Cost of living comparison

New Zealand

compared to

United States

Springfield vs. Wellington Cost of Living Summary

Springfield is 17.4% more expensive than Wellington.

Restaurants: pay 51.8% more in Springfield
Groceries: pay 14.4% more in Springfield
Transportation: pay 23.6% less in Springfield
Housing: pay 41.4% more in Springfield
Childcare: pay 36.6% more in Springfield
Entertainment and Sports: pay 1.3% more in Springfield
Clothing: pay 8.2% less in Springfield

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

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Springfield vs. Wellington Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 51.8% more for restaurants

	Wellington	Springfield
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$13.73 NZ$24.27	$23.00	+67.6%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$9.02 NZ$15.95	$14.25	+58.0%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.42 NZ$4.28	$2.65	+9.5%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.71 NZ$3.02	$2.00	+17.1%
Average			+51.8%

Wellington vs. Springfield - Cost of restaurants

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pay 14.4% more for groceries

	Wellington	Springfield
Bread 1 loaf	$2.16 NZ$3.82	$2.75	+27.3%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.62 NZ$8.18	$8.27	+78.8%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.12 NZ$12.59	$3.94	-44.7%
Eggs 1 dozen	$6.89 NZ$12.19	$3.50	-49.2%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$4.37 NZ$7.73	$4.99	+14.1%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.40 NZ$2.47	$2.19	+57.1%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.99 NZ$1.75	$0.64	-35.2%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.37 NZ$2.42	$2.50	+83.0%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.93 NZ$5.18	$2.14	-27.0%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.95 NZ$1.69	$1.46	+53.5%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.57 NZ$1.01	$1.65	+189.0%
Average			+14.4%

Wellington vs. Springfield - Cost of groceries

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pay 23.6% less for transportation

	Wellington	Springfield
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$7.03 NZ$12.44	$3.73	-46.9%
Monthly public transit pass	$101.23 NZ$179.01	$54.00	-46.7%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$25,203.61 NZ$44,568.72	$36,344.34	+44.2%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$16.19 NZ$28.63	$16.15	-0.2%
Average			-23.6%

Wellington vs. Springfield - Cost of transportation

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pay 41.4% more for housing

	Wellington	Springfield
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$53.32 NZ$94.29	$72.00	+35.0%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,215.08 NZ$2,148.69	$1,816.67	+49.5%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,141.32 NZ$2,018.26	$1,700.00	+48.9%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$149.83 NZ$264.95	$161.67	+7.9%
Average			+41.4%

Wellington vs. Springfield - Cost of housing

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pay 36.6% more for childcare

	Wellington	Springfield
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,055.30 NZ$1,866.14	$1,493.75	+41.5%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$12,899.11 NZ$22,810.11	$17,000.00	+31.8%
Average			+36.6%

Wellington vs. Springfield - Cost of childcare

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pay 1.3% more for entertainment and sports

	Wellington	Springfield
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$7.28 NZ$12.88	$6.00	-17.6%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.34 NZ$5.91	$6.46	+93.3%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$25.18 NZ$44.53	$13.50	-46.4%
Monthly membership at local gym	$38.09 NZ$67.36	$28.49	-25.2%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$12.04 NZ$21.30	$15.00	+24.5%
Average			+1.3%

Wellington vs. Springfield - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 8.2% less for clothing

	Wellington	Springfield
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$77.76 NZ$137.50	$50.00	-35.7%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$28.15 NZ$49.78	$39.77	+41.3%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$101.77 NZ$179.97	$112.50	+10.5%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$152.66 NZ$269.95	$107.83	-29.4%
Average			-8.2%

Wellington vs. Springfield - Cost of clothing

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We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated October 2026). How we calculate this

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