Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Gizo and Hamilton

For one person, living is cheaper in Hamilton: $1,647 a month against $2,164 in Gizo, rent and utilities included – about $6,200 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Gizo outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

105

Cost of Living Index in Gizo
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Gizo Living Index
80

Cost of Living Index in Hamilton
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Hamilton Living Index

Jump to prices

Gizo

🇸🇧 Solomon Islands

$2,164

/mo nomad

Hamilton

🇳🇿 New Zealand

$1,647

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Gizo and in Hamilton

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,164 in Gizo versus $1,647 in Hamilton.

Gizo $2,164
Hamilton $1,647

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,051 in Gizo versus $2,571 in Hamilton.

Gizo $3,051
Hamilton $2,571

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,938 in Gizo versus $3,496 in Hamilton.

Gizo $3,938
Hamilton $3,496

Living in Gizo is roughly 31% more expensive than in Hamilton, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Gizo 60% above, Hamilton 22% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.01 SBD 24.25

$11.78 NZ$20.83

-74.45%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$54.7 SBD 441

$73.6 NZ$130

-25.57%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$15.57 SBD 126

$8.47 NZ$14.98

83.83%

Cappuccino

$2.85 SBD 22.95

$3.32 NZ$5.86

-14.16%

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

$1.26 SBD 10.13

$2.26 NZ$3.99

-44.25%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.21 SBD 9.79

$2.38 NZ$4.20

-49.16%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.47 SBD 19.88

$6.24 NZ$11.04

-60.42%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.41 SBD 19.41

$5.44 NZ$9.63

-55.70%

Milk (1 liter)

$3.27 SBD 26.35

$1.46 NZ$2.59

123.97%

White Bread (500g)

$1.39 SBD 11.19

$1.25 NZ$2.20

11.20%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.40 SBD 11.30

$1.96 NZ$3.46

-28.57%

Eggs

$7.24 SBD 58.4

$5.25 NZ$9.29

37.90%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.47 SBD 68.3

$5.56 NZ$9.84

52.34%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.20 SBD 50.0

$7.32 NZ$12.95

-15.30%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$8.41 SBD 67.8

$11.83 NZ$20.92

-28.91%

Apples (1kg)

$6.88 SBD 55.5

$2.64 NZ$4.68

160.61%

Banana (1kg)

$6.34 SBD 51.1

$2.29 NZ$4.05

176.86%

Oranges (1kg)

$6.06 SBD 48.84

$3.22 NZ$5.70

88.20%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.02 SBD 24.32

$6.30 NZ$11.14

-52.06%

Potato (1kg)

$3.07 SBD 24.74

$1.97 NZ$3.48

55.84%

Onion (1kg)

$2.41 SBD 19.45

$1.39 NZ$2.46

73.38%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.53 SBD 20.39

$2.56 NZ$4.52

-1.17%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.34 SBD 10.79

$0.96 NZ$1.70

39.58%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.25 SBD 34.29

$24.97 NZ$44.16

-82.98%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.36 SBD 99.6

$10.71 NZ$18.95

15.41%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.83 SBD 14.77

$3.88 NZ$6.87

-52.84%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.19 SBD 17.66

$3.93 NZ$6.95

-44.27%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.39 SBD 3.11

$1.42 NZ$2.52

-72.54%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$31.36 SBD 253

$40.33 NZ$71.3

-22.24%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.25 SBD 10.09

$3.52 NZ$6.22

-64.49%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.43 SBD 19.56

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$12.52 SBD 101

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.75 SBD 14.10

$1.70 NZ$3.01

2.94%

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

$20.7K SBD 166.9K

$26.4K NZ$46.6K

-21.44%

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

$21.9K SBD 176.9K

$23.1K NZ$40.9K

-5.02%

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

$750 SBD 6,048

$56.1 NZ$99.2

1238.04%

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

$13.42 SBD 108

$35.89 NZ$63.5

-62.61%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$123 SBD 989

$54.2 NZ$95.8

126.59%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$18.49 SBD 149

$25.00 NZ$44.21

-26.04%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.14 SBD 49.54

$28.03 NZ$49.58

-78.09%

Cinema Ticket

$4.20 SBD 33.87

$13.86 NZ$24.52

-69.70%

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

$126 SBD 1,014

$666 NZ$1,178

-81.13%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$1,242 SBD 10.0K

$22.4K NZ$39.6K

-94.45%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$25.29 SBD 204

$60.8 NZ$108

-58.40%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$94.4 SBD 761

$37.29 NZ$65.9

153.02%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$99.8 SBD 804

$92.0 NZ$163

8.42%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$90.6 SBD 730

$104 NZ$183

-12.70%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$599 SBD 4,833

$1,082 NZ$1,913

-44.59%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$580 SBD 4,678

$751 NZ$1,327

-22.70%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$630 SBD 5,081

$1,488 NZ$2,632

-57.65%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,217 SBD 9,809

$1,309 NZ$2,314

-7.01%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$85.9K SBD 692.3K

$3,890 NZ$6,880

2107.37%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,506 NZ$7,969

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$389 SBD 3,140

$2,634 NZ$4,658

-85.21%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

16.33

6.83

139.09%

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

Last update for Gizo: October 12, 2026

Last update for Hamilton: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Gizo

$886 41%

Hamilton

$146 8.9% 83.5% $740

Accommodation & Living

Gizo

$580 26.8%

Hamilton

$751 45.6% 29.4% $170

Groceries & Markets

Gizo

$353 16.3%

Hamilton

$295 17.9% 16.4% $58

Clothing & Footwear

Gizo

$139 6.5%

Hamilton

$132 8% 5.2% $7.3

Eating Out

Gizo

$132 6.1%

Hamilton

$220 13.4% 66.8% $88

Getting Around

Gizo

$46 2.1%

Hamilton

$50 * 3% 7% $3.3

Sport & Entertainment

Gizo

$27 1.2%

Hamilton

$53 3.2% 96.1% $26

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 $599 in Gizo and $1,082 in Hamilton. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Hamilton pays 576% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $55.0 in Gizo vs $74.0 in Hamilton. Groceries flip the comparison at $353 vs $295, with Hamilton cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇸🇧 Gizo

🇳🇿 Hamilton

🕒 Local time

08:36 8:36 AM

10:36 10:36 AM

2 h ahead of Gizo

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

7,177

169,500

💱 Currency

Solomon Islands Dollar SBD $

New Zealand Dollar NZD $

📈 Exchange rate

1 SBD = 0.124 USD

1 SBD = 0.11 EUR

1 NZD = 0.565 USD

1 NZD = 0.503 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

NZD, USD, EUR to SBD – Solomon Islands Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇸🇧 Solomon Islands Dollar ($)

Solomon Islands Dollar exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 8.06 SBD (1 SBD = 0.124 USD). 1 EUR = 9.06 SBD (1 SBD = 0.11 EUR).

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 SBD in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Gizo Hamilton 3,790 km ≈ 5 h nonstop flight

From you

Gizo
Hamilton

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

Gizo vs Hamilton: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Hamilton wins on cost – living expenses run 31% lower than in Gizo. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Hamilton the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 576% lower in Hamilton. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $599 in Gizo versus $1,082 in Hamilton. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 20% higher in Gizo. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Hamilton – a meal for two runs $74.0 versus $55.0 in Gizo. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,647 in Hamilton versus $2,164 in Gizo, a $2,500 budget is realistic in Hamilton but tight or insufficient in Gizo. The gap between the two cities makes Hamilton the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

Safety-wise, Gizo and Hamilton 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 Hamilton gentler on the wallet – expenses run 31% less than in Gizo. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.