New Zealand vs United States - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

New Zealand United States
🚶 Cost of living one person
$1950
$2433
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$4404
$5667
🏠 One person rent
$1136
$1552
🏘️ Family rent
$1908
$2714
🍽️ Food expenses
$544
$618
🚐 Transport expenses
$147
$104
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$3185
$4694
💸 GDP per capita
$48419
$76330
😃 Human freedom index
8.88
8.39
❤️ Life expectancy
82.2
76.3
👮 Corruption perceptions index
85
69
🌐 English speaking %
97.8%
95.5%
🎓 Higher education
91
100
😀 Quality of life
89
86
🏙️ Population
5.12M
331M

The average cost of living in New Zealand ($1950) is 20% less expensive than in the United States ($2433). New Zealand ranked 15th vs 7th for the United States in the list of the most expensive countries in the world.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 1.6 months in New Zealand compared to 1.9 months in the United States. Ranked 17th and 21st best countries to live in the world.

Salary adjustment calculator
the estimated difference in money purchasing power

Cost of living in New Zealand vs United States infographic

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Prices in New Zealand vs the United States

We calculate prices for New Zealand and the United States as a population-weighted mean of 31 and 2202 cities, respectively. Since large cities tend to have a higher cost of living, it's better to visit specific city pages below for more relevant information.

New Zealand United States
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu
$14
$18.4
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$71.5
$73.1
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$9.58
$10.5
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$6.53
$6.08
 Cappuccino
$3.47
$5.09
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$2.42
$2.51
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$1097
$1611
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$971
$1301
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$2025
$2861
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$1653
$2352
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$83.8
$122
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$128
$188
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$53.8
$67
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
6.92%
6.5%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$7385
$4763
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$6393
$3852
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$2.23
$2.38
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$93.7
$71.8
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$19.2
$18.4
 Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$1.73
$0.99
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.91
$1.09
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$1.95
$3.44
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.01
$4.32
🥚 Eggs, x12
$6.68
$3.89
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$8.93
$13
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$9.64
$11.8
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$13
$16.4
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.86
$5.02
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.43
$1.78
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$3.14
$4.43
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$5.83
$4.66
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.42
$2.78
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.12
$2.87
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.81
$1.41
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$2.63
$2.51
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$11
$14.4
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$3.43
$2.12
🚬 Cigarette pack
$23.3
$10.1
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$10.5
$9.27
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$4.43
$5.79
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$2.02
$4.29
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$2.68
$2.09
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$39.3
$50
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$12.4
$13.9
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$35
$116
💇 Haircut, simple
$17.8
$20.4
👖 Brand Jeans
$75.4
$53.2
👟 Brand Sneakers
$108
$89.3
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$784
$1423
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$11969
$19463

Cost of living in other countries

Cost of living

Cities Comparison in New Zealand vs the United States

More countries to compare

Cost of Living in Popular cities

In New Zealand

City Cost of living Population
Auckland
$2279
1.47M
Christchurch
$1800
383K
Manukau
$1994
376K
Wellington
$2220
419K
Waitakere
$1960
208K
Hamilton
$1701
177K
Tauranga
$1754
151K
Lower Hutt
$1887
103K
Dunedin
$1398
106K
Palmerston North
$1365
81.5K
Napier
$1207
66.3K
New Plymouth
$1346
57.6K
Rotorua
$1200
58.5K
Hibiscus Coast
$1885
59.8K
Porirua
$1777
59.6K
Nelson
$1500
51.1K
Whangarei
$1388
54.4K
Invercargill
$1353
50.2K
Upper Hutt
$1744
44.3K
Gisborne
$1524
37K
Hastings
$1113
49K
Timaru
$1842
28.7K
Whanganui
$1454
42.2K
Paraparaumu
$1679
30.1K
Pukekohe
$1643
26.5K
Taupo
$1563
25.4K
Blenheim
$1579
28.2K
Queenstown
$1925
16K
Wanaka
$1664
8.9K
Masterton
$1230
21.4K

In the United States

City Cost of living Population
New York City
$4044
8.8M
Los Angeles
$3165
3.9M
Chicago
$2613
2.75M
Houston
$2221
2.3M
San Diego
$3427
1.39M
Phoenix
$2390
1.61M
Dallas
$2497
1.3M
San Jose
$3502
1.01M
Philadelphia
$2422
1.6M
San Francisco
$3729
874K
San Antonio
$2219
1.43M
Austin
$2590
962K
Seattle
$2974
737K
Washington
$3079
690K
Indianapolis
$2129
888K
Charlotte
$2710
875K
Hempstead
$2627
793K
Fort Worth
$2173
919K
Boston
$3345
676K
Jacksonville
$2246
950K
Denver
$2771
716K
Columbus
$2202
906K
Nashville
$2623
689K
Portland
$2579
653K
Louisville
$1918
633K
Atlanta
$2648
499K
Baltimore
$2197
586K
Detroit
$1979
639K
Las Vegas
$2408
642K
El Paso
$1613
679K