Cost of living comparison

compared to

Palmerston North vs. Rome Cost of Living Summary

Palmerston North is 0.8% cheaper than Rome.

Restaurants: pay 2.9% more in Palmerston North
Groceries: pay 11.2% less in Palmerston North
Transportation: pay 5.9% more in Palmerston North
Housing: pay 23.3% less in Palmerston North
Childcare: pay 6.7% more in Palmerston North
Entertainment and Sports: pay 26.0% more in Palmerston North
Clothing: pay 12.4% less in Palmerston North

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

Palmerston North vs. Rome Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 2.9% more for restaurants

	Rome	Palmerston North
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$17.52 €15.05	$14.42 NZ$24.97	-17.7%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$11.68 €10.03	$9.91 NZ$17.16	-15.1%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.50 €2.15	$2.36 NZ$4.08	-5.8%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.34 €1.15	$2.01 NZ$3.48	+50.3%
Average			+2.9%

Rome vs. Palmerston North - Cost of restaurants

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pay 11.2% less for groceries

	Rome	Palmerston North
Bread 1 loaf	$2.21 €1.90	$1.99 NZ$3.45	-9.9%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$9.54 €8.19	$3.89 NZ$6.74	-59.2%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.12 €6.11	$7.12 NZ$12.32
Eggs 1 dozen	$4.62 €3.97	$5.13 NZ$8.88	+11.0%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$5.53 €4.75	$3.99 NZ$6.91	-27.8%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.21 €1.04	$1.07 NZ$1.86	-11.4%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.04 €0.89	$0.80 NZ$1.39	-22.8%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.08 €0.92	$1.08 NZ$1.87	+0.3%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.44 €1.23	$1.48 NZ$2.55	+2.8%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.85 €0.73	$0.91 NZ$1.58	+7.7%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.98 €0.84	$0.95 NZ$1.65	-2.5%
Average			-11.2%

Rome vs. Palmerston North - Cost of groceries

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pay 5.9% more for transportation

	Rome	Palmerston North
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$7.66 €6.58	$6.11 NZ$10.57	-20.3%
Monthly public transit pass	$40.88 €35.11	$70.50 NZ$122.03	+72.5%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$29,199.74 €25,077.06	$22,211.80 NZ$38,448.69	-23.9%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$19.86 €17.05	$18.92 NZ$32.76	-4.7%
Average			+5.9%

Rome vs. Palmerston North - Cost of transportation

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pay 23.3% less for housing

	Rome	Palmerston North
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$32.12 €27.58	$45.43 NZ$78.65	+41.5%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,436.63 €1,233.79	$807.70 NZ$1,398.13	-43.8%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$927.65 €796.68	$663.47 NZ$1,148.47	-28.5%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$171.74 €147.49	$64.71 NZ$112.00	-62.3%
Average			-23.3%

Rome vs. Palmerston North - Cost of housing

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pay 6.7% more for childcare

	Rome	Palmerston North
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$568.18 €487.96	$961.55 NZ$1,664.45	+69.2%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$10,951.36 €9,405.15	$4,843.04 NZ$8,383.31	-55.8%
Average			+6.7%

Rome vs. Palmerston North - Cost of childcare

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pay 26.0% more for entertainment and sports

	Rome	Palmerston North
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$5.84 €5.02	$6.44 NZ$11.14	+10.2%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.01 €1.73	$3.32 NZ$5.74	+64.7%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$7.18 €6.17	$17.88 NZ$30.96	+149.0%
Monthly membership at local gym	$70.65 €60.67	$22.69 NZ$39.28	-67.9%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$11.68 €10.03	$8.65 NZ$14.98	-25.9%
Average			+26.0%

Rome vs. Palmerston North - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 12.4% less for clothing

	Rome	Palmerston North
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$81.76 €70.22	$66.35 NZ$114.85	-18.9%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$37.76 €32.43	$36.06 NZ$62.42	-4.5%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$88.68 €76.16	$87.26 NZ$151.05	-1.6%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$116.80 €100.31	$87.98 NZ$152.30	-24.7%
Average			-12.4%

Rome vs. Palmerston North - 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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