Cost of living comparison

Norway

compared to

New Zealand

Wellington vs. Sandnes Cost of Living Summary

Wellington is 13.3% cheaper than Sandnes.

Restaurants: pay 41.7% less in Wellington
Groceries: pay 17.3% less in Wellington
Transportation: pay 18.1% less in Wellington
Housing: pay 1.9% less in Wellington
Childcare: pay 2.2 times more in Wellington
Entertainment and Sports: pay 28.5% less in Wellington
Clothing: pay 32.8% less in Wellington

Expenses including restaurants, clothing, entertainment and sports, transportation, groceries, and housing are lower in Wellington. Notably, childcare is significantly more expensive in Wellington.

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Wellington vs. Sandnes Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Wellington instead of Sandnes, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 41.7% less for restaurants

	Sandnes	Wellington
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$24.95 NOK235.26	$13.73 NZ$24.27	-45.0%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$15.24 NOK143.71	$9.02 NZ$15.95	-40.8%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$3.34 NOK31.50	$2.42 NZ$4.28	-27.6%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$2.96 NOK27.89	$1.71 NZ$3.02	-42.2%
Average			-41.7%

Sandnes vs. Wellington - Cost of restaurants

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pay 17.3% less for groceries

	Sandnes	Wellington
Bread 1 loaf	$3.45 NOK32.48	$2.16 NZ$3.82	-37.3%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$6.61 NOK62.34	$4.62 NZ$8.18	-30.1%
Milk (1 gallon)	$9.02 NOK85.07	$7.12 NZ$12.59	-21.1%
Eggs 1 dozen	$4.81 NOK45.38	$6.89 NZ$12.19	+43.2%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$7.17 NOK67.57	$4.37 NZ$7.73	-39.0%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.59 NOK15.03	$1.40 NZ$2.47	-12.4%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.25 NOK11.83	$0.99 NZ$1.75	-21.3%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.42 NOK13.39	$1.37 NZ$2.42	-3.7%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.18 NOK20.58	$2.93 NZ$5.18	+34.3%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.14 NOK10.72	$0.95 NZ$1.69	-16.1%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.04 NOK9.82	$0.57 NZ$1.01	-45.3%
Average			-17.3%

Sandnes vs. Wellington - Cost of groceries

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pay 18.1% less for transportation

	Sandnes	Wellington
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$8.46 NOK79.78	$7.03 NZ$12.44	-16.9%
Monthly public transit pass	$83.53 NOK787.47	$101.23 NZ$179.01	+21.2%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$43,324.58 NOK408K	$25,203.61 NZ$44,568.72	-41.8%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$19.94 NOK188.01	$16.19 NZ$28.63	-18.8%
Average			-18.1%

Sandnes vs. Wellington - Cost of transportation

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pay 1.9% less for housing

	Sandnes	Wellington
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$82.03 NOK773.33	$53.32 NZ$94.29	-35.0%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,322.52 NOK12,468.29	$1,215.08 NZ$2,148.69	-8.1%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$952.73 NOK8,982.09	$1,141.32 NZ$2,018.26	+19.8%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$189.96 NOK1,790.89	$149.83 NZ$264.95	-21.1%
Average			-1.9%

Sandnes vs. Wellington - Cost of housing

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pay 2.2 times more for childcare

	Sandnes	Wellington
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$288.87 NOK2,723.34	$1,055.30 NZ$1,866.14	+265.3%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$9,396.83 NOK88,590.45	$12,899.11 NZ$22,810.11	+37.3%
Average			+123.9%

Sandnes vs. Wellington - Cost of childcare

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pay 28.5% less for entertainment and sports

	Sandnes	Wellington
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$13.52 NOK127.47	$7.28 NZ$12.88	-46.1%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$5.56 NOK52.42	$3.34 NZ$5.91	-39.9%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$16.18 NOK152.57	$25.18 NZ$44.53	+55.6%
Monthly membership at local gym	$45.24 NOK426.55	$38.09 NZ$67.36	-15.8%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$18.79 NOK177.18	$12.04 NZ$21.30	-35.9%
Average			-28.5%

Sandnes vs. Wellington - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 32.8% less for clothing

	Sandnes	Wellington
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$125.22 NOK1,180.55	$77.76 NZ$137.50	-37.9%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$59.73 NOK563.10	$28.15 NZ$49.78	-52.9%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$118.33 NOK1,115.58	$101.77 NZ$179.97	-14.0%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$187.94 NOK1,771.81	$152.66 NZ$269.95	-18.8%
Average			-32.8%

Sandnes vs. Wellington - 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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