Cost of living comparison

compared to

Essen vs. Wellington Cost of Living Summary

Essen is 9.4% more expensive than Wellington.

Restaurants
pay 28.8% more in Essen
Groceries
pay 2.9% more in Essen
Transportation
pay 24.4% more in Essen
Housing
pay 17.1% more in Essen
Childcare
pay 29.5% less in Essen
Entertainment and Sports
pay 1.2% less in Essen
Clothing
pay 23.2% more in Essen

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

Essen vs. Wellington Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Essen instead of Wellington, you would:

pay 28.8% more for restaurants

 
Wellington
Essen
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $14.42
NZ$24.97
$19.86
€17.05
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$9.23
NZ$15.98
$12.85
€11.03
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $2.46
NZ$4.26
$2.61
€2.24

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pay 2.9% more for groceries

 
Wellington
Essen
Bread
1 loaf
$1.98
NZ$3.42
$2.20
€1.89
Local cheese (8 oz) $4.02
NZ$6.96
$7.54
€6.47
Milk (1 gallon) $6.79
NZ$11.75
$5.02
€4.31

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pay 24.4% more for transportation

 
Wellington
Essen
Gasoline (1 gallon) $6.14
NZ$10.63
$7.70
€6.61
Monthly public transit pass $109.62
NZ$189.75
$67.74
€58.18
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $31,154.21
NZ$53,928.03
$31,745.96
€27,263.78

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pay 17.1% more for housing

 
Wellington
Essen
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$48.75
NZ$84.39
$41.84
€35.94
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $1,240.57
NZ$2,147.43
$734.67
€630.94
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $1,099.37
NZ$1,903.02
$528.19
€453.62

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pay 29.5% less for childcare

 
Wellington
Essen
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $768.47
NZ$1,330.22
$463.98
€398.47
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $12,211.68
NZ$21,138.46
$9,857.25
€8,465.51

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pay 1.2% less for entertainment and sports

 
Wellington
Essen
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $6.63
NZ$11.48
$5.72
€4.92
Cappuccino in mid-range area $3.54
NZ$6.13
$3.80
€3.26
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$25.67
NZ$44.44
$9.58
€8.23

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pay 23.2% more for clothing

 
Wellington
Essen
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$69.31
NZ$119.97
$100.21
€86.06
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$46.64
NZ$80.73
$73.78
€63.36
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$113.30
NZ$196.13
$104.84
€90.04

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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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