Auckland vs Wellington - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated: March 11, 2026

	Auckland	Wellington
🚶 Cost of living one person	$2156	$2037
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family	$4802	$4310
🏠 One person rent	$1242	$1265
🏘️ Family rent	$1967	$1894
🍽️ Food expenses	$543	$542
🚐 Transport expenses	$242	$105
💳 Monthly salary after tax	$3398	$3197
😷 Air quality	Excellent	Excellent
✈️ Airport proximity	15 km	5 km
🎓 Higher education	32	18
😀 Quality of life	89	85
🏙️ Population	1.47M	216K

The cost of living in Auckland is 6% more expensive than in Wellington. Cities ranked 1604th and 1932nd ($2156 vs $2037) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 2nd and 3rd in New Zealand.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 1.6 months in Auckland compared to 1.6 months in Wellington. Ranked 1st vs 3rd best cities to live in New Zealand, and 240th vs 484th among the best cities to live in the world.

Salary adjustment calculator
the estimated difference in money purchasing power

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<img src="https://livingcost.org/assets/photo/cost/auckland/wellington.jpg" alt="Cost of living in Auckland vs Wellington infographic" style="max-width: 100%; height: auto;"><p>Source: <a href="https://livingcost.org/cost/auckland/wellington" target="_blank">Auckland vs Wellington - Cost of Living Comparison</a></p>

Prices in Auckland vs Wellington

Prices for goods and services in Auckland and Wellington are partly crowdsourced by our visitors, just like yourself. Please consider telling us about your city.

	Auckland	Wellington
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu	$13.5	$13.5
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2	$71.5	$62.6
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's	$9.86	$9.76
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$7.14	$7.35
☕ Cappuccino	$3.63	$3.64
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz	$2.35	$2.64
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$1205	$1167
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$1071	$1103
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$2099	$2025
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$1689	$1611
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$94.7	$96.1
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$147	$148
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited	$49.2	$53.2
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years	6.07%	5.94%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$7507	$6316
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$5316	$4074
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket	$2.91	$3.04
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport	$131	$115
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi	$18.4	$17
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal	$1.63	$1.68
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt	$1.75	$1.95
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb	$2.03	$2.12
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.77	$1.98
🥚 Eggs, x12	$6.66	$7.19
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$8.91	$10.9
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$10.8	$10.6
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$15.6	$14.7
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$3.05	$3.1
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.11	$2.37
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$3.3	$3.15
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$4.81	$5.28
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.8	$2.16
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.53	$1.4
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt	$0.79	$0.79
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz	$2.36	$2.18
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle	$11.4	$10.6
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$2.9	$3.69
🚬 Cigarette pack	$26.3	$26
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week	$11.7	$10.4
🧴 Hair Shampoo	$4.16	$4.9
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls	$1.55	$2.14
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube	$2.45	$2.53
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month	$36.7	$37
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person	$13.2	$11.8
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit	$41.1	$38.3
💇 Haircut, simple	$19.3	$17.4
👖 Brand Jeans	$75.6	$76.8
👟 Brand Sneakers	$107	$113
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month	$988	$880
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year	$15607	$13419

Cost of living in other countries

Cost of living

Cost of Living in the nearest cities

Cities near Auckland

Distance	City	Cost of living
13 km or 8.4 mi	Waitakere	$1778
17 km or 11 mi	Manukau	$1646
28 km or 18 mi	Hibiscus Coast	$1782
40 km or 25 mi	Pukekohe	$1527
113 km or 70 mi	Hamilton	$1474
132 km or 82 mi	Whangarei	$1261
154 km or 96 mi	Tauranga	$1740
193 km or 120 mi	Rotorua	$1393
234 km or 146 mi	Taupo	$1523
253 km or 157 mi	New Plymouth	$1304
344 km or 214 mi	Whanganui	$1528
347 km or 216 mi	Napier	$1605
348 km or 217 mi	Gisborne	$1696
359 km or 223 mi	Hastings	$1518
396 km or 246 mi	Palmerston North	$1458
453 km or 281 mi	Paraparaumu	$1741
464 km or 288 mi	Masterton	$1359
476 km or 296 mi	Porirua	$1788
477 km or 296 mi	Upper Hutt	$1803
486 km or 302 mi	Lower Hutt	$1920
494 km or 307 mi	Wellington	$2037
512 km or 318 mi	Nelson	$1533
524 km or 326 mi	Blenheim	$1325
765 km or 475 mi	Christchurch	$1787
891 km or 553 mi	Timaru	$1894
995 km or 618 mi	Wanaka	$1623
1044 km or 649 mi	Queenstown	$2303
1064 km or 661 mi	Dunedin	$1579
1190 km or 740 mi	Invercargill	$1318
1809 km or 1124 mi	Noumea	$1928
1821 km or 1131 mi	Dumbea	$1865
1826 km or 1135 mi	Paita	$1865
1997 km or 1241 mi	Mua	$1033
1997 km or 1241 mi	Nukualofa	$1035
2097 km or 1303 mi	Port Macquarie	$1796
2112 km or 1312 mi	Suva	$879
2120 km or 1317 mi	Nasinu	$857
2129 km or 1323 mi	Coffs Harbour	$2172
2134 km or 1326 mi	Nadi	$1039
2140 km or 1330 mi	Newcastle	$1997

Cities near Wellington

Distance	City	Cost of living
14 km or 8.8 mi	Lower Hutt	$1920
18 km or 11 mi	Porirua	$1788
29 km or 18 mi	Upper Hutt	$1803
46 km or 29 mi	Paraparaumu	$1741
73 km or 46 mi	Blenheim	$1325
81 km or 51 mi	Masterton	$1359
125 km or 78 mi	Palmerston North	$1458
129 km or 80 mi	Nelson	$1533
152 km or 95 mi	Whanganui	$1528
252 km or 157 mi	Hastings	$1518
255 km or 159 mi	New Plymouth	$1304
270 km or 168 mi	Napier	$1605
305 km or 190 mi	Christchurch	$1787
310 km or 192 mi	Taupo	$1523
372 km or 231 mi	Rotorua	$1393
392 km or 244 mi	Hamilton	$1474
402 km or 250 mi	Gisborne	$1696
418 km or 260 mi	Tauranga	$1740
450 km or 279 mi	Timaru	$1894
455 km or 283 mi	Pukekohe	$1527
479 km or 298 mi	Manukau	$1646
486 km or 302 mi	Waitakere	$1778
494 km or 307 mi	Auckland	$2156
521 km or 324 mi	Hibiscus Coast	$1782
596 km or 371 mi	Wanaka	$1623
614 km or 382 mi	Dunedin	$1579
620 km or 385 mi	Whangarei	$1261
647 km or 402 mi	Queenstown	$2303
768 km or 477 mi	Invercargill	$1318
2223 km or 1381 mi	Wollongong	$1695
2226 km or 1383 mi	Dee Why	$2379
2227 km or 1384 mi	Sydney	$2844
2235 km or 1389 mi	Newcastle	$1997
2235 km or 1389 mi	Port Macquarie	$1796
2246 km or 1395 mi	Parramatta	$2482
2254 km or 1401 mi	Noumea	$1928
2255 km or 1401 mi	Kellyville	$2050
2256 km or 1402 mi	Blacktown	$1710
2263 km or 1406 mi	Hobart	$2308
2266 km or 1408 mi	Dumbea	$1865