Cost of living comparison

compared to

State College vs. Wellington Cost of Living Summary

State College is 11.8% more expensive than Wellington.

Restaurants: pay 4.3% more in State College
Groceries: pay 12.7% more in State College
Transportation: pay 2.1% more in State College
Housing: pay 17.8% more in State College
Childcare: pay 85.0% more in State College
Entertainment and Sports: pay 13.1% less in State College
Clothing: pay 26.1% less in State College

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

State College vs. Wellington Cost Breakdown

If you lived in State College instead of Wellington, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 4.3% more for restaurants

	Wellington	State College
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$14.42 NZ$25.06	$15.00	+4.0%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$9.23 NZ$16.04	$9.50	+2.9%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.46 NZ$4.27	$2.69	+9.3%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.98 NZ$3.44	$2.00	+1.1%
Average			+4.3%

Wellington vs. State College - Cost of restaurants

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pay 12.7% more for groceries

	Wellington	State College
Bread 1 loaf	$1.98 NZ$3.43	$3.46	+74.9%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.02 NZ$6.99	$4.83	+20.0%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.79 NZ$11.79	$3.44	-49.3%
Eggs 1 dozen	$6.77 NZ$11.77	$3.98	-41.2%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$4.77 NZ$8.29	$3.80	-20.5%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.36 NZ$2.37	$1.64	+20.1%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.01 NZ$1.76	$0.70	-30.9%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.33 NZ$2.31	$2.27	+70.6%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.32 NZ$4.02	$2.26	-2.4%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.90 NZ$1.56	$0.94	+4.8%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.68 NZ$1.18	$1.32	+93.9%
Average			+12.7%

Wellington vs. State College - Cost of groceries

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pay 2.1% more for transportation

	Wellington	State College
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$6.14 NZ$10.67	$3.38	-45.0%
Monthly public transit pass	$109.62 NZ$190.44	$85.00	-22.5%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$31,154.21 NZ$54,124.77	$36,344.69	+16.7%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$14.55 NZ$25.28	$23.20	+59.4%
Average			+2.1%

Wellington vs. State College - Cost of transportation

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pay 17.8% more for housing

	Wellington	State College
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$48.75 NZ$84.70	$65.00	+33.3%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,240.57 NZ$2,155.27	$1,500.00	+20.9%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,099.37 NZ$1,909.96	$1,167.50	+6.2%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$109.37 NZ$190.00	$121.12	+10.7%
Average			+17.8%

Wellington vs. State College - Cost of housing

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pay 85.0% more for childcare

	Wellington	State College
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$768.47 NZ$1,335.08	$1,046.00	+36.1%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$12,211.68 NZ$21,215.57	$28,560.00	+133.9%
Average			+85.0%

Wellington vs. State College - Cost of childcare

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pay 13.1% less for entertainment and sports

	Wellington	State College
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$6.63 NZ$11.53	$5.00	-24.6%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.54 NZ$6.15	$4.50	+27.1%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$25.67 NZ$44.60	$14.00	-45.5%
Monthly membership at local gym	$34.12 NZ$59.28	$25.00	-26.7%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$11.54 NZ$20.05	$12.00	+4.0%
Average			-13.1%

Wellington vs. State College - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 26.1% less for clothing

	Wellington	State College
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$69.31 NZ$120.41	$42.13	-39.2%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$46.64 NZ$81.02	$40.00	-14.2%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$113.30 NZ$196.84	$80.00	-29.4%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$146.23 NZ$254.05	$114.75	-21.5%
Average			-26.1%

Wellington vs. State College - Cost of clothing

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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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