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

😐 Solo nomad: Ames, IA is 9.1% more expensive than Wellington without rent, and 10.7% cheaper with rent.

🙂 Family of 3: Ames, IA is 5.6% cheaper than Wellington without rent, and 10.4% cheaper with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$18.04 $18.04

$17.83 NZ$30.31

1.18%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$44.45 $44.45

$84.2 NZ$143

-47.21%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.27 $9.27

$9.46 NZ$16.09

-2.01%

Cappuccino

$5.01 $5.01

$3.65 NZ$6.21

37.26%

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

$1.99 $1.99

$2.57 NZ$4.38

-22.57%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.79 $1.79

$2.20 NZ$3.73

-18.64%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.02 $3.02

$7.20 NZ$12.24

-58.06%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.81 $6.81

$7.44 NZ$12.65

-8.47%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.95 $0.95

$1.82 NZ$3.10

-47.80%

White Bread (500g)

$3.76 $3.76

$2.04 NZ$3.47

84.31%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.05 $3.05

$1.97 NZ$3.35

54.82%

Eggs

$3.23 $3.23

$7.24 NZ$12.31

-55.39%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.45 $9.45

$8.16 NZ$13.88

15.81%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.82 $11.82

$10.90 NZ$18.54

8.44%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.53 $14.53

$13.19 NZ$22.42

10.16%

Apples (1kg)

$5.01 $5.01

$3.06 NZ$5.21

63.73%

Banana (1kg)

$1.20 $1.20

$2.36 NZ$4.01

-49.15%

Oranges (1kg)

$5.91 $5.91

$2.98 NZ$5.07

98.32%

Tomato (1kg)

$5.05 $5.05

$4.83 NZ$8.21

4.55%

Potato (1kg)

$3.76 $3.76

$2.02 NZ$3.44

86.14%

Onion (1kg)

$3.65 $3.65

$1.58 NZ$2.68

131.01%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.05 $2.05

$2.30 NZ$3.90

-10.87%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.92 $1.92

$1.29 NZ$2.20

48.84%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$9.26 $9.26

$26.71 NZ$45.41

-65.33%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.21 $16.21

$10.89 NZ$18.52

48.85%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.71 $1.71

$3.51 NZ$5.97

-51.28%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.54 $4.54

$3.26 NZ$5.54

39.26%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.53 $1.53

$2.67 NZ$4.54

-42.70%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$47.13 $47.13

$107 NZ$182

-55.98%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.93 $4.93

$2.77 NZ$4.70

77.98%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.42 $1.42

$1.79 NZ$3.05

-20.67%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$49.24 $49.24

$60.9 NZ$103

-19.11%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.82 $0.82

$1.67 NZ$2.85

-50.90%

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

$24.6K $24.6K

$33.0K NZ$56.2K

-25.64%

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

$25.7K $25.7K

$24.9K NZ$42.3K

3.11%

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

$192 $192

$155 NZ$264

23.49%

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

$49.44 $49.44

$33.64 NZ$57.2

46.97%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$73.7 $73.7

$51.1 NZ$86.8

44.34%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$68.5 $68.5

$36.54 NZ$62.1

87.47%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$20.04 $20.04

$20.82 NZ$35.39

-3.75%

Cinema Ticket

$13.79 $13.79

$12.26 NZ$20.84

12.48%

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

$1,451 $1,451

$818 NZ$1,390

77.49%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$30.5K $30.5K

$12.8K NZ$21.8K

137.43%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$38.73 $38.73

$70.9 NZ$121

-45.39%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.64 $42.64

$53.2 NZ$90.5

-19.89%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$84.1 $84.1

$120 NZ$204

-29.86%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$113 $113

$145 NZ$247

-22.50%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$969 $969

$1,297 NZ$2,205

-25.31%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$812 $812

$1,094 NZ$1,860

-25.73%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,908 $1,908

$2,127 NZ$3,616

-10.29%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,637 $1,637

$1,916 NZ$3,257

-14.54%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,421 $2,421

$6,806 NZ$11.6K

-64.43%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,185 $2,185

$4,067 NZ$6,914

-46.27%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,699 $3,699

$3,107 NZ$5,282

19.06%

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: March 1, 2026

Last update for Wellington: March 2, 2026

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated December 2025)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

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