Cost of living comparison
compared to
Darwin vs. Wellington Cost of Living Summary
Darwin is 16.3% more expensive than Wellington.
- Restaurants
-
pay 34.2% more in Darwin
- Groceries
-
pay 8.2% more in Darwin
- Transportation
-
pay 25.9% less in Darwin
- Housing
-
pay 34.0% more in Darwin
- Childcare
-
pay 34.3% more in Darwin
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 30.8% more in Darwin
- Clothing
-
pay 1.7% less in Darwin
The cost of childcare, restaurants, housing, entertainment and sports, and groceries in Darwin are more expensive than in Wellington. Expenses including transportation and clothing are lower in Darwin.
Darwin vs. Wellington Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Darwin instead of Wellington, you would:
pay 34.2% more for restaurants
|
Wellington
|
Darwin
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$14.42
NZ$25.06
|
$19.63
A$29.65
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$9.23
NZ$16.04
|
$11.78
A$17.79
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.46
NZ$4.27
|
$2.75
A$4.15
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.98
NZ$3.44
|
$3.19
A$4.82
|
|
Wellington vs. Darwin - Cost of restaurants
pay 8.2% more for groceries
|
Wellington
|
Darwin
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.98
NZ$3.43
|
$2.76
A$4.18
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$4.02
NZ$6.99
|
$4.25
A$6.43
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$6.79
NZ$11.79
|
$4.95
A$7.48
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$6.77
NZ$11.77
|
$4.08
A$6.16
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$4.77
NZ$8.29
|
$3.71
A$5.60
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.36
NZ$2.37
|
$1.67
A$2.52
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.01
NZ$1.76
|
$1.31
A$1.97
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.33
NZ$2.31
|
$1.17
A$1.77
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.32
NZ$4.02
|
$2.04
A$3.08
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.90
NZ$1.56
|
$1.41
A$2.13
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.68
NZ$1.18
|
$1.01
A$1.52
|
|
Wellington vs. Darwin - Cost of groceries
pay 25.9% less for transportation
|
Wellington
|
Darwin
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$6.14
NZ$10.67
|
$4.30
A$6.49
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$109.62
NZ$190.44
|
$45.59
A$68.89
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$31,154.21
NZ$54,124.77
|
$29,060.36
A$43,911.22
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$14.55
NZ$25.28
|
$13.32
A$20.13
|
|
Wellington vs. Darwin - Cost of transportation
pay 34.0% more for housing
|
Wellington
|
Darwin
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$48.75
NZ$84.70
|
$59.42
A$89.79
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,240.57
NZ$2,155.27
|
$1,635.43
A$2,471.20
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,099.37
NZ$1,909.96
|
$1,301.70
A$1,966.92
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$109.37
NZ$190.00
|
$179.46
A$271.18
|
|
Wellington vs. Darwin - Cost of housing
pay 34.3% more for childcare
|
Wellington
|
Darwin
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$768.47
NZ$1,335.08
|
$1,570.02
A$2,372.35
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$12,211.68
NZ$21,215.57
|
$7,850.08
A$11,861.75
|
|
Wellington vs. Darwin - Cost of childcare
pay 30.8% more for entertainment and sports
|
Wellington
|
Darwin
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$6.63
NZ$11.53
|
$6.54
A$9.88
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$3.54
NZ$6.15
|
$3.53
A$5.34
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$25.67
NZ$44.60
|
$25.19
A$38.06
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$34.12
NZ$59.28
|
$75.50
A$114.08
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$11.54
NZ$20.05
|
$15.70
A$23.72
|
|
Wellington vs. Darwin - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 1.7% less for clothing
|
Wellington
|
Darwin
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$69.31
NZ$120.41
|
$79.32
A$119.85
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$46.64
NZ$81.02
|
$45.79
A$69.19
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$113.30
NZ$196.84
|
$103.03
A$155.68
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$146.23
NZ$254.05
|
$130.83
A$197.70
|
|
Wellington vs. Darwin - 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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