Cost of living comparison
compared to
Charleston vs. Wellington Cost of Living Summary
Charleston is 45.1% more expensive than Wellington.
- Restaurants
-
pay 34.8% more in Charleston
- Groceries
-
pay 87.1% more in Charleston
- Transportation
-
pay 19.5% less in Charleston
- Housing
-
pay 77.0% more in Charleston
- Childcare
-
pay 2.2 times more in Charleston
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 15.7% more in Charleston
- Clothing
-
pay 2.3% less in Charleston
The cost of childcare, groceries, housing, restaurants, and entertainment and sports in Charleston are more expensive than in Wellington. Expenses including transportation and clothing are lower in Charleston. Notably, childcare, groceries, and housing are significantly more expensive in Charleston.
Charleston vs. Wellington Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Charleston instead of Wellington, you would:
pay 34.8% more for restaurants
|
Wellington
|
Charleston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$14.42
NZ$25.06
|
$25.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$9.23
NZ$16.04
|
$11.40
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.46
NZ$4.27
|
$2.90
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.98
NZ$3.44
|
$2.46
|
|
Wellington vs. Charleston - Cost of restaurants
pay 87.1% more for groceries
|
Wellington
|
Charleston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.98
NZ$3.43
|
$4.44
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$4.02
NZ$6.99
|
$9.38
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$6.79
NZ$11.79
|
$3.94
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$6.77
NZ$11.77
|
$4.73
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$4.77
NZ$8.29
|
$6.25
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.36
NZ$2.37
|
$4.25
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.01
NZ$1.76
|
$0.83
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.33
NZ$2.31
|
$2.12
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.32
NZ$4.02
|
$3.15
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.90
NZ$1.56
|
$2.95
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.68
NZ$1.18
|
$2.20
|
|
Wellington vs. Charleston - Cost of groceries
pay 19.5% less for transportation
|
Wellington
|
Charleston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$6.14
NZ$10.67
|
$2.99
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$109.62
NZ$190.44
|
$57.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$31,154.21
NZ$54,124.77
|
$35,699.74
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$14.55
NZ$25.28
|
$15.53
|
|
Wellington vs. Charleston - Cost of transportation
pay 77.0% more for housing
|
Wellington
|
Charleston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$48.75
NZ$84.70
|
$78.75
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,240.57
NZ$2,155.27
|
$2,675.00
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,099.37
NZ$1,909.96
|
$1,800.00
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$109.37
NZ$190.00
|
$182.70
|
|
Wellington vs. Charleston - Cost of housing
pay 2.2 times more for childcare
|
Wellington
|
Charleston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$768.47
NZ$1,335.08
|
$1,467.33
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$12,211.68
NZ$21,215.57
|
$31,080.00
|
|
Wellington vs. Charleston - Cost of childcare
pay 15.7% more for entertainment and sports
|
Wellington
|
Charleston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$6.63
NZ$11.53
|
$7.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$3.54
NZ$6.15
|
$5.92
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$25.67
NZ$44.60
|
$7.50
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$34.12
NZ$59.28
|
$48.57
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$11.54
NZ$20.05
|
$15.50
|
|
Wellington vs. Charleston - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 2.3% less for clothing
|
Wellington
|
Charleston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$69.31
NZ$120.41
|
$75.67
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$46.64
NZ$81.02
|
$49.17
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$113.30
NZ$196.84
|
$95.80
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$146.23
NZ$254.05
|
$134.00
|
|
Wellington vs. Charleston - 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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