Cost of living comparison

compared to

Knoxville vs. Wellington Cost of Living Summary

Knoxville is 20.9% more expensive than Wellington.

Restaurants
pay 20.0% more in Knoxville
Groceries
pay 26.7% more in Knoxville
Transportation
pay 23.0% less in Knoxville
Housing
pay 41.4% more in Knoxville
Childcare
pay 79.0% more in Knoxville
Entertainment and Sports
pay 5.7% more in Knoxville
Clothing
pay 3.8% less in Knoxville

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

Knoxville vs. Wellington Cost Breakdown

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

pay 20.0% more for restaurants

 
Wellington
Knoxville
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $14.42
NZ$24.85
$19.00
 
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$9.23
NZ$15.90
$10.00
 
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $2.46
NZ$4.24
$2.73
 

Improve prices ·

pay 26.7% more for groceries

 
Wellington
Knoxville
Bread
1 loaf
$1.98
NZ$3.41
$3.42
 
Local cheese (8 oz) $4.02
NZ$6.93
$4.88
 
Milk (1 gallon) $6.79
NZ$11.70
$4.10
 

Improve prices ·

pay 23.0% less for transportation

 
Wellington
Knoxville
Gasoline (1 gallon) $6.14
NZ$10.58
$2.92
 
Monthly public transit pass $109.62
NZ$188.86
$30.00
 
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $31,154.21
NZ$53,677.18
$35,261.00
 

Improve prices ·

pay 41.4% more for housing

 
Wellington
Knoxville
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$48.75
NZ$83.99
$56.23
 
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $1,240.57
NZ$2,137.45
$1,800.00
 
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $1,099.37
NZ$1,894.16
$1,357.14
 

Improve prices ·

pay 79.0% more for childcare

 
Wellington
Knoxville
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $768.47
NZ$1,324.04
$1,225.00
 
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $12,211.68
NZ$21,040.13
$24,250.00
 

Improve prices ·

pay 5.7% more for entertainment and sports

 
Wellington
Knoxville
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $6.63
NZ$11.43
$6.50
 
Cappuccino in mid-range area $3.54
NZ$6.10
$5.75
 
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$25.67
NZ$44.23
$9.86
 

Improve prices ·

pay 3.8% less for clothing

 
Wellington
Knoxville
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$69.31
NZ$119.42
$54.16
 
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$46.64
NZ$80.35
$60.00
 
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$113.30
NZ$195.21
$108.00
 

Improve prices ·
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
Share this

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 Knoxville or Wellington. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.