Cost of living comparison
compared to
Nelson vs. West Lafayette Cost of Living Summary
Nelson is 12.9% cheaper than West Lafayette.
Nelson vs. West Lafayette Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Nelson instead of West Lafayette, you would:
pay 16.5% more for restaurants
|
West Lafayette
|
Nelson
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$12.00
|
$13.73
NZ$24.27
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$6.50
|
$8.40
NZ$14.86
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$1.88
|
$1.75
NZ$3.10
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.54
|
$1.68
NZ$2.97
|
|
West Lafayette vs. Nelson - Cost of restaurants
pay 7.1% less for groceries
|
West Lafayette
|
Nelson
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$3.28
|
$2.11
NZ$3.73
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$11.02
|
$4.62
NZ$8.18
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$2.48
|
$7.12
NZ$12.59
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$3.75
|
$5.68
NZ$10.04
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$2.70
|
$3.39
NZ$5.99
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.00
|
$1.40
NZ$2.47
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.57
|
$0.99
NZ$1.75
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.50
|
$1.37
NZ$2.42
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.30
|
$2.59
NZ$4.58
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.50
|
$0.95
NZ$1.69
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.50
|
$0.57
NZ$1.01
|
|
West Lafayette vs. Nelson - Cost of groceries
pay 1.7% less for transportation
|
West Lafayette
|
Nelson
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.41
|
$5.97
NZ$10.56
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$28.00
|
?? | |
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$36,915.00
|
$17,086.24
NZ$30,214.40
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$12.96
|
$16.19
NZ$28.63
|
|
West Lafayette vs. Nelson - Cost of transportation
pay 29.7% less for housing
|
West Lafayette
|
Nelson
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$64.06
|
$42.72
NZ$75.54
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,400.00
|
$1,022.37
NZ$1,807.91
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,250.00
|
$812.30
NZ$1,436.42
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$123.09
|
$98.59
NZ$174.34
|
|
West Lafayette vs. Nelson - Cost of housing
pay 55.2% less for childcare
|
West Lafayette
|
Nelson
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,000.00
|
$448.16
NZ$792.51
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters | ?? |
$12,899.11
NZ$22,810.11
|
|
West Lafayette vs. Nelson - Cost of childcare
pay 39.4% more for entertainment and sports
|
West Lafayette
|
Nelson
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$5.17
|
$7.28
NZ$12.88
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$4.50
|
$3.22
NZ$5.70
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$12.00
|
$25.18
NZ$44.53
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$30.00
|
$100.84
NZ$178.31
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$13.50
|
$11.20
NZ$19.81
|
|
West Lafayette vs. Nelson - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 1.8% more for clothing
|
West Lafayette
|
Nelson
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$75.00
|
$52.29
NZ$92.46
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$42.50
|
$28.15
NZ$49.78
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$67.50
|
$101.77
NZ$179.97
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$90.00
|
$138.65
NZ$245.18
|
|
West Lafayette vs. Nelson - Cost of clothing
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
Change currency:
Compare further: West Lafayette vs. Nelson
Compare countries by overall cost of living
See the
cost of living in United States vs. New Zealand.
This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within United States and New Zealand.
Help us improve these prices
MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate.
Learn more
Ask the Elsewhere Community
Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Nelson or West Lafayette. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.