Cost of living comparison

New Zealand

compared to

United States

Des Moines vs. Tauranga Cost of Living Summary

Des Moines is 6.1% more expensive than Tauranga.

Restaurants: pay 41.7% more in Des Moines
Groceries: pay 12.3% more in Des Moines
Transportation: pay 16.4% less in Des Moines
Housing: pay 1.7% less in Des Moines
Childcare: pay 30.9% more in Des Moines
Entertainment and Sports: pay 16.8% more in Des Moines
Clothing: pay 12.7% more in Des Moines

The cost of restaurants, childcare, entertainment and sports, clothing, and groceries in Des Moines are more expensive than in Tauranga. Expenses including transportation and housing are lower in Des Moines.

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Des Moines vs. Tauranga Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Des Moines instead of Tauranga, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 41.7% more for restaurants

	Tauranga	Des Moines
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	$12.00	+33.9%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.79 NZ$3.17	$3.00	+67.3%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.76 NZ$3.12	$2.49	+41.2%
Average			+41.7%

Tauranga vs. Des Moines - Cost of restaurants

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pay 12.3% more for groceries

	Tauranga	Des Moines
Bread 1 loaf	$1.95 NZ$3.44	$2.95	+51.6%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.12 NZ$7.29	$4.77	+15.8%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.26 NZ$12.84	$3.38	-53.5%
Eggs 1 dozen	$6.26 NZ$11.08	$3.93	-37.3%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$4.19 NZ$7.41	$4.39	+4.6%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.14 NZ$2.02	$2.01	+76.4%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.95 NZ$1.68	$0.70	-26.5%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.01 NZ$1.79	$2.01	+98.8%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.17 NZ$3.83	$1.70	-21.6%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.78 NZ$1.38	$1.43	+82.5%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.55 NZ$0.97	$1.00	+81.1%
Average			+12.3%

Tauranga vs. Des Moines - Cost of groceries

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pay 16.4% less for transportation

	Tauranga	Des Moines
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$6.43 NZ$11.37	$3.71	-42.3%
Monthly public transit pass	??	$58.00
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$25,203.61 NZ$44,568.72	$35,052.00	+39.1%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$17.93 NZ$31.70	$11.94	-33.4%
Average			-16.4%

Tauranga vs. Des Moines - Cost of transportation

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pay 1.7% less for housing

	Tauranga	Des Moines
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$50.42 NZ$89.16	$71.15	+41.1%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,095.76 NZ$1,937.68	$1,161.80	+6.0%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,198.84 NZ$2,119.96	$864.75	-27.9%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$88.36 NZ$156.26	$143.28	+62.2%
Average			-1.7%

Tauranga vs. Des Moines - Cost of housing

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pay 30.9% more for childcare

	Tauranga	Des Moines
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$728.27 NZ$1,287.83	$1,183.50	+62.5%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$11,204.09 NZ$19,812.72	$11,812.00	+5.4%
Average			+30.9%

Tauranga vs. Des Moines - Cost of childcare

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pay 16.8% more for entertainment and sports

	Tauranga	Des Moines
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$4.48 NZ$7.93	$5.00	+11.6%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.39 NZ$5.99	$6.00	+77.0%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$20.45 NZ$36.16	$8.03	-60.7%
Monthly membership at local gym	$54.34 NZ$96.09	$63.75	+17.3%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$11.20 NZ$19.81	$15.00	+33.9%
Average			+16.8%

Tauranga vs. Des Moines - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 12.7% more for clothing

	Tauranga	Des Moines
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$65.17 NZ$115.24	$60.68	-6.9%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$37.35 NZ$66.04	$43.33	+16.0%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$91.87 NZ$162.46	$103.00	+12.1%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$109.54 NZ$193.71	$145.78	+33.1%
Average			+12.7%

Tauranga vs. Des Moines - 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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