Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Derry and Cambridge

For one person, living is cheaper in Cambridge: $2,044 a month against $2,484 in Derry, rent and utilities included – about $5,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

121

Cost of Living Index in Derry
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Derry Living Index
99

Cost of Living Index in Cambridge
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Cambridge Living Index

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Derry

🇮🇪 Ireland

$2,484

/mo nomad

Cambridge

🇳🇿 New Zealand

$2,044

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Derry and in Cambridge

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Derry and in Cambridge actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,484 in Derry versus $2,044 in Cambridge.

Derry $2,484
Cambridge $2,044

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,000 in Derry versus $2,830 in Cambridge.

Derry $3,000
Cambridge $2,830

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,516 in Derry versus $3,617 in Cambridge.

Derry $3,516
Cambridge $3,617

Living in Derry is roughly 22% more expensive than in Cambridge, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Derry 84% above, Cambridge 51% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$20.52 €18.25

$13.75 NZ$24.32

49.24%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$51.2 €45.58

$68.4 NZ$121

-25.07%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.39 €8.35

$8.74 NZ$15.45

7.44%

Cappuccino

$4.44 €3.95

$3.45 NZ$6.10

28.70%

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

$1.64 €1.46

$1.93 NZ$3.41

-15.03%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.63 €1.45

$1.99 NZ$3.52

-18.09%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.17 €4.60

$6.08 NZ$10.75

-14.97%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.68 €5.94

$6.63 NZ$11.73

0.75%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.48 €1.31

$1.51 NZ$2.67

-1.99%

White Bread (500g)

$1.49 €1.33

$2.23 NZ$3.94

-33.18%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.06 €1.83

$1.89 NZ$3.34

8.99%

Eggs

$3.40 €3.02

$5.95 NZ$10.53

-42.86%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.23 €11.77

$8.33 NZ$14.73

58.82%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.04 €8.93

$9.43 NZ$16.68

6.47%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.19 €11.73

$13.01 NZ$23.01

1.38%

Apples (1kg)

$2.93 €2.61

$2.55 NZ$4.50

14.90%

Banana (1kg)

$1.61 €1.43

$2.28 NZ$4.04

-29.39%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.03 €2.70

$3.02 NZ$5.34

0.33%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.15 €3.69

$5.65 NZ$9.99

-26.55%

Potato (1kg)

$1.02 €0.90

$2.11 NZ$3.73

-51.66%

Onion (1kg)

$1.42 €1.26

$1.56 NZ$2.76

-8.97%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.02 €0.91

$2.27 NZ$4.02

-55.07%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.85 €1.65

$1.08 NZ$1.92

71.30%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$20.71 €18.42

$25.11 NZ$44.41

-17.52%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.27 €9.14

$10.40 NZ$18.39

-1.25%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.24 €1.99

$3.44 NZ$6.08

-34.88%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.62 €2.33

$3.84 NZ$6.79

-31.77%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.60 €2.32

$2.72 NZ$4.81

-4.41%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.20 €4.63

$2.18 NZ$3.85

138.53%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.41 €1.26

$1.94 NZ$3.43

-27.32%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$56.0 €49.78

$31.37 NZ$55.5

78.39%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.97 €1.75

$1.70 NZ$3.00

15.88%

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

$38.6K €34.3K

$25.1K NZ$44.4K

53.54%

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

$36.9K €32.8K

$22.1K NZ$39.1K

66.65%

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

$243 €216

$99.4 NZ$176

144.15%

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

$21.14 €18.81

$26.44 NZ$46.77

-20.05%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$50.5 €44.90

$50.8 NZ$89.8

-0.59%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$35.93 €31.96

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$25.84 €22.99

Cinema Ticket

$13.02 €11.58

$13.51 NZ$23.90

-3.63%

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

$1,196 €1,064

$673 NZ$1,190

77.74%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,163 €4,592

$19.3K NZ$34.1K

-73.25%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$101 €89.9

$62.0 NZ$110

62.99%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$48.64 €43.26

$37.37 NZ$66.1

30.16%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.9 €87.9

$93.1 NZ$165

6.23%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$72.9 €64.8

$105 NZ$186

-30.88%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,574 €1,400

$584 NZ$1,033

169.37%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,335 €1,187

$1,122 NZ$1,985

18.94%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,322 €1,176

$1,158 NZ$2,048

14.17%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,085 €965

$1,449 NZ$2,563

-25.14%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,310 €2,055

$4,539 NZ$8,027

-49.10%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,702 €1,514

$3,931 NZ$6,953

-56.71%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,599 €2,312

$2,585 NZ$4,571

0.56%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.68

-38.67%

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

Last update for Derry: October 12, 2026

Last update for Cambridge: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Accommodation & Living

Derry

$1.3K 53.8%

Cambridge

$1.1K 54.9% 15.9% $212

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Derry

$314 12.7%

Cambridge

$177 8.6% 43.8% $138

Groceries & Markets

Derry

$307 12.4%

Cambridge

$324 15.9% 5.4% $17

Eating Out

Derry

$298 12%

Cambridge

$237 11.6% 20.5% $61

Clothing & Footwear

Derry

$145 5.8%

Cambridge

$134 6.6% 7.3% $11

Sport & Entertainment

Derry

$62 2.5%

Cambridge

$27 * 1.3% 56.4% $35

Getting Around

Derry

$23 * 0.9%

Cambridge

$23 * 1.1% 0.4% $0.1

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,574 in Derry and $584 in Cambridge. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Derry pays 1% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $51.0 in Derry vs $68.0 in Cambridge for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $307 vs $324 per month, with Derry cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇮🇪 Derry

🇳🇿 Cambridge

🕒 Local time

21:00 9:00 PM

09:00 9:00 AM

12 h ahead of Derry

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

85,016

21,400

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

New Zealand Dollar NZD $

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1 NZD = 0.565 USD

1 NZD = 0.503 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

NZD, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

New Zealand Dollar exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 1.77 NZD (1 NZD = 0.565 USD). 1 EUR = 1.99 NZD (1 NZD = 0.503 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Derry Cambridge 18,100 km ≈ 23 h nonstop flight

From you

Derry
Cambridge

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

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

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Derry vs Cambridge: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cambridge is cheaper overall, especially in eating out, clothing, and leisure. The 22% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 1% higher in Derry, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,574 in Derry versus $584 in Cambridge. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $1,196 in Derry versus $673 in Cambridge. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Cambridge – a meal for two runs $68.0 versus $51.0 in Derry. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $2,044 in Cambridge versus $2,484 in Derry, a $2,500 budget is realistic in Cambridge but tight or insufficient in Derry. The gap between the two cities makes Cambridge the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Cambridge is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Derry, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Derry and Cambridge are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Cambridge gentler on the wallet – expenses run 22% less than in Derry. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.