Cost of living comparison
compared to
Invercargill vs. Wellington Cost of Living Summary
Invercargill is 21.5% cheaper than Wellington.
- Restaurants
-
pay 24.3% less in Invercargill
- Groceries
-
pay 9.6% less in Invercargill
- Transportation
-
pay 11.4% less in Invercargill
- Housing
-
pay 33.5% less in Invercargill
- Childcare
-
pay 27.2% less in Invercargill
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 15.3% less in Invercargill
- Clothing
-
pay 29.3% less in Invercargill
Expenses including housing, clothing, childcare, restaurants, entertainment and sports, and transportation are lower in Invercargill.
Invercargill vs. Wellington Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Invercargill instead of Wellington, you would:
pay 24.3% less for restaurants
|
Wellington
|
Invercargill
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$14.42
NZ$24.97
|
$14.42
NZ$24.97
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$9.23
NZ$15.98
|
$8.37
NZ$14.48
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.46
NZ$4.26
|
$1.63
NZ$2.83
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.98
NZ$3.42
|
$1.38
NZ$2.40
|
|
Wellington vs. Invercargill - Cost of restaurants
pay 9.6% less for groceries
|
Wellington
|
Invercargill
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.98
NZ$3.42
|
$1.80
NZ$3.11
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$4.02
NZ$6.96
|
$4.12
NZ$7.13
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$6.79
NZ$11.75
|
$6.10
NZ$10.55
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$6.77
NZ$11.73
|
$5.84
NZ$10.10
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$4.77
NZ$8.26
|
$3.40
NZ$5.89
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.36
NZ$2.36
|
$1.18
NZ$2.04
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.01
NZ$1.75
|
$0.99
NZ$1.72
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.33
NZ$2.30
|
$1.18
NZ$2.04
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.32
NZ$4.01
|
$1.61
NZ$2.79
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.90
NZ$1.55
|
$0.86
NZ$1.49
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.68
NZ$1.17
|
$0.78
NZ$1.34
|
|
Wellington vs. Invercargill - Cost of groceries
pay 11.4% less for transportation
|
Wellington
|
Invercargill
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$6.14
NZ$10.63
|
$6.09
NZ$10.55
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$109.62
NZ$189.75
|
$57.69
NZ$99.87
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$31,154.21
NZ$53,928.03
|
$24,519.23
NZ$42,442.86
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$14.55
NZ$25.19
|
$18.00
NZ$31.16
|
|
Wellington vs. Invercargill - Cost of transportation
pay 33.5% less for housing
|
Wellington
|
Invercargill
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$48.75
NZ$84.39
|
$47.54
NZ$82.29
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,240.57
NZ$2,147.43
|
$615.39
NZ$1,065.25
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,099.37
NZ$1,903.02
|
$561.55
NZ$972.04
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$109.37
NZ$189.31
|
$74.34
NZ$128.68
|
|
Wellington vs. Invercargill - Cost of housing
pay 27.2% less for childcare
|
Wellington
|
Invercargill
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$768.47
NZ$1,330.22
|
$559.62
NZ$968.71
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$12,211.68
NZ$21,138.46
|
?? | |
Wellington vs. Invercargill - Cost of childcare
pay 15.3% less for entertainment and sports
|
Wellington
|
Invercargill
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$6.63
NZ$11.48
|
$5.77
NZ$9.99
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$3.54
NZ$6.13
|
$3.21
NZ$5.56
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$25.67
NZ$44.44
|
$21.29
NZ$36.85
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$34.12
NZ$59.06
|
$28.27
NZ$48.93
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$11.54
NZ$19.97
|
$9.23
NZ$15.98
|
|
Wellington vs. Invercargill - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 29.3% less for clothing
|
Wellington
|
Invercargill
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$69.31
NZ$119.97
|
$63.46
NZ$109.85
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$46.64
NZ$80.73
|
$33.65
NZ$58.26
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$113.30
NZ$196.13
|
$72.12
NZ$124.83
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$146.23
NZ$253.12
|
$80.77
NZ$139.81
|
|
Wellington vs. Invercargill - 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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