Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Gizo and Palmerston North

For one person, living is cheaper in Palmerston North: $1,562 a month against $2,164 in Gizo, rent and utilities included – about $7,200 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
76

Cost of Living Index in Palmerston North
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Palmerston North Living Index

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Gizo

🇸🇧 Solomon Islands

$2,164

/mo nomad

Palmerston North

🇳🇿 New Zealand

$1,562

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Gizo and in Palmerston North

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 Palmerston North actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,164 in Gizo versus $1,562 in Palmerston North.

Gizo $2,164
Palmerston North $1,562

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,051 in Gizo versus $2,537 in Palmerston North.

Gizo $3,051
Palmerston North $2,537

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,938 in Gizo versus $3,511 in Palmerston North.

Gizo $3,938
Palmerston North $3,511

Living in Gizo is roughly 39% more expensive than in Palmerston North, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Gizo 60% above, Palmerston North 16% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.01 SBD 24.25

$13.50 NZ$23.87

-77.70%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$54.7 SBD 441

$63.7 NZ$113

-14.00%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$15.57 SBD 126

$8.80 NZ$15.56

76.93%

Cappuccino

$2.85 SBD 22.95

$3.13 NZ$5.54

-8.95%

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

$1.26 SBD 10.13

$2.36 NZ$4.18

-46.61%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.21 SBD 9.79

$1.68 NZ$2.97

-27.98%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.47 SBD 19.88

$6.43 NZ$11.38

-61.59%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.41 SBD 19.41

$6.52 NZ$11.53

-63.04%

Milk (1 liter)

$3.27 SBD 26.35

$1.84 NZ$3.26

77.72%

White Bread (500g)

$1.39 SBD 11.19

$2.14 NZ$3.78

-35.05%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.40 SBD 11.30

$1.37 NZ$2.42

2.19%

Eggs

$7.24 SBD 58.4

$4.85 NZ$8.58

49.28%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.47 SBD 68.3

$6.41 NZ$11.34

32.14%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.20 SBD 50.0

$9.50 NZ$16.80

-34.74%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$8.41 SBD 67.8

$10.78 NZ$19.06

-21.99%

Apples (1kg)

$6.88 SBD 55.5

$2.54 NZ$4.48

170.87%

Banana (1kg)

$6.34 SBD 51.1

$2.23 NZ$3.94

184.30%

Oranges (1kg)

$6.06 SBD 48.84

$2.30 NZ$4.07

163.48%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.02 SBD 24.32

$5.53 NZ$9.78

-45.39%

Potato (1kg)

$3.07 SBD 24.74

$1.41 NZ$2.49

117.73%

Onion (1kg)

$2.41 SBD 19.45

$0.86 NZ$1.53

180.23%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.53 SBD 20.39

$1.72 NZ$3.04

47.09%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.34 SBD 10.79

$0.75 NZ$1.33

78.67%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.25 SBD 34.29

$22.06 NZ$39.00

-80.73%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.36 SBD 99.6

$7.91 NZ$13.99

56.26%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.83 SBD 14.77

$2.65 NZ$4.69

-30.94%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.19 SBD 17.66

$2.78 NZ$4.91

-21.22%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.39 SBD 3.11

$3.93 NZ$6.95

-90.08%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$31.36 SBD 253

$82.3 NZ$146

-61.89%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.25 SBD 10.09

$1.87 NZ$3.30

-33.16%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.43 SBD 19.56

$1.78 NZ$3.14

36.52%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$12.52 SBD 101

$16.63 NZ$29.40

-24.71%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.75 SBD 14.10

$1.64 NZ$2.90

6.71%

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

$20.7K SBD 166.9K

$21.6K NZ$38.1K

-3.99%

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

$21.9K SBD 176.9K

$23.9K NZ$42.3K

-8.26%

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

$750 SBD 6,048

$68.2 NZ$121

999.74%

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

$13.42 SBD 108

$32.09 NZ$56.8

-58.18%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$123 SBD 989

$34.64 NZ$61.3

254.27%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$18.49 SBD 149

$21.79 NZ$38.54

-15.14%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.14 SBD 49.54

$14.08 NZ$24.90

-56.39%

Cinema Ticket

$4.20 SBD 33.87

$11.60 NZ$20.52

-63.79%

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

$126 SBD 1,014

$1,034 NZ$1,829

-87.84%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$1,242 SBD 10.0K

$8,550 NZ$15.1K

-85.47%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$25.29 SBD 204

$69.5 NZ$123

-63.62%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$94.4 SBD 761

$27.70 NZ$48.98

240.61%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$99.8 SBD 804

$83.1 NZ$147

20.14%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$90.6 SBD 730

$82.5 NZ$146

9.77%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$599 SBD 4,833

$906 NZ$1,602

-33.81%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$580 SBD 4,678

$639 NZ$1,129

-9.15%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$630 SBD 5,081

$1,587 NZ$2,807

-60.30%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,217 SBD 9,809

$1,311 NZ$2,318

-7.18%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$85.9K SBD 692.3K

$2,023 NZ$3,577

4145.44%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,836 NZ$3,247

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$389 SBD 3,140

$2,494 NZ$4,411

-84.39%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

16.33

5.39

202.97%

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

Last update for Gizo: October 12, 2026

Last update for Palmerston North: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Gizo

$886 41%

Palmerston North

$135 8.6% 84.8% $751

Accommodation & Living

Gizo

$580 26.8%

Palmerston North

$639 40.9% 10.1% $58

Groceries & Markets

Gizo

$353 16.3%

Palmerston North

$283 18.1% 19.8% $70

Clothing & Footwear

Gizo

$139 6.5%

Palmerston North

$118 7.6% 15.2% $21

Eating Out

Gizo

$132 6.1%

Palmerston North

$233 14.9% 76.8% $101

Getting Around

Gizo

$46 2.1%

Palmerston North

$109 7% 135% $62

Sport & Entertainment

Gizo

$27 1.2%

Palmerston North

$45 2.9% 67.3% $18

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $599 in Gizo and $906 in Palmerston North. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Palmerston North pays 541% 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 $64.0 in Palmerston North. Groceries flip the comparison at $353 vs $283, with Palmerston North cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇸🇧 Gizo

🇳🇿 Palmerston North

🕒 Local time

08:12 8:12 AM

10:12 10:12 AM

2 h ahead of Gizo

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

7,177

90,500

💱 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 Palmerston North 4,050 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Gizo
Palmerston North

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 Palmerston North: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Palmerston North wins on cost – living expenses run 39% lower than in Gizo. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Palmerston North the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 541% lower in Palmerston North. 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 $906 in Palmerston North. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 25% higher in Gizo. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Palmerston North – a meal for two runs $64.0 versus $55.0 in Gizo. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,562 in Palmerston North versus $2,164 in Gizo, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Palmerston North but tight or insufficient in Gizo. The gap between the two cities makes Palmerston North 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 Palmerston North 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 Palmerston North gentler on the wallet – expenses run 39% less than in Gizo. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.