Cost of living comparison

New Zealand

compared to

Australia

Canberra vs. Whangarei Cost of Living Summary

Canberra is 77.7% more expensive than Whangarei.

Restaurants: pay 39.5% more in Canberra
Groceries: pay 50.7% more in Canberra
Transportation: pay 14.4% less in Canberra
Housing: pay 3.0 times more in Canberra
Childcare: pay 74.9% more in Canberra
Entertainment and Sports: pay 63.2% more in Canberra
Clothing: pay 44.8% more in Canberra

The cost of housing, childcare, entertainment and sports, groceries, clothing, and restaurants in Canberra are more expensive than in Whangarei. Notably, housing is significantly more expensive in Canberra.

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Canberra vs. Whangarei Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Canberra instead of Whangarei, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 39.5% more for restaurants

	Whangarei	Canberra
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$12.04 NZ$21.46	$17.41 A$24.92	+44.5%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$8.40 NZ$14.97	$10.44 A$14.95	+24.3%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.05 NZ$3.66	$3.09 A$4.43	+50.5%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.55 NZ$2.76	$2.55 A$3.66	+64.7%
Average			+39.5%

Whangarei vs. Canberra - Cost of restaurants

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pay 50.7% more for groceries

	Whangarei	Canberra
Bread 1 loaf	$1.26 NZ$2.24	$3.25 A$4.66	+158.4%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$2.80 NZ$4.98	$6.48 A$9.28	+131.7%
Milk (1 gallon)	$5.47 NZ$9.75	$5.82 A$8.33	+6.4%
Eggs 1 dozen	$5.34 NZ$9.51	$5.26 A$7.53	-1.5%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.30 NZ$5.89	$4.47 A$6.41	+35.5%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.18 NZ$2.10	$1.80 A$2.57	+52.1%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.96 NZ$1.71	$1.43 A$2.05	+48.7%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.33 NZ$2.38	$1.59 A$2.27	+18.9%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.37 NZ$2.43	$2.36 A$3.38	+72.8%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.02 NZ$1.81	$1.41 A$2.02	+38.8%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.76 NZ$1.36	$1.26 A$1.81	+65.6%
Average			+50.7%

Whangarei vs. Canberra - Cost of groceries

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pay 14.4% less for transportation

	Whangarei	Canberra
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$6.36 NZ$11.33	$5.07 A$7.26	-20.2%
Monthly public transit pass	$128.85 NZ$229.61	$92.46 A$132.39	-28.2%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$26,604.12 NZ$47,410.00	$26,937.53 A$38,570.34	+1.3%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$16.41 NZ$29.25	$16.79 A$24.05	+2.3%
Average			-14.4%

Whangarei vs. Canberra - Cost of transportation

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pay 3.0 times more for housing

	Whangarei	Canberra
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$50.42 NZ$89.85	$55.39 A$79.32	+9.9%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$417.35 NZ$743.75	$1,743.39 A$2,496.26	+317.7%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$414.55 NZ$738.75	$1,478.12 A$2,116.43	+256.6%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$114.63 NZ$204.28	$139.13 A$199.21	+21.4%
Average			+204.7%

Whangarei vs. Canberra - Cost of housing

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pay 74.9% more for childcare

	Whangarei	Canberra
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$700.26 NZ$1,247.89	$2,367.60 A$3,390.04	+238.1%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$22,408.19 NZ$39,932.62	$20,280.48 A$29,038.49	-9.5%
Average			+74.9%

Whangarei vs. Canberra - Cost of childcare

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pay 63.2% more for entertainment and sports

	Whangarei	Canberra
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$5.88 NZ$10.48	$8.35 A$11.96	+42.0%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.36 NZ$5.99	$4.03 A$5.77	+19.8%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$25.21 NZ$44.92	$44.55 A$63.79	+76.7%
Monthly membership at local gym	$34.73 NZ$61.90	$82.62 A$118.30	+137.9%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$10.08 NZ$17.97	$15.67 A$22.43	+55.4%
Average			+63.2%

Whangarei vs. Canberra - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 44.8% more for clothing

	Whangarei	Canberra
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$71.43 NZ$127.29	$76.36 A$109.34	+6.9%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$32.68 NZ$58.24	$56.12 A$80.36	+71.7%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$70.03 NZ$124.79	$116.35 A$166.60	+66.2%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$91.50 NZ$163.06	$131.92 A$188.89	+44.2%
Average			+44.8%

Whangarei vs. Canberra - 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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