Cost of living comparison
compared to
Lake Forest vs. Wellington Cost of Living Summary
Lake Forest is 25.8% more expensive than Wellington.
- Restaurants
-
pay 33.2% more in Lake Forest
- Groceries
-
pay 43.9% more in Lake Forest
- Transportation
-
pay 0.8% more in Lake Forest
- Housing
-
pay 36.6% more in Lake Forest
- Childcare
-
pay 60.7% more in Lake Forest
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 22.0% more in Lake Forest
- Clothing
-
pay 16.7% less in Lake Forest
The cost of childcare, groceries, housing, restaurants, entertainment and sports, and transportation in Lake Forest are more expensive than in Wellington.
Lake Forest vs. Wellington Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Lake Forest instead of Wellington, you would:
pay 33.2% more for restaurants
|
Wellington
|
Lake Forest
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$14.42
NZ$24.85
|
$25.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$9.23
NZ$15.90
|
$11.50
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.46
NZ$4.24
|
$2.67
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.98
NZ$3.41
|
$2.50
|
|
Wellington vs. Lake Forest - Cost of restaurants
pay 43.9% more for groceries
|
Wellington
|
Lake Forest
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.98
NZ$3.41
|
$3.80
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$4.02
NZ$6.93
|
$6.22
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$6.79
NZ$11.70
|
$4.59
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$6.77
NZ$11.67
|
$3.75
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$4.77
NZ$8.22
|
$9.15
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.36
NZ$2.35
|
$2.90
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.01
NZ$1.74
|
$0.66
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.33
NZ$2.29
|
$1.75
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.32
NZ$3.99
|
$2.68
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.90
NZ$1.54
|
$1.75
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.68
NZ$1.17
|
$1.36
|
|
Wellington vs. Lake Forest - Cost of groceries
pay 0.8% more for transportation
|
Wellington
|
Lake Forest
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$6.14
NZ$10.58
|
$4.76
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$109.62
NZ$188.86
|
?? | |
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$31,154.21
NZ$53,677.18
|
$28,500.00
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$14.55
NZ$25.07
|
$19.41
|
|
Wellington vs. Lake Forest - Cost of transportation
pay 36.6% more for housing
|
Wellington
|
Lake Forest
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$48.75
NZ$83.99
|
$75.00
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,240.57
NZ$2,137.45
|
$1,433.33
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,099.37
NZ$1,894.16
|
$1,500.00
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$109.37
NZ$188.43
|
$153.80
|
|
Wellington vs. Lake Forest - Cost of housing
pay 60.7% more for childcare
|
Wellington
|
Lake Forest
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$768.47
NZ$1,324.04
|
$1,211.00
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$12,211.68
NZ$21,040.13
|
$20,000.00
|
|
Wellington vs. Lake Forest - Cost of childcare
pay 22.0% more for entertainment and sports
|
Wellington
|
Lake Forest
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$6.63
NZ$11.43
|
$9.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$3.54
NZ$6.10
|
$5.75
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$25.67
NZ$44.23
|
$9.63
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$34.12
NZ$58.79
|
$50.00
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$11.54
NZ$19.88
|
$14.75
|
|
Wellington vs. Lake Forest - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 16.7% less for clothing
|
Wellington
|
Lake Forest
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$69.31
NZ$119.42
|
$55.00
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$46.64
NZ$80.35
|
$40.75
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$113.30
NZ$195.21
|
$80.00
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$146.23
NZ$251.95
|
$140.00
|
|
Wellington vs. Lake Forest - 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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