Cost of living comparison

compared to

SeaTac vs. Wellington Cost of Living Summary

SeaTac is 32.7% more expensive than Wellington.

Restaurants
pay 37.8% more in SeaTac
Groceries
pay 32.4% more in SeaTac
Transportation
pay 4.1% less in SeaTac
Housing
pay 53.7% more in SeaTac
Childcare
pay 2.2 times more in SeaTac
Entertainment and Sports
pay 8.3% more in SeaTac
Clothing
pay 23.0% less in SeaTac

The cost of childcare, housing, restaurants, groceries, and entertainment and sports in SeaTac are more expensive than in Wellington. Expenses including clothing and transportation are lower in SeaTac. Notably, childcare is significantly more expensive in SeaTac.

SeaTac vs. Wellington Cost Breakdown

If you lived in SeaTac instead of Wellington, you would:

pay 37.8% more for restaurants

 
Wellington
SeaTac
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $14.42
NZ$24.97
$25.00
 
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$9.23
NZ$15.98
$12.50
 
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $2.46
NZ$4.26
$3.17
 

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pay 32.4% more for groceries

 
Wellington
SeaTac
Bread
1 loaf
$1.98
NZ$3.42
$3.83
 
Local cheese (8 oz) $4.02
NZ$6.96
$6.30
 
Milk (1 gallon) $6.79
NZ$11.75
$4.33
 

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pay 4.1% less for transportation

 
Wellington
SeaTac
Gasoline (1 gallon) $6.14
NZ$10.63
$4.29
 
Monthly public transit pass $109.62
NZ$189.75
$94.00
 
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $31,154.21
NZ$53,928.03
$36,656.56
 

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pay 53.7% more for housing

 
Wellington
SeaTac
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$48.75
NZ$84.39
$82.50
 
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $1,240.57
NZ$2,147.43
$2,250.00
 
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $1,099.37
NZ$1,903.02
$1,750.00
 

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pay 2.2 times more for childcare

 
Wellington
SeaTac
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $768.47
NZ$1,330.22
$1,450.00
 
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $12,211.68
NZ$21,138.46
$31,687.50
 

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pay 8.3% more for entertainment and sports

 
Wellington
SeaTac
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $6.63
NZ$11.48
$7.00
 
Cappuccino in mid-range area $3.54
NZ$6.13
$5.67
 
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$25.67
NZ$44.44
$10.00
 

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pay 23.0% less for clothing

 
Wellington
SeaTac
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$69.31
NZ$119.97
$48.50
 
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$46.64
NZ$80.73
$44.50
 
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$113.30
NZ$196.13
$82.80
 

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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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