Cost of living comparison
compared to
Riverside vs. Wellington Cost of Living Summary
Riverside is 24.9% more expensive than Wellington.
- Restaurants
-
pay 21.1% more in Riverside
- Groceries
-
pay 22.0% more in Riverside
- Transportation
-
pay 8.1% less in Riverside
- Housing
-
pay 58.2% more in Riverside
- Childcare
-
pay 96.2% more in Riverside
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 12.1% more in Riverside
- Clothing
-
pay 27.4% less in Riverside
The cost of childcare, housing, groceries, restaurants, and entertainment and sports in Riverside are more expensive than in Wellington. Expenses including clothing and transportation are lower in Riverside. Notably, childcare is significantly more expensive in Riverside.
Riverside vs. Wellington Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Riverside instead of Wellington, you would:
pay 21.1% more for restaurants
|
Wellington
|
Riverside
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$14.42
NZ$25.15
|
$21.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$9.23
NZ$16.10
|
$12.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.46
NZ$4.29
|
$2.65
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.98
NZ$3.45
|
$2.00
|
|
Wellington vs. Riverside - Cost of restaurants
pay 22.0% more for groceries
|
Wellington
|
Riverside
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.98
NZ$3.45
|
$4.17
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$4.02
NZ$7.02
|
$5.32
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$6.79
NZ$11.84
|
$4.15
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$6.77
NZ$11.81
|
$5.84
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$4.77
NZ$8.32
|
$4.74
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.36
NZ$2.37
|
$1.57
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.01
NZ$1.77
|
$0.78
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.33
NZ$2.32
|
$1.84
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.32
NZ$4.04
|
$2.26
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.90
NZ$1.56
|
$1.42
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.68
NZ$1.18
|
$1.12
|
|
Wellington vs. Riverside - Cost of groceries
pay 8.1% less for transportation
|
Wellington
|
Riverside
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$6.14
NZ$10.71
|
$4.74
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$109.62
NZ$191.17
|
$60.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$31,154.21
NZ$54,332.45
|
$31,965.00
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$14.55
NZ$25.38
|
$19.40
|
|
Wellington vs. Riverside - Cost of transportation
pay 58.2% more for housing
|
Wellington
|
Riverside
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$48.75
NZ$85.02
|
$62.33
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,240.57
NZ$2,163.54
|
$2,068.50
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,099.37
NZ$1,917.29
|
$1,649.17
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$109.37
NZ$190.73
|
$205.84
|
|
Wellington vs. Riverside - Cost of housing
pay 96.2% more for childcare
|
Wellington
|
Riverside
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$768.47
NZ$1,340.20
|
$1,206.00
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$12,211.68
NZ$21,296.98
|
$28,750.00
|
|
Wellington vs. Riverside - Cost of childcare
pay 12.1% more for entertainment and sports
|
Wellington
|
Riverside
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$6.63
NZ$11.57
|
$7.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$3.54
NZ$6.17
|
$5.90
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$25.67
NZ$44.77
|
$11.00
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$34.12
NZ$59.51
|
$35.00
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$11.54
NZ$20.12
|
$16.50
|
|
Wellington vs. Riverside - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 27.4% less for clothing
|
Wellington
|
Riverside
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$69.31
NZ$120.87
|
$54.27
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$46.64
NZ$81.33
|
$34.67
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$113.30
NZ$197.60
|
$90.25
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$146.23
NZ$255.02
|
$85.00
|
|
Wellington vs. Riverside - 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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