Cost of living comparison

 Seattle (WA), United States
compared to
 Wellington, New Zealand
Wellington vs. Seattle Cost of Living Summary

Wellington is 13.8% cheaper than Seattle.

Restaurants
pay 23.7% less in Wellington
Groceries
pay 12.0% less in Wellington
Transportation
pay 17.3% more in Wellington
Housing
pay 26.9% less in Wellington
Childcare
pay 57.5% less in Wellington
Entertainment and Sports
pay 0.2% less in Wellington
Clothing
pay 6.4% more in Wellington

The cost of transportation and clothing in Wellington are more expensive than in Seattle. Expenses including childcare, housing, restaurants, groceries, and entertainment and sports are lower in Wellington.

Wellington vs. Seattle Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Wellington instead of Seattle, you would:

pay 23.7% less for restaurants

 
Seattle
Wellington
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $22.50
 
$14.93
NZ$25.04
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$13.00
 
$8.96
NZ$15.02
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $3.14
 
$2.57
NZ$4.32

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pay 12.0% less for groceries

 
Seattle
Wellington
Bread
1 loaf
$4.53
 
$1.96
NZ$3.29
Local cheese (8 oz) $7.68
 
$4.15
NZ$6.96
Milk (1 gallon) $4.59
 
$6.98
NZ$11.71

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pay 17.3% more for transportation

 
Seattle
Wellington
Gasoline (1 gallon) $4.83
 
$6.42
NZ$10.76
Monthly public transit pass $99.00
 
$127.57
NZ$213.93
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $36,656.56
 
$34,339.84
NZ$57,588.22

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pay 26.9% less for housing

 
Seattle
Wellington
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$70.21
 
$54.27
NZ$91.01
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $2,256.97
 
$1,487.35
NZ$2,494.29
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $1,819.38
 
$1,335.17
NZ$2,239.10

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pay 57.5% less for childcare

 
Seattle
Wellington
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $2,134.00
 
$871.44
NZ$1,461.41
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $28,666.67
 
$12,649.75
NZ$21,213.75

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pay 0.2% less for entertainment and sports

 
Seattle
Wellington
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $8.00
 
$7.17
NZ$12.02
Cappuccino in mid-range area $5.65
 
$3.41
NZ$5.72
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$12.00
 
$24.46
NZ$41.01

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pay 6.4% more for clothing

 
Seattle
Wellington
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$65.31
 
$75.78
NZ$127.08
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$57.58
 
$55.09
NZ$92.39
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$102.85
 
$119.44
NZ$200.31

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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: June 2025
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