Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lae and New Zealand

Name: New Zealand
Address: NZ

For one person, living is cheaper in Lae: $825 a month against $2,026 in New Zealand, rent and utilities included – about $14,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

99

Cost of Living Index in New Zealand
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New Zealand Living Index

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Lae

🇵🇬 Papua New Guinea

$825

/mo nomad

🇳🇿 New Zealand

$2,026

/mo nomad

🙂 Solo nomad: Lae is 39.7% cheaper than New Zealand without rent, and 59.3% cheaper with rent.

🙂 Family of 3: Lae is 35.5% cheaper than New Zealand without rent, and 47.2% cheaper with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$24.56 PGK 108

$14.03 NZ$25.00

75.05%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$50.0 PGK 219

$67.1 NZ$120

-25.42%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.11 NZ$16.23

Cappuccino

$2.66 PGK 11.67

$3.26 NZ$5.82

-18.40%

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

$0.79 PGK 3.47

$2.18 NZ$3.88

-63.76%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.54 PGK 2.35

$1.87 NZ$3.34

-71.12%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.27 PGK 14.33

$6.69 NZ$11.93

-51.12%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.20 PGK 22.78

$6.77 NZ$12.06

-23.19%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.02 PGK 8.85

$1.73 NZ$3.09

16.76%

White Bread (500g)

$1.47 PGK 6.42

$1.86 NZ$3.31

-20.97%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.28 PGK 5.61

$1.78 NZ$3.16

-28.09%

Eggs

$3.95 PGK 17.30

$5.96 NZ$10.63

-33.72%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.51 PGK 41.69

$8.07 NZ$14.38

17.84%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.83 PGK 38.70

$9.39 NZ$16.74

-5.96%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.71 PGK 46.93

$13.96 NZ$24.88

-23.28%

Apples (1kg)

$4.55 PGK 19.94

$2.73 NZ$4.87

66.67%

Banana (1kg)

$2.78 PGK 12.18

$2.09 NZ$3.73

33.01%

Oranges (1kg)

$6.04 PGK 26.46

$2.94 NZ$5.24

105.44%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.51 PGK 6.64

$4.98 NZ$8.87

-69.68%

Potato (1kg)

$3.49 PGK 15.31

$2.02 NZ$3.60

72.77%

Onion (1kg)

$2.39 PGK 10.46

$1.48 NZ$2.64

61.49%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.68 PGK 3.00

$2.05 NZ$3.64

-66.83%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.91 PGK 4.00

$1.05 NZ$1.88

-13.33%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.58 PGK 28.83

$23.61 NZ$42.06

-72.13%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.02 PGK 52.7

$8.93 NZ$15.92

34.60%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.47 PGK 10.81

$3.01 NZ$5.37

-17.94%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.28 PGK 18.76

$3.15 NZ$5.62

35.87%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.32 PGK 1.39

$1.85 NZ$3.30

-82.70%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$100 NZ$179

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.26 NZ$4.02

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.90 NZ$3.38

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$32.21 NZ$57.4

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.96 PGK 4.23

$1.68 NZ$3.00

-42.86%

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

$24.9K NZ$44.3K

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

$23.7K NZ$42.2K

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

$155 NZ$277

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

$31.36 NZ$55.9

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$47.95 NZ$85.5

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$34.82 NZ$62.1

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$14.77 NZ$26.33

Cinema Ticket

$11.38 NZ$20.27

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

$879 NZ$1,566

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.4K NZ$29.3K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.7 NZ$122

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$35.27 NZ$62.8

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$91.6 NZ$163

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$117 NZ$208

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$445 PGK 1,951

$1,076 NZ$1,918

-58.63%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$260 PGK 1,141

$921 NZ$1,641

-71.74%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,193 PGK 5,228

$1,724 NZ$3,072

-30.81%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$611 PGK 2,677

$1,477 NZ$2,631

-58.64%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,621 NZ$10.0K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,602 NZ$6,418

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$157 PGK 689

$2,752 NZ$4,903

-94.28%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.27

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

Last update for Lae: October 4, 2026

Last update for New Zealand: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lae

–

New Zealand

$921 45.4%

Groceries & Markets

Lae

–

New Zealand

$312 15.4%

Eating Out

Lae

–

New Zealand

$242 11.9%

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lae

–

New Zealand

$235 11.6%

Clothing & Footwear

Lae

–

New Zealand

$141 6.9%

Getting Around

Lae

–

New Zealand

$120 5.9%

Sport & Entertainment

Lae

–

New Zealand

$58 2.8%

Good to know

🇵🇬 Lae

🇳🇿 New Zealand

🕒 Local time

00:20 12:20 AM

03:20 3:20 AM

3 h ahead of Lae

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

250,948

5,118,700

💱 Currency

Papua New Guinean Kina PGK K

New Zealand Dollar NZD $

📈 Exchange rate

1 PGK = 0.228 USD

1 PGK = 0.204 EUR

1 NZD = 0.561 USD

1 NZD = 0.501 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

NZD, USD, EUR to PGK – Papua New Guinean Kina Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇵🇬 Papua New Guinean Kina (K)

Papua New Guinean Kina exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 4.38 PGK (1 PGK = 0.228 USD). 1 EUR = 4.91 PGK (1 PGK = 0.204 EUR).

New Zealand Dollar exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 1.78 NZD (1 NZD = 0.561 USD). 1 EUR = 2 NZD (1 NZD = 0.501 EUR).

USD to PGK in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Lae New Zealand 4,720 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Lae
New Zealand

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

Lae vs other spots: cost of living compared

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