Cost of living comparison
compared to
Lancaster vs. Wellington Cost of Living Summary
Lancaster is 7.7% more expensive than Wellington.
- Restaurants
-
pay 36.0% more in Lancaster
- Groceries
-
pay 2.0% less in Lancaster
- Transportation
-
pay 38.0% less in Lancaster
- Housing
-
pay 63.6% more in Lancaster
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 9.6% more in Lancaster
- Clothing
-
pay 23.2% less in Lancaster
The cost of housing, restaurants, and entertainment and sports in Lancaster are more expensive than in Wellington. Expenses including transportation, clothing, and groceries are lower in Lancaster.
Lancaster vs. Wellington Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Lancaster instead of Wellington, you would:
pay 36.0% more for restaurants
|
Wellington
|
Lancaster
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$14.42
NZ$25.15
|
$18.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$9.23
NZ$16.10
|
$18.88
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.46
NZ$4.29
|
$2.17
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.98
NZ$3.45
|
$2.50
|
|
Wellington vs. Lancaster - Cost of restaurants
pay 2.0% less for groceries
|
Wellington
|
Lancaster
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.98
NZ$3.45
|
$5.51
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$4.02
NZ$7.02
|
$4.96
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$6.79
NZ$11.84
|
$5.25
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$6.77
NZ$11.81
|
$2.67
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$4.77
NZ$8.32
|
$6.00
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.36
NZ$2.37
|
$1.64
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.01
NZ$1.77
|
$0.65
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.33
NZ$2.32
|
$1.00
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.32
NZ$4.04
|
$0.45
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.90
NZ$1.56
|
$0.45
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.68
NZ$1.18
|
$0.70
|
|
Wellington vs. Lancaster - Cost of groceries
pay 38.0% less for transportation
|
Wellington
|
Lancaster
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$6.14
NZ$10.71
|
$4.82
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$109.62
NZ$191.17
|
$50.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$31,154.21
NZ$54,332.45
|
?? | |
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$14.55
NZ$25.38
|
?? | |
Wellington vs. Lancaster - Cost of transportation
pay 63.6% more for housing
|
Wellington
|
Lancaster
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$48.75
NZ$85.02
|
$87.50
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,240.57
NZ$2,163.54
|
$2,304.50
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,099.37
NZ$1,917.29
|
$1,450.00
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$109.37
NZ$190.73
|
$172.06
|
|
Wellington vs. Lancaster - Cost of housing
pay (unknown) more for childcare
|
Wellington
|
Lancaster
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| 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. Lancaster - Cost of childcare
pay 9.6% more for entertainment and sports
|
Wellington
|
Lancaster
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$6.63
NZ$11.57
|
$6.50
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$3.54
NZ$6.17
|
$5.67
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$25.67
NZ$44.77
|
$11.00
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$34.12
NZ$59.51
|
$40.00
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$11.54
NZ$20.12
|
$15.00
|
|
Wellington vs. Lancaster - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 23.2% less for clothing
|
Wellington
|
Lancaster
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$69.31
NZ$120.87
|
$52.50
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$46.64
NZ$81.33
|
$49.90
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$113.30
NZ$197.60
|
$75.00
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$146.23
NZ$255.02
|
$85.00
|
|
Wellington vs. Lancaster - 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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