Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lincoln and Wellington

For one person, living is cheaper in Lincoln: $2,203 a month against $2,376 in Wellington, rent and utilities included – about $2,100 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Wellington outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

107

Cost of Living Index in Lincoln
Learn more

Lincoln Living Index
115

Cost of Living Index in Wellington
Learn more

Wellington Living Index

Jump to prices

Lincoln

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,203

/mo nomad

Wellington

🇳🇿 New Zealand

$2,376

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lincoln and in Wellington

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,203 in Lincoln versus $2,376 in Wellington.

Lincoln $2,203
Wellington $2,376

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,290 in Lincoln versus $3,407 in Wellington.

Lincoln $3,290
Wellington $3,407

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,376 in Lincoln versus $4,439 in Wellington.

Lincoln $4,376
Wellington $4,439

Living in Lincoln costs roughly 7% less than in Wellington, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Lincoln 63% above, Wellington 75% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$26.70 £20.03

$14.01 NZ$24.78

90.58%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$85.8 £64.4

$65.8 NZ$116

30.41%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.14 £6.11

$9.37 NZ$16.56

-13.13%

Cappuccino

$4.98 £3.74

$3.40 NZ$6.02

46.47%

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

$2.64 £1.98

$2.46 NZ$4.35

7.32%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.97 £1.48

$1.75 NZ$3.09

12.57%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.70 £5.03

$7.27 NZ$12.85

-7.84%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.58 £4.94

$6.71 NZ$11.87

-1.94%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.40 £1.05

$1.94 NZ$3.43

-27.84%

White Bread (500g)

$1.49 £1.12

$2.15 NZ$3.81

-30.70%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.34 £1.01

$1.83 NZ$3.25

-26.78%

Eggs

$3.36 £2.52

$6.88 NZ$12.16

-51.16%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.31 £6.23

$9.19 NZ$16.26

-9.58%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.59 £6.44

$9.99 NZ$17.67

-14.01%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.39 £8.54

$14.97 NZ$26.48

-23.91%

Apples (1kg)

$3.48 £2.61

$3.03 NZ$5.36

14.85%

Banana (1kg)

$1.20 £0.90

$2.24 NZ$3.96

-46.43%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.11 £2.33

$3.09 NZ$5.47

0.65%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.65 £2.74

$6.55 NZ$11.59

-44.27%

Potato (1kg)

$1.47 £1.10

$2.16 NZ$3.83

-31.94%

Onion (1kg)

$1.16 £0.87

$1.28 NZ$2.27

-9.38%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.04 £0.78

$2.10 NZ$3.71

-50.48%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.35 £1.02

$1.20 NZ$2.12

12.50%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.57 £17.68

$25.79 NZ$45.60

-8.61%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.50 £7.88

$11.27 NZ$19.94

-6.83%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.18 £2.39

$3.12 NZ$5.51

1.92%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.59 £2.69

$2.82 NZ$4.98

27.30%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.15 £3.12

$2.76 NZ$4.89

50.36%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$107 £80.3

$104 NZ$184

2.79%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.88 £2.91

$1.88 NZ$3.33

106.38%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.71 £0.54

$1.78 NZ$3.14

-60.11%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$19.84 £14.89

$33.72 NZ$59.6

-41.16%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.06 £1.54

$1.85 NZ$3.27

11.35%

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

$38.6K £28.9K

$28.7K NZ$50.8K

34.34%

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

$40.4K £30.3K

$23.8K NZ$42.1K

69.57%

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

$304 £228

$194 NZ$344

56.45%

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

$17.07 £12.81

$33.42 NZ$59.1

-48.92%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.02 £30.02

$53.5 NZ$94.7

-25.22%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$26.70 £20.03

$38.12 NZ$67.4

-29.96%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.35 £16.01

$16.15 NZ$28.56

32.20%

Cinema Ticket

$15.55 £11.66

$11.97 NZ$21.17

29.91%

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

$1,831 £1,373

$1,056 NZ$1,868

73.32%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$20.6K £15.5K

$12.9K NZ$22.9K

59.62%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$115 £85.9

$79.2 NZ$140

44.60%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$58.6 £43.98

$28.87 NZ$51.1

103.05%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$84.9 £63.7

$103 NZ$182

-17.38%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$99.3 £74.5

$156 NZ$275

-36.25%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,078 £809

$1,217 NZ$2,152

-11.40%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$854 £640

$1,147 NZ$2,028

-25.57%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,936 £1,453

$2,154 NZ$3,809

-10.11%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,426 £1,070

$1,731 NZ$3,061

-17.62%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,503 £1,878

$6,780 NZ$12.0K

-63.08%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,220 £916

$3,655 NZ$6,464

-66.61%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,307 £2,481

$2,812 NZ$4,972

17.61%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.88

5.39

-9.46%

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

Last update for Lincoln: October 17, 2026

Last update for Wellington: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lincoln

$854 38.7%

Wellington

$1.1K 48.3% 34.4% $293

Eating Out

Lincoln

$363 16.5%

Wellington

$248 10.4% 31.8% $115

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lincoln

$361 16.4%

Wellington

$281 11.8% 22.1% $80

Groceries & Markets

Lincoln

$276 12.5%

Wellington

$348 14.6% 25.8% $71

Clothing & Footwear

Lincoln

$161 7.3%

Wellington

$165 6.9% 2.6% $4.2

Getting Around

Lincoln

$131 6%

Wellington

$126 5.3% 3.9% $5.2

Sport & Entertainment

Lincoln

$58 2.6%

Wellington

$62 2.6% 7.4% $4.3

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,078 in Lincoln and $1,217 in Wellington. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lincoln pays 18% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $86.0 in Lincoln vs $66.0 in Wellington. Groceries flip the comparison at $276 vs $348, with Lincoln cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Lincoln

🇳🇿 Wellington

🕒 Local time

02:23 2:23 AM

14:23 2:23 PM

12 h ahead of Lincoln

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

97,541

215,900 Capital

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

New Zealand Dollar NZD $

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.33 USD

1 GBP = 1.19 EUR

1 NZD = 0.565 USD

1 NZD = 0.503 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

NZD, USD, EUR to GBP – British Pound Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇬🇧 British Pound (£)

British Pound exchange rates as of October 22, 2026: 1 USD = 0.75 GBP (1 GBP = 1.33 USD). 1 EUR = 0.843 GBP (1 GBP = 1.19 EUR).

New Zealand Dollar exchange rates as of October 22, 2026: 1 USD = 1.77 NZD (1 NZD = 0.565 USD). 1 EUR = 1.99 NZD (1 NZD = 0.503 EUR).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Lincoln Wellington 18,640 km ≈ 24 h nonstop flight

From you

Lincoln
Wellington

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

Lincoln vs Wellington: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lincoln and Wellington differ by about 8% in total monthly costs ($2,203 vs $2,376 including rent). Lincoln is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 18% higher in Lincoln, 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: $1,078 in Lincoln versus $1,217 in Wellington. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Lincoln – a meal for two runs $86.0 versus $66.0 in Wellington. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $2,203 per month in Lincoln versus $2,376 in Wellington – a 8% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $2,203 in Lincoln versus $2,376 in Wellington, a $3,000 budget is realistic in Lincoln but tight or insufficient in Wellington. The gap between the two cities makes Lincoln 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, Lincoln and Wellington 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 Lincoln gentler on the wallet – expenses run 8% less than in Wellington. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.