Cost of Living Comparison Between Ames, IA and Wellington Cost of Living Comparison Between Ames, IA and Wellington

🙂 Solo nomad: Ames, IA is 15.3% cheaper than Wellington without rent, and 12% cheaper with rent.

🙂 Family of 3: Ames, IA is 17.8% cheaper than Wellington without rent, and 7.5% cheaper with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$18.04 $18.04

$17.41 NZ$30.39

3.62%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$44.34 $44.34

$86 NZ$150

-48.42%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.87 $8.87

$9.4 NZ$16.42

-5.64%

Cappuccino

$5.22 $5.22

$3.62 NZ$6.32

44.20%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.99 $1.99

$2.49 NZ$4.35

-20.08%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.72 $1.72

$2.2 NZ$3.85

-21.82%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.97 $2.97

$7.29 NZ$12.73

-59.26%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.04 $7.04

$7.38 NZ$12.89

-4.61%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.02 $1.02

$1.89 NZ$3.31

-46.03%

White Bread (500g)

$3.72 $3.72

$2.08 NZ$3.63

78.85%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.09 $3.09

$1.89 NZ$3.3

63.49%

Eggs

$3.16 $3.16

$7.2 NZ$12.57

-56.11%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.52 $9.52

$7.87 NZ$13.75

20.97%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.91 $11.91

$10.89 NZ$19.01

9.37%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.61 $14.61

$12.97 NZ$22.64

12.64%

Apples (1kg)

$4.93 $4.93

$3.16 NZ$5.52

56.01%

Banana (1kg)

$1.2 $1.2

$2.22 NZ$3.88

-45.95%

Oranges (1kg)

$5.76 $5.76

$3 NZ$5.23

92.00%

Tomato (1kg)

$5.06 $5.06

$4.71 NZ$8.23

7.43%

Potato (1kg)

$3.98 $3.98

$2.1 NZ$3.66

89.52%

Onion (1kg)

$3.61 $3.61

$1.59 NZ$2.78

127.04%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.97 $1.97

$2.26 NZ$3.94

-12.83%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.91 $1.91

$1.25 NZ$2.18

52.80%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$8.96 $8.96

$26.91 NZ$46.99

-66.70%

Wine (Bottle)

$15.76 $15.76

$10.25 NZ$17.89

53.76%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.77 $1.77

$3.55 NZ$6.21

-50.14%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.46 $4.46

$3.26 NZ$5.69

36.81%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.46 $1.46

$2.69 NZ$4.69

-45.72%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$48.11 $48.11

$108 NZ$189

-55.50%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.93 $4.93

$2.78 NZ$4.85

77.34%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.42 $1.42

$1.84 NZ$3.22

-22.83%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$50.5 $50.5

$59.3 NZ$104

-14.98%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.82 $0.82

$1.71 NZ$2.98

-52.05%

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$24.8K $24.8K

$33.3K NZ$58.1K

-25.42%

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$25.9K $25.9K

$25.5K NZ$44.5K

1.72%

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$192 $192

$160 NZ$279

20.44%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$49.11 $49.11

$32.91 NZ$57.5

49.23%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$71.9 $71.9

$51.1 NZ$89.3

40.62%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$68 $68

$36.08 NZ$63

88.50%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.65 $19.65

$20.27 NZ$35.4

-3.06%

Cinema Ticket

$14.14 $14.14

$12.17 NZ$21.25

16.19%

Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)

$1,447 $1,447

$798 NZ$1,394

81.24%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$30.5K $30.5K

$12.6K NZ$22.1K

141.65%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$38.7 $38.7

$72.3 NZ$126

-46.45%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.8 $42.8

$52.5 NZ$91.7

-18.52%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$85.4 $85.4

$119 NZ$208

-28.37%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$117 $117

$141 NZ$246

-17.10%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$969 $969

$1,342 NZ$2,342

-27.77%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$825 $825

$1,068 NZ$1,865

-22.78%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,974 $1,974

$2,095 NZ$3,658

-5.78%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,639 $1,639

$1,932 NZ$3,373

-15.16%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,357 $2,357

$6,909 NZ$12.1K

-65.89%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,188 $2,188

$4,723 NZ$8,247

-53.68%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,597 $3,597

$3,108 NZ$5,427

15.73%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.02

6.94

-13.26%

Citycost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Ames, IA: December 1, 2025

Last update for Wellington: November 29, 2025

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Similar cities

Warsaw

🇵🇱 Poland

Prague

🇨🇿 Czech Republic

Rome

🇮🇹 Italy

Montreal

🇨🇦 Canada

Doha

🇶🇦 Qatar

Helsinki

🇫🇮 Finland

Abu Dhabi

🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates

Ljubljana

🇸🇮 Slovenia