Cost of living comparison
compared to
Santa Maria vs. Wellington Cost of Living Summary
Santa Maria is 29.8% more expensive than Wellington.
- Restaurants
-
pay 29.1% more in Santa Maria
- Groceries
-
pay 21.6% more in Santa Maria
- Transportation
-
pay 1.4% more in Santa Maria
- Housing
-
pay 58.6% more in Santa Maria
- Childcare
-
pay 2.3 times more in Santa Maria
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 0.2% more in Santa Maria
- Clothing
-
pay 27.3% less in Santa Maria
The cost of childcare, housing, restaurants, groceries, transportation, and entertainment and sports in Santa Maria are more expensive than in Wellington. Notably, childcare is significantly more expensive in Santa Maria.
Santa Maria vs. Wellington Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Santa Maria instead of Wellington, you would:
pay 29.1% more for restaurants
|
Wellington
|
Santa Maria
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$14.42
NZ$24.85
|
$23.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$9.23
NZ$15.90
|
$13.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.46
NZ$4.24
|
$2.50
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.98
NZ$3.41
|
$2.26
|
|
Wellington vs. Santa Maria - Cost of restaurants
pay 21.6% more for groceries
|
Wellington
|
Santa Maria
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.98
NZ$3.41
|
$3.47
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$4.02
NZ$6.93
|
$6.22
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$6.79
NZ$11.70
|
$4.71
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$6.77
NZ$11.67
|
$3.50
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$4.77
NZ$8.22
|
$6.20
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.36
NZ$2.35
|
$1.70
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.01
NZ$1.74
|
$0.76
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.33
NZ$2.29
|
$1.79
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.32
NZ$3.99
|
$2.05
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.90
NZ$1.54
|
$1.38
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.68
NZ$1.17
|
$1.22
|
|
Wellington vs. Santa Maria - Cost of groceries
pay 1.4% more for transportation
|
Wellington
|
Santa Maria
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$6.14
NZ$10.58
|
$4.62
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$109.62
NZ$188.86
|
?? | |
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$31,154.21
NZ$53,677.18
|
$32,727.50
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$14.55
NZ$25.07
|
$18.01
|
|
Wellington vs. Santa Maria - Cost of transportation
pay 58.6% more for housing
|
Wellington
|
Santa Maria
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$48.75
NZ$83.99
|
$74.01
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,240.57
NZ$2,137.45
|
$2,241.33
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,099.37
NZ$1,894.16
|
$2,050.00
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$109.37
NZ$188.43
|
$126.18
|
|
Wellington vs. Santa Maria - Cost of housing
pay 2.3 times more for childcare
|
Wellington
|
Santa Maria
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$768.47
NZ$1,324.04
|
$1,762.50
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$12,211.68
NZ$21,040.13
|
$27,000.00
|
|
Wellington vs. Santa Maria - Cost of childcare
pay 0.2% more for entertainment and sports
|
Wellington
|
Santa Maria
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$6.63
NZ$11.43
|
$6.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$3.54
NZ$6.10
|
$4.83
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$25.67
NZ$44.23
|
$11.50
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$34.12
NZ$58.79
|
$25.00
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$11.54
NZ$19.88
|
$18.00
|
|
Wellington vs. Santa Maria - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 27.3% less for clothing
|
Wellington
|
Santa Maria
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$69.31
NZ$119.42
|
$60.00
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$46.64
NZ$80.35
|
$39.99
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$113.30
NZ$195.21
|
$72.50
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$146.23
NZ$251.95
|
$79.50
|
|
Wellington vs. Santa Maria - 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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