Cost of living comparison
compared to
Hilo vs. Wellington Cost of Living Summary
Hilo is 22.2% more expensive than Wellington.
- Restaurants
-
pay 11.4% more in Hilo
- Groceries
-
pay 2.4 times more in Hilo
- Transportation
-
pay 21.1% less in Hilo
- Housing
-
pay 39.4% more in Hilo
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 13.6% more in Hilo
- Clothing
-
pay 50.3% less in Hilo
The cost of groceries, housing, entertainment and sports, and restaurants in Hilo are more expensive than in Wellington. Expenses including clothing and transportation are lower in Hilo. Notably, groceries is significantly more expensive in Hilo.
Hilo vs. Wellington Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Hilo instead of Wellington, you would:
pay 11.4% more for restaurants
|
Wellington
|
Hilo
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$14.42
NZ$25.15
|
$19.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$9.23
NZ$16.10
|
$11.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.46
NZ$4.29
|
$2.33
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.98
NZ$3.45
|
$1.97
|
|
Wellington vs. Hilo - Cost of restaurants
pay 2.4 times more for groceries
|
Wellington
|
Hilo
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.98
NZ$3.45
|
$9.19
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$4.02
NZ$7.02
|
$6.61
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$6.79
NZ$11.84
|
$7.90
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$6.77
NZ$11.81
|
$8.00
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$4.77
NZ$8.32
|
$6.87
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.36
NZ$2.37
|
$3.66
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.01
NZ$1.77
|
$1.23
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.33
NZ$2.32
|
$3.33
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.32
NZ$4.04
|
$5.00
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.90
NZ$1.56
|
$2.33
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.68
NZ$1.18
|
$3.50
|
|
Wellington vs. Hilo - Cost of groceries
pay 21.1% less for transportation
|
Wellington
|
Hilo
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$6.14
NZ$10.71
|
$4.56
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$109.62
NZ$191.17
|
?? | |
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$31,154.21
NZ$54,332.45
|
$22,926.69
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$14.55
NZ$25.38
|
$12.92
|
|
Wellington vs. Hilo - Cost of transportation
pay 39.4% more for housing
|
Wellington
|
Hilo
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$48.75
NZ$85.02
|
$53.33
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,240.57
NZ$2,163.54
|
$1,766.67
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,099.37
NZ$1,917.29
|
$1,200.00
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$109.37
NZ$190.73
|
$214.85
|
|
Wellington vs. Hilo - Cost of housing
pay (unknown) more for childcare
|
Wellington
|
Hilo
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$768.47
NZ$1,340.20
|
?? | |
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$12,211.68
NZ$21,296.98
|
?? |
Wellington vs. Hilo - Cost of childcare
pay 13.6% more for entertainment and sports
|
Wellington
|
Hilo
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$6.63
NZ$11.57
|
$6.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$3.54
NZ$6.17
|
$5.83
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$25.67
NZ$44.77
|
$13.50
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$34.12
NZ$59.51
|
$50.33
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$11.54
NZ$20.12
|
$13.00
|
|
Wellington vs. Hilo - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 50.3% less for clothing
|
Wellington
|
Hilo
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$69.31
NZ$120.87
|
$38.33
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$46.64
NZ$81.33
|
$10.00
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$113.30
NZ$197.60
|
$78.33
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$146.23
NZ$255.02
|
$77.50
|
|
Wellington vs. Hilo - 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
Change currency:
Compare countries by overall cost of living
See the
cost of living in New Zealand vs. United States.
This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within New Zealand and United States.
Help us improve these prices
MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate.
Learn more
ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY
Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Hilo or Wellington. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.