Cost of living comparison

compared to

United States vs. Wellington Cost of Living Summary

United States is 19.8% more expensive than Wellington.

Restaurants: pay 15.1% more in United States
Groceries: pay 30.0% more in United States
Transportation: pay 14.9% less in United States
Housing: pay 35.5% more in United States
Childcare: pay 85.2% more in United States
Entertainment and Sports: pay 8.2% more in United States
Clothing: pay 20.7% less in United States

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

United States vs. Wellington Cost Breakdown

If you lived in United States instead of Wellington, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 15.1% more for restaurants

	Wellington	United States
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$14.42 NZ$24.97	$19.45	+34.8%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$9.23 NZ$15.98	$11.12	+20.5%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.46 NZ$4.26	$2.56	+4.0%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.98 NZ$3.42	$2.00	+1.3%
Average			+15.1%

Wellington vs. United States - Cost of restaurants

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pay 30.0% more for groceries

	Wellington	United States
Bread 1 loaf	$1.98 NZ$3.42	$3.56	+80.0%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.02 NZ$6.96	$6.50	+61.6%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.79 NZ$11.75	$3.97	-41.5%
Eggs 1 dozen	$6.77 NZ$11.73	$4.27	-37.0%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$4.77 NZ$8.26	$5.41	+13.3%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.36 NZ$2.36	$2.37	+74.0%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.01 NZ$1.75	$0.78	-22.6%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.33 NZ$2.30	$2.04	+52.9%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.32 NZ$4.01	$2.21	-4.5%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.90 NZ$1.55	$1.34	+50.0%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.68 NZ$1.17	$1.38	+104.1%
Average			+30.0%

Wellington vs. United States - Cost of groceries

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pay 14.9% less for transportation

	Wellington	United States
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$6.14 NZ$10.63	$3.41	-44.4%
Monthly public transit pass	$109.62 NZ$189.75	$65.85	-39.9%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$31,154.21 NZ$53,928.03	$32,336.38	+3.8%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$14.55 NZ$25.19	$17.61	+21.0%
Average			-14.9%

Wellington vs. United States - Cost of transportation

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pay 35.5% more for housing

	Wellington	United States
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$48.75 NZ$84.39	$68.97	+41.5%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,240.57 NZ$2,147.43	$1,664.59	+34.2%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,099.37 NZ$1,903.02	$1,416.15	+28.8%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$109.37 NZ$189.31	$150.19	+37.3%
Average			+35.5%

Wellington vs. United States - Cost of housing

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pay 85.2% more for childcare

	Wellington	United States
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$768.47 NZ$1,330.22	$1,387.27	+80.5%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$12,211.68 NZ$21,138.46	$23,196.46	+90.0%
Average			+85.2%

Wellington vs. United States - Cost of childcare

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pay 8.2% more for entertainment and sports

	Wellington	United States
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$6.63 NZ$11.48	$5.84	-12.0%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.54 NZ$6.13	$5.15	+45.6%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$25.67 NZ$44.44	$9.90	-61.4%
Monthly membership at local gym	$34.12 NZ$59.06	$51.45	+50.8%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$11.54 NZ$19.97	$13.64	+18.2%
Average			+8.2%

Wellington vs. United States - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 20.7% less for clothing

	Wellington	United States
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$69.31 NZ$119.97	$51.08	-26.3%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$46.64 NZ$80.73	$41.81	-10.4%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$113.30 NZ$196.13	$87.56	-22.7%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$146.23 NZ$253.12	$112.04	-23.4%
Average			-20.7%

Wellington vs. United States - 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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