Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Nelson and Gizo

For one person, living is cheaper in Nelson: $1,833 a month against $2,164 in Gizo, rent and utilities included – about $4,000 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Gizo outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

90

Cost of Living Index in Nelson
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Nelson Living Index
105

Cost of Living Index in Gizo
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Gizo Living Index

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Nelson

🇳🇿 New Zealand

$1,833

/mo nomad

Gizo

🇸🇧 Solomon Islands

$2,164

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Nelson and in Gizo

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,833 in Nelson versus $2,164 in Gizo.

Nelson $1,833
Gizo $2,164

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,842 in Nelson versus $3,051 in Gizo.

Nelson $2,842
Gizo $3,051

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,852 in Nelson versus $3,938 in Gizo.

Nelson $3,852
Gizo $3,938

Living in Nelson costs roughly 15% less than in Gizo, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Nelson 36% above, Gizo 60% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.86 NZ$24.51

$3.01 SBD 24.25

360.47%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$64.6 NZ$114

$54.7 SBD 441

18.09%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.53 NZ$15.08

$15.57 SBD 126

-45.22%

Cappuccino

$3.24 NZ$5.74

$2.85 SBD 22.95

13.68%

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

$1.72 NZ$3.04

$1.26 SBD 10.13

36.51%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.65 NZ$2.91

$1.21 SBD 9.79

36.36%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.13 NZ$12.61

$2.47 SBD 19.88

188.66%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.53 NZ$9.79

$2.41 SBD 19.41

129.46%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.90 NZ$3.36

$3.27 SBD 26.35

-41.90%

White Bread (500g)

$2.05 NZ$3.63

$1.39 SBD 11.19

47.48%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.83 NZ$3.24

$1.40 SBD 11.30

30.71%

Eggs

$5.70 NZ$10.08

$7.24 SBD 58.4

-21.27%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.09 NZ$16.08

$8.47 SBD 68.3

7.32%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.34 NZ$12.98

$6.20 SBD 50.0

18.39%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.70 NZ$24.22

$8.41 SBD 67.8

62.90%

Apples (1kg)

$3.08 NZ$5.45

$6.88 SBD 55.5

-55.23%

Banana (1kg)

$2.19 NZ$3.88

$6.34 SBD 51.1

-65.46%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.06 NZ$5.41

$6.06 SBD 48.84

-49.50%

Tomato (1kg)

$5.61 NZ$9.92

$3.02 SBD 24.32

85.76%

Potato (1kg)

$2.05 NZ$3.63

$3.07 SBD 24.74

-33.22%

Onion (1kg)

$1.28 NZ$2.27

$2.41 SBD 19.45

-46.89%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.97 NZ$3.48

$2.53 SBD 20.39

-22.13%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.01 NZ$1.79

$1.34 SBD 10.79

-24.63%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$24.79 NZ$43.85

$4.25 SBD 34.29

483.29%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.44 NZ$16.69

$12.36 SBD 99.6

-23.62%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.06 NZ$5.41

$1.83 SBD 14.77

67.21%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.75 NZ$4.86

$2.19 SBD 17.66

25.57%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.22 NZ$3.92

$0.39 SBD 3.11

469.23%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$31.36 SBD 253

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.82 NZ$3.21

$1.25 SBD 10.09

45.60%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.78 NZ$3.14

$2.43 SBD 19.56

-26.75%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.41 NZ$59.1

$12.52 SBD 101

166.85%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.61 NZ$2.85

$1.75 SBD 14.10

-8.00%

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

$17.1K NZ$30.2K

$20.7K SBD 166.9K

-17.49%

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

$21.9K NZ$38.7K

$21.9K SBD 176.9K

-0.17%

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

$131 NZ$231

$750 SBD 6,048

-82.60%

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

$32.95 NZ$58.3

$13.42 SBD 108

145.53%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$41.79 NZ$73.9

$123 SBD 989

-65.95%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$99.3 NZ$176

$18.49 SBD 149

437.05%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$33.61 NZ$59.4

$6.14 SBD 49.54

447.39%

Cinema Ticket

$11.01 NZ$19.48

$4.20 SBD 33.87

162.14%

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

$440 NZ$777

$126 SBD 1,014

249.63%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.7K NZ$22.4K

$1,242 SBD 10.0K

921.64%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$52.4 NZ$92.6

$25.29 SBD 204

107.16%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$27.78 NZ$49.13

$94.4 SBD 761

-70.56%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$101 NZ$179

$99.8 SBD 804

1.70%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$138 NZ$245

$90.6 SBD 730

52.88%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,000 NZ$1,769

$599 SBD 4,833

66.85%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$795 NZ$1,406

$580 SBD 4,678

36.99%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,704 NZ$3,014

$630 SBD 5,081

170.44%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,456 NZ$2,574

$1,217 SBD 9,809

19.64%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,374 NZ$2,430

$85.9K SBD 692.3K

-98.40%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$827 NZ$1,462

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,017 NZ$3,568

$389 SBD 3,140

418.05%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.39

16.33

-66.99%

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

Last update for Nelson: October 12, 2026

Last update for Gizo: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Nelson

$795 43.4%

Gizo

$580 26.8% 27% $215

Groceries & Markets

Nelson

$312 17%

Gizo

$353 16.3% 13.1% $41

Eating Out

Nelson

$236 12.9%

Gizo

$132 6.1% 44% $104

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Nelson

$205 11.2%

Gizo

$886 41% 332% $681

Clothing & Footwear

Nelson

$144 7.9%

Gizo

$139 6.5% 3.2% $4.5

Sport & Entertainment

Nelson

$121 6.6%

Gizo

$27 1.2% 77.8% $94

Getting Around

Nelson

$20 * 1.1%

Gizo

$46 2.1% 137% $27

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 $1,000 in Nelson and $599 in Gizo. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Nelson pays 418% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $65.0 in Nelson vs $55.0 in Gizo. Groceries flip the comparison at $312 vs $353, with Nelson cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇳🇿 Nelson

🇸🇧 Gizo

🕒 Local time

02:32 2:32 AM

00:32 12:32 AM

2 h behind Nelson

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

51,100

7,177

💱 Currency

New Zealand Dollar NZD $

Solomon Islands Dollar SBD $

📈 Exchange rate

1 NZD = 0.565 USD

1 NZD = 0.503 EUR

1 SBD = 0.124 USD

1 SBD = 0.11 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

SBD, USD, EUR to NZD – New Zealand Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇳🇿 New Zealand Dollar ($)

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).

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).

USD to NZD in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Nelson Gizo 4,030 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Nelson
Gizo

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

Nelson vs Gizo: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Nelson wins on cost – living expenses run 18% lower than in Gizo. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Nelson the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 418% higher in Nelson, 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: $1,000 in Nelson versus $599 in Gizo. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $440 in Nelson versus $126 in Gizo. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Nelson – a meal for two runs $65.0 versus $55.0 in Gizo. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,833 in Nelson versus $2,164 in Gizo, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Nelson but tight or insufficient in Gizo. The gap between the two cities makes Nelson 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, Nelson and Gizo 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 Nelson gentler on the wallet – expenses run 18% less than in Gizo. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.