Cost of living comparison
compared to
Wellington vs. Santa Barbara Cost of Living Summary
Wellington is 15.1% cheaper than Santa Barbara.
- Restaurants
-
pay 26.7% less in Wellington
- Groceries
-
pay 22.5% less in Wellington
- Transportation
-
pay 28.4% more in Wellington
- Housing
-
pay 44.9% less in Wellington
- Childcare
-
pay 56.5% less in Wellington
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 0.3% more in Wellington
- Clothing
-
pay 16.0% more in Wellington
The cost of transportation, clothing, and entertainment and sports in Wellington are more expensive than in Santa Barbara. Expenses including childcare, housing, restaurants, and groceries are lower in Wellington.
Wellington vs. Santa Barbara Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Wellington instead of Santa Barbara, you would:
pay 26.7% less for restaurants
|
Santa Barbara
|
Wellington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$25.00
|
$14.42
NZ$25.15
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$15.00
|
$9.23
NZ$16.10
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.67
|
$2.46
NZ$4.29
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.42
|
$1.98
NZ$3.45
|
|
Santa Barbara vs. Wellington - Cost of restaurants
pay 22.5% less for groceries
|
Santa Barbara
|
Wellington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$4.40
|
$1.98
NZ$3.45
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$12.68
|
$4.02
NZ$7.02
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$5.25
|
$6.79
NZ$11.84
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$5.38
|
$6.77
NZ$11.81
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$8.38
|
$4.77
NZ$8.32
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.90
|
$1.36
NZ$2.37
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.74
|
$1.01
NZ$1.77
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.75
|
$1.33
NZ$2.32
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.48
|
$2.32
NZ$4.04
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.47
|
$0.90
NZ$1.56
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.36
|
$0.68
NZ$1.18
|
|
Santa Barbara vs. Wellington - Cost of groceries
pay 28.4% more for transportation
|
Santa Barbara
|
Wellington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.73
|
$6.14
NZ$10.71
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$52.00
|
$109.62
NZ$191.17
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$28,500.00
|
$31,154.21
NZ$54,332.45
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$22.78
|
$14.55
NZ$25.38
|
|
Santa Barbara vs. Wellington - Cost of transportation
pay 44.9% less for housing
|
Santa Barbara
|
Wellington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$74.25
|
$48.75
NZ$85.02
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$2,720.83
|
$1,240.57
NZ$2,163.54
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$2,538.89
|
$1,099.37
NZ$1,917.29
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$166.24
|
$109.37
NZ$190.73
|
|
Santa Barbara vs. Wellington - Cost of housing
pay 56.5% less for childcare
|
Santa Barbara
|
Wellington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,425.00
|
$768.47
NZ$1,340.20
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$37,000.00
|
$12,211.68
NZ$21,296.98
|
|
Santa Barbara vs. Wellington - Cost of childcare
pay 0.3% more for entertainment and sports
|
Santa Barbara
|
Wellington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$8.00
|
$6.63
NZ$11.57
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$6.14
|
$3.54
NZ$6.17
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$11.82
|
$25.67
NZ$44.77
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$66.50
|
$34.12
NZ$59.51
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$12.50
|
$11.54
NZ$20.12
|
|
Santa Barbara vs. Wellington - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 16.0% more for clothing
|
Santa Barbara
|
Wellington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$69.00
|
$69.31
NZ$120.87
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$40.75
|
$46.64
NZ$81.33
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$77.00
|
$113.30
NZ$197.60
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$143.33
|
$146.23
NZ$255.02
|
|
Santa Barbara vs. Wellington - Cost of clothing
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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