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Columbia vs. Queenstown Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Columbia instead of Queenstown, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 32.7% more for restaurants

	Queenstown	Columbia
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$14.01 NZ$24.77	$18.00	+28.5%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$8.96 NZ$15.85	$12.00	+33.9%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.07 NZ$3.67	$3.17	+52.8%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$2.04 NZ$3.62	$2.64	+29.0%
Average			+32.7%

Queenstown vs. Columbia - Cost of restaurants

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pay 26.9% more for groceries

	Queenstown	Columbia
Bread 1 loaf	$1.96 NZ$3.46	$4.11	+110.1%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.17 NZ$7.37	$6.61	+58.6%
Milk (1 gallon)	$8.05 NZ$14.24	$4.95	-38.5%
Eggs 1 dozen	$5.77 NZ$10.21	$5.24	-9.2%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$4.50 NZ$7.96	$7.63	+69.5%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.34 NZ$2.36	$3.17	+137.3%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.05 NZ$1.86	$0.70	-33.4%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.70 NZ$3.01	$2.58	+51.6%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.44 NZ$4.32	$2.64	+7.9%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.56 NZ$2.77	$1.25	-20.0%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.82 NZ$1.45	$1.73	+111.0%
Average			+26.9%

Queenstown vs. Columbia - Cost of groceries

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pay 30.3% less for transportation

	Queenstown	Columbia
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$6.42 NZ$11.36	$4.01	-37.5%
Monthly public transit pass	$120.44 NZ$212.99	$40.00	-66.8%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$25,209.21 NZ$44,578.63	$36,375.00	+44.3%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$17.47 NZ$30.89	$12.79	-26.8%
Average			-30.3%

Queenstown vs. Columbia - Cost of transportation

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pay 50.2% more for housing

	Queenstown	Columbia
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$51.87 NZ$91.73	$77.77	+49.9%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,488.74 NZ$2,632.62	$2,100.00	+41.1%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,267.18 NZ$2,240.82	$1,850.00	+46.0%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$84.02 NZ$148.58	$161.22	+91.9%
Average			+50.2%

Queenstown vs. Columbia - Cost of housing

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pay 3.1 times more for childcare

	Queenstown	Columbia
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$964.30 NZ$1,705.22	$2,000.00	+107.4%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$7,562.76 NZ$13,373.59	$34,903.57	+361.5%
Average			+209.4%

Queenstown vs. Columbia - Cost of childcare

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pay 13.3% more for entertainment and sports

	Queenstown	Columbia
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$6.72 NZ$11.89	$7.50	+11.6%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.22 NZ$5.70	$5.27	+63.6%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$26.89 NZ$47.55	$13.94	-48.2%
Monthly membership at local gym	$55.32 NZ$97.83	$50.00	-9.6%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$10.22 NZ$18.08	$15.00	+46.7%
Average			+13.3%

Queenstown vs. Columbia - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 2.9% more for clothing

	Queenstown	Columbia
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$58.26 NZ$103.03	$52.30	-10.2%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$45.94 NZ$81.23	$63.14	+37.4%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$91.03 NZ$160.98	$100.00	+9.8%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$134.45 NZ$237.75	$111.15	-17.3%
Average			+2.9%

Queenstown vs. Columbia - 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

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