Cost of living comparison

compared to

Aliso Viejo vs. Wellington Cost of Living Summary

Aliso Viejo is 43.5% more expensive than Wellington.

Restaurants: pay 35.4% more in Aliso Viejo
Groceries: pay 38.3% more in Aliso Viejo
Transportation: pay 0.9% more in Aliso Viejo
Housing: pay 86.4% more in Aliso Viejo
Childcare: pay 2.3 times more in Aliso Viejo
Entertainment and Sports: pay 24.8% more in Aliso Viejo
Clothing: pay 6.5% less in Aliso Viejo

The cost of childcare, housing, groceries, restaurants, entertainment and sports, and transportation in Aliso Viejo are more expensive than in Wellington. Notably, childcare and housing are significantly more expensive in Aliso Viejo.

Aliso Viejo vs. Wellington Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Aliso Viejo instead of Wellington, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 35.4% more for restaurants

	Wellington	Aliso Viejo
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$14.42 NZ$25.15	$25.00	+73.3%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$9.23 NZ$16.10	$12.84	+39.1%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.46 NZ$4.29	$2.83	+14.9%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.98 NZ$3.45	$2.26	+14.4%
Average			+35.4%

Wellington vs. Aliso Viejo - Cost of restaurants

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pay 38.3% more for groceries

	Wellington	Aliso Viejo
Bread 1 loaf	$1.98 NZ$3.45	$4.52	+128.5%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.02 NZ$7.02	$6.22	+54.7%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.79 NZ$11.84	$4.62	-32.0%
Eggs 1 dozen	$6.77 NZ$11.81	$4.50	-33.6%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$4.77 NZ$8.32	$7.55	+58.3%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.36 NZ$2.37	$2.90	+112.9%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.01 NZ$1.77	$0.74	-26.7%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.33 NZ$2.32	$1.75	+31.7%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.32 NZ$4.04	$2.17	-6.5%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.90 NZ$1.56	$1.38	+53.8%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.68 NZ$1.18	$1.22	+80.0%
Average			+38.3%

Wellington vs. Aliso Viejo - Cost of groceries

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pay 0.9% more for transportation

	Wellington	Aliso Viejo
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$6.14 NZ$10.71	$4.78	-22.2%
Monthly public transit pass	$109.62 NZ$191.17	??
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$31,154.21 NZ$54,332.45	$28,500.00	-8.5%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$14.55 NZ$25.38	$19.41	+33.4%
Average			+0.9%

Wellington vs. Aliso Viejo - Cost of transportation

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pay 86.4% more for housing

	Wellington	Aliso Viejo
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$48.75 NZ$85.02	$74.01	+51.8%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,240.57 NZ$2,163.54	$2,800.00	+125.7%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,099.37 NZ$1,917.29	$2,500.00	+127.4%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$109.37 NZ$190.73	$153.80	+40.6%
Average			+86.4%

Wellington vs. Aliso Viejo - Cost of housing

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pay 2.3 times more for childcare

	Wellington	Aliso Viejo
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$768.47 NZ$1,340.20	$1,762.50	+129.4%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$12,211.68 NZ$21,296.98	$27,000.00	+121.1%
Average			+125.2%

Wellington vs. Aliso Viejo - Cost of childcare

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pay 24.8% more for entertainment and sports

	Wellington	Aliso Viejo
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$6.63 NZ$11.57	$8.00	+20.6%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.54 NZ$6.17	$5.67	+60.1%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$25.67 NZ$44.77	$10.50	-59.1%
Monthly membership at local gym	$34.12 NZ$59.51	$50.00	+46.5%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$11.54 NZ$20.12	$18.00	+56.0%
Average			+24.8%

Wellington vs. Aliso Viejo - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 6.5% less for clothing

	Wellington	Aliso Viejo
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$69.31 NZ$120.87	$61.25	-11.6%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$46.64 NZ$81.33	$44.15	-5.3%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$113.30 NZ$197.60	$100.00	-11.7%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$146.23 NZ$255.02	$149.85	+2.5%
Average			-6.5%

Wellington vs. Aliso Viejo - 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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