Cost of living comparison

compared to

Des Plaines vs. Wellington Cost of Living Summary

Des Plaines is 31.3% more expensive than Wellington.

Restaurants: pay 15.8% more in Des Plaines
Groceries: pay 24.5% more in Des Plaines
Transportation: pay 21.6% less in Des Plaines
Housing: pay 40.3% more in Des Plaines
Childcare: pay 2.1 times more in Des Plaines
Entertainment and Sports: pay 61.1% more in Des Plaines
Clothing: pay 7.8% less in Des Plaines

The cost of childcare, entertainment and sports, housing, groceries, and restaurants in Des Plaines are more expensive than in Wellington. Expenses including transportation and clothing are lower in Des Plaines. Notably, childcare is significantly more expensive in Des Plaines.

Des Plaines vs. Wellington Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Des Plaines instead of Wellington, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 15.8% more for restaurants

	Wellington	Des Plaines
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$14.42 NZ$25.15	$15.50	+7.5%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$9.23 NZ$16.10	$12.00	+30.0%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.46 NZ$4.29	$2.75	+11.7%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.98 NZ$3.45	$2.25	+13.8%
Average			+15.8%

Wellington vs. Des Plaines - Cost of restaurants

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pay 24.5% more for groceries

	Wellington	Des Plaines
Bread 1 loaf	$1.98 NZ$3.45	$3.90	+97.5%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.02 NZ$7.02	$7.05	+75.3%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.79 NZ$11.84	$3.49	-48.5%
Eggs 1 dozen	$6.77 NZ$11.81	$4.13	-39.0%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$4.77 NZ$8.32	$5.56	+16.6%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.36 NZ$2.37	$2.02	+48.1%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.01 NZ$1.77	$0.77	-24.3%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.33 NZ$2.32	$1.85	+39.3%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.32 NZ$4.04	$2.09	-9.9%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.90 NZ$1.56	$1.16	+29.0%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.68 NZ$1.18	$1.26	+85.8%
Average			+24.5%

Wellington vs. Des Plaines - Cost of groceries

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pay 21.6% less for transportation

	Wellington	Des Plaines
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$6.14 NZ$10.71	$3.46	-43.6%
Monthly public transit pass	$109.62 NZ$191.17	$60.00	-45.3%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$31,154.21 NZ$54,332.45	$29,500.00	-5.3%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$14.55 NZ$25.38	$15.68	+7.8%
Average			-21.6%

Wellington vs. Des Plaines - Cost of transportation

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pay 40.3% more for housing

	Wellington	Des Plaines
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$48.75 NZ$85.02	$72.85	+49.4%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,240.57 NZ$2,163.54	$1,700.00	+37.0%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,099.37 NZ$1,917.29	$1,600.00	+45.5%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$109.37 NZ$190.73	$141.41	+29.3%
Average			+40.3%

Wellington vs. Des Plaines - Cost of housing

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pay 2.1 times more for childcare

	Wellington	Des Plaines
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$768.47 NZ$1,340.20	$1,628.82	+112.0%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$12,211.68 NZ$21,296.98	$24,601.00	+101.5%
Average			+106.8%

Wellington vs. Des Plaines - Cost of childcare

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pay 61.1% more for entertainment and sports

	Wellington	Des Plaines
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$6.63 NZ$11.57	$6.50	-2.0%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.54 NZ$6.17	$5.53	+56.2%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$25.67 NZ$44.77	$14.50	-43.5%
Monthly membership at local gym	$34.12 NZ$59.51	$124.50	+264.9%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$11.54 NZ$20.12	$15.00	+30.0%
Average			+61.1%

Wellington vs. Des Plaines - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 7.8% less for clothing

	Wellington	Des Plaines
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$69.31 NZ$120.87	$64.24	-7.3%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$46.64 NZ$81.33	$48.33	+3.6%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$113.30 NZ$197.60	$99.48	-12.2%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$146.23 NZ$255.02	$124.00	-15.2%
Average			-7.8%

Wellington vs. Des Plaines - 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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