Cost of living comparison

New Zealand

compared to

United States

Wilmington vs. Queenstown Cost of Living Summary

Wilmington is 8.9% more expensive than Queenstown.

Restaurants: pay 18.8% more in Wilmington
Groceries: pay 9.1% less in Wilmington
Transportation: pay 23.6% less in Wilmington
Housing: pay 38.4% more in Wilmington
Childcare: pay 2.5 times more in Wilmington
Entertainment and Sports: pay 18.0% less in Wilmington
Clothing: pay 20.2% less in Wilmington

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

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Wilmington vs. Queenstown Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 18.8% more for restaurants

	Queenstown	Wilmington
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$14.01 NZ$24.77	$20.00	+42.8%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$8.96 NZ$15.85	$10.25	+14.4%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.07 NZ$3.67	$2.25	+8.6%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$2.04 NZ$3.62	$1.33	-35.0%
Average			+18.8%

Queenstown vs. Wilmington - Cost of restaurants

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pay 9.1% less for groceries

	Queenstown	Wilmington
Bread 1 loaf	$1.96 NZ$3.46	$2.97	+51.9%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.17 NZ$7.37	$4.80	+15.2%
Milk (1 gallon)	$8.05 NZ$14.24	$4.36	-45.8%
Eggs 1 dozen	$5.77 NZ$10.21	$3.04	-47.3%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$4.50 NZ$7.96	$3.89	-13.5%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.34 NZ$2.36	$2.12	+58.7%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.05 NZ$1.86	$0.59	-44.1%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.70 NZ$3.01	$2.02	+18.8%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.44 NZ$4.32	$1.79	-26.7%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.56 NZ$2.77	$1.17	-25.1%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.82 NZ$1.45	$1.15	+40.2%
Average			-9.1%

Queenstown vs. Wilmington - Cost of groceries

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pay 23.6% less for transportation

	Queenstown	Wilmington
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$6.42 NZ$11.36	$3.96	-38.3%
Monthly public transit pass	$120.44 NZ$212.99	$60.00	-50.2%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$25,209.21 NZ$44,578.63	$35,000.00	+38.8%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$17.47 NZ$30.89	$13.70	-21.6%
Average			-23.6%

Queenstown vs. Wilmington - Cost of transportation

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pay 38.4% more for housing

	Queenstown	Wilmington
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$51.87 NZ$91.73	$60.00	+15.7%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,488.74 NZ$2,632.62	$1,850.00	+24.3%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,267.18 NZ$2,240.82	$1,600.00	+26.3%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$84.02 NZ$148.58	$210.29	+150.3%
Average			+38.4%

Queenstown vs. Wilmington - Cost of housing

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pay 2.5 times more for childcare

	Queenstown	Wilmington
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$964.30 NZ$1,705.22	$1,600.00	+65.9%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$7,562.76 NZ$13,373.59	$27,666.67	+265.8%
Average			+146.4%

Queenstown vs. Wilmington - Cost of childcare

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pay 18.0% less for entertainment and sports

	Queenstown	Wilmington
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$6.72 NZ$11.89	$4.00	-40.5%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.22 NZ$5.70	$4.81	+49.4%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$26.89 NZ$47.55	$11.00	-59.1%
Monthly membership at local gym	$55.32 NZ$97.83	$33.50	-39.4%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$10.22 NZ$18.08	$12.00	+17.4%
Average			-18.0%

Queenstown vs. Wilmington - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 20.2% less for clothing

	Queenstown	Wilmington
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$58.26 NZ$103.03	$37.00	-36.5%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$45.94 NZ$81.23	$47.00	+2.3%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$91.03 NZ$160.98	$82.50	-9.4%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$134.45 NZ$237.75	$92.50	-31.2%
Average			-20.2%

Queenstown vs. Wilmington - 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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