Cost of living comparison

compared to

New York City vs. Wellington Cost of Living Summary

New York City is 82.2% more expensive than Wellington.

Restaurants: pay 42.7% more in New York City
Groceries: pay 56.6% more in New York City
Transportation: pay 3.0% less in New York City
Housing: pay 79.7% more in New York City
Childcare: pay 4.2 times more in New York City
Entertainment and Sports: pay 80.9% more in New York City
Clothing: pay 1.5% less in New York City

The cost of childcare, entertainment and sports, housing, groceries, and restaurants in New York City are more expensive than in Wellington. Expenses including transportation and clothing are lower in New York City. Notably, childcare, entertainment and sports, and housing are significantly more expensive in New York City.

New York City vs. Wellington Cost Breakdown

If you lived in New York City instead of Wellington, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 42.7% more for restaurants

	Wellington	New York City
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$14.93 NZ$26.61	$30.00	+100.9%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$8.96 NZ$15.96	$12.00	+34.0%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.57 NZ$4.59	$3.22	+25.3%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$2.15 NZ$3.84	$2.39	+10.7%
Average			+42.7%

Wellington vs. New York City - Cost of restaurants

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pay 56.6% more for groceries

	Wellington	New York City
Bread 1 loaf	$1.96 NZ$3.50	$4.82	+145.3%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.15 NZ$7.39	$8.52	+105.4%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.98 NZ$12.44	$5.80	-16.9%
Eggs 1 dozen	$6.84 NZ$12.19	$5.06	-26.1%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$5.06 NZ$9.02	$6.82	+34.9%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.40 NZ$2.49	$3.25	+132.5%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.09 NZ$1.94	$1.04	-5.1%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.48 NZ$2.63	$2.67	+80.6%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.61 NZ$4.65	$2.70	+3.3%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.01 NZ$1.81	$1.73	+71.1%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.84 NZ$1.49	$1.66	+98.0%
Average			+56.6%

Wellington vs. New York City - Cost of groceries

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pay 3.0% less for transportation

	Wellington	New York City
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$6.42 NZ$11.44	$3.80	-40.8%
Monthly public transit pass	$127.57 NZ$227.33	$132.50	+3.9%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$34,339.84 NZ$61,195.48	$35,000.00	+1.9%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$18.22 NZ$32.46	$22.40	+23.0%
Average			-3.0%

Wellington vs. New York City - Cost of transportation

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pay 79.7% more for housing

	Wellington	New York City
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$54.27 NZ$96.71	$68.20	+25.7%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,487.35 NZ$2,650.53	$4,097.13	+175.5%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,335.17 NZ$2,379.35	$2,883.17	+115.9%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$134.11 NZ$238.99	$136.26	+1.6%
Average			+79.7%

Wellington vs. New York City - Cost of housing

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pay 4.2 times more for childcare

	Wellington	New York City
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$871.44 NZ$1,552.95	$3,253.56	+273.4%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$12,649.75 NZ$22,542.55	$59,000.00	+366.4%
Average			+319.9%

Wellington vs. New York City - Cost of childcare

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pay 80.9% more for entertainment and sports

	Wellington	New York City
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$7.17 NZ$12.77	$9.00	+25.6%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.41 NZ$6.08	$5.95	+74.2%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$24.46 NZ$43.58	$17.00	-30.5%
Monthly membership at local gym	$39.85 NZ$71.01	$148.06	+271.6%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$12.24 NZ$21.82	$20.00	+63.4%
Average			+80.9%

Wellington vs. New York City - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 1.5% less for clothing

	Wellington	New York City
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$75.78 NZ$135.04	$68.92	-9.0%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$55.09 NZ$98.18	$45.62	-17.2%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$119.44 NZ$212.85	$107.85	-9.7%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$129.60 NZ$230.95	$168.36	+29.9%
Average			-1.5%

Wellington vs. New York City - Cost of clothing

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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: January 2025

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