Cost of living comparison
compared to
Palmerston North vs. Wellington Cost of Living Summary
Palmerston North is 15.1% cheaper than Wellington.
- Restaurants
-
pay 1.7% more in Palmerston North
- Groceries
-
pay 8.4% less in Palmerston North
- Transportation
-
pay 8.8% less in Palmerston North
- Housing
-
pay 30.6% less in Palmerston North
- Childcare
-
pay 17.6% less in Palmerston North
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 19.6% less in Palmerston North
- Clothing
-
pay 22.4% less in Palmerston North
Expenses including housing, clothing, entertainment and sports, childcare, transportation, and groceries are lower in Palmerston North.
Palmerston North vs. Wellington Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Palmerston North instead of Wellington, you would:
pay 1.7% more for restaurants
|
Wellington
|
Palmerston North
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| 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
|
$9.91
NZ$17.16
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.46
NZ$4.26
|
$2.36
NZ$4.08
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.98
NZ$3.42
|
$2.01
NZ$3.48
|
|
Wellington vs. Palmerston North - Cost of restaurants
pay 8.4% less for groceries
|
Wellington
|
Palmerston North
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.98
NZ$3.42
|
$1.99
NZ$3.45
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$4.02
NZ$6.96
|
$3.89
NZ$6.74
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$6.79
NZ$11.75
|
$7.12
NZ$12.32
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$6.77
NZ$11.73
|
$5.13
NZ$8.88
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$4.77
NZ$8.26
|
$3.99
NZ$6.91
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.36
NZ$2.36
|
$1.07
NZ$1.86
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.01
NZ$1.75
|
$0.80
NZ$1.39
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.33
NZ$2.30
|
$1.08
NZ$1.87
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.32
NZ$4.01
|
$1.48
NZ$2.55
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.90
NZ$1.55
|
$0.91
NZ$1.58
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.68
NZ$1.17
|
$0.95
NZ$1.65
|
|
Wellington vs. Palmerston North - Cost of groceries
pay 8.8% less for transportation
|
Wellington
|
Palmerston North
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$6.14
NZ$10.63
|
$6.11
NZ$10.57
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$109.62
NZ$189.75
|
$70.50
NZ$122.03
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$31,154.21
NZ$53,928.03
|
$22,211.80
NZ$38,448.69
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$14.55
NZ$25.19
|
$18.92
NZ$32.76
|
|
Wellington vs. Palmerston North - Cost of transportation
pay 30.6% less for housing
|
Wellington
|
Palmerston North
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$48.75
NZ$84.39
|
$45.43
NZ$78.65
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,240.57
NZ$2,147.43
|
$807.70
NZ$1,398.13
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,099.37
NZ$1,903.02
|
$663.47
NZ$1,148.47
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$109.37
NZ$189.31
|
$64.71
NZ$112.00
|
|
Wellington vs. Palmerston North - Cost of housing
pay 17.6% less for childcare
|
Wellington
|
Palmerston North
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$768.47
NZ$1,330.22
|
$961.55
NZ$1,664.45
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$12,211.68
NZ$21,138.46
|
$4,843.04
NZ$8,383.31
|
|
Wellington vs. Palmerston North - Cost of childcare
pay 19.6% less for entertainment and sports
|
Wellington
|
Palmerston North
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$6.63
NZ$11.48
|
$6.44
NZ$11.14
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$3.54
NZ$6.13
|
$3.32
NZ$5.74
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$25.67
NZ$44.44
|
$17.88
NZ$30.96
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$34.12
NZ$59.06
|
$22.69
NZ$39.28
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$11.54
NZ$19.97
|
$8.65
NZ$14.98
|
|
Wellington vs. Palmerston North - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 22.4% less for clothing
|
Wellington
|
Palmerston North
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$69.31
NZ$119.97
|
$66.35
NZ$114.85
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$46.64
NZ$80.73
|
$36.06
NZ$62.42
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$113.30
NZ$196.13
|
$87.26
NZ$151.05
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$146.23
NZ$253.12
|
$87.98
NZ$152.30
|
|
Wellington vs. Palmerston North - 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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