Cost of living comparison
compared to
Watertown vs. Wellington Cost of Living Summary
Watertown is 13.8% more expensive than Wellington.
- Restaurants
-
pay 7.1% more in Watertown
- Groceries
-
pay 18.0% more in Watertown
- Transportation
-
pay 7.3% less in Watertown
- Housing
-
pay 3.4% more in Watertown
- Childcare
-
pay 2.0 times more in Watertown
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 6.2% less in Watertown
- Clothing
-
pay 19.8% less in Watertown
The cost of childcare, groceries, restaurants, and housing in Watertown are more expensive than in Wellington. Expenses including clothing, transportation, and entertainment and sports are lower in Watertown. Notably, childcare is significantly more expensive in Watertown.
Watertown vs. Wellington Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Watertown instead of Wellington, you would:
pay 7.1% more for restaurants
|
Wellington
|
Watertown
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$14.42
NZ$25.15
|
$13.75
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$9.23
NZ$16.10
|
$12.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.46
NZ$4.29
|
$2.38
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.98
NZ$3.45
|
$2.10
|
|
Wellington vs. Watertown - Cost of restaurants
pay 18.0% more for groceries
|
Wellington
|
Watertown
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.98
NZ$3.45
|
$2.40
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$4.02
NZ$7.02
|
$6.82
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$6.79
NZ$11.84
|
$2.50
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$6.77
NZ$11.81
|
$3.10
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$4.77
NZ$8.32
|
$3.80
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.36
NZ$2.37
|
$1.81
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.01
NZ$1.77
|
$0.70
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.33
NZ$2.32
|
$2.43
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.32
NZ$4.04
|
$2.26
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.90
NZ$1.56
|
$1.11
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.68
NZ$1.18
|
$1.62
|
|
Wellington vs. Watertown - Cost of groceries
pay 7.3% less for transportation
|
Wellington
|
Watertown
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$6.14
NZ$10.71
|
$3.34
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$109.62
NZ$191.17
|
$44.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$31,154.21
NZ$54,332.45
|
$36,344.69
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$14.55
NZ$25.38
|
$23.20
|
|
Wellington vs. Watertown - Cost of transportation
pay 3.4% more for housing
|
Wellington
|
Watertown
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$48.75
NZ$85.02
|
$65.00
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,240.57
NZ$2,163.54
|
$900.00
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,099.37
NZ$1,917.29
|
$750.00
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$109.37
NZ$190.73
|
$152.94
|
|
Wellington vs. Watertown - Cost of housing
pay 2.0 times more for childcare
|
Wellington
|
Watertown
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$768.47
NZ$1,340.20
|
$1,300.00
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$12,211.68
NZ$21,296.98
|
$28,560.00
|
|
Wellington vs. Watertown - Cost of childcare
pay 6.2% less for entertainment and sports
|
Wellington
|
Watertown
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$6.63
NZ$11.57
|
$5.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$3.54
NZ$6.17
|
$5.44
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$25.67
NZ$44.77
|
$14.00
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$34.12
NZ$59.51
|
?? | |
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$11.54
NZ$20.12
|
$10.60
|
|
Wellington vs. Watertown - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 19.8% less for clothing
|
Wellington
|
Watertown
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$69.31
NZ$120.87
|
$42.13
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$46.64
NZ$81.33
|
$46.13
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$113.30
NZ$197.60
|
$93.75
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$146.23
NZ$255.02
|
$114.75
|
|
Wellington vs. Watertown - 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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