Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between New Plymouth and Dunedin

For one person, living is cheaper in New Plymouth: $1,820 a month against $1,987 in Dunedin, rent and utilities included – about $2,000 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

88

Cost of Living Index in New Plymouth
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New Plymouth Living Index
96

Cost of Living Index in Dunedin
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Dunedin Living Index

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New Plymouth

🇳🇿 New Zealand

$1,820

/mo nomad

Dunedin

🇳🇿 New Zealand

$1,987

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in New Plymouth and in Dunedin

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,820 in New Plymouth versus $1,987 in Dunedin.

New Plymouth $1,820
Dunedin $1,987

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,828 in New Plymouth versus $2,907 in Dunedin.

New Plymouth $2,828
Dunedin $2,907

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,836 in New Plymouth versus $3,828 in Dunedin.

New Plymouth $3,836
Dunedin $3,828

Living in New Plymouth costs roughly 8% less than in Dunedin, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: New Plymouth 34% above, Dunedin 46% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.43 NZ$22.06

$14.03 NZ$24.90

-11.40%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.9 NZ$121

$62.0 NZ$110

9.57%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.44 NZ$14.98

$11.40 NZ$20.23

-25.96%

Cappuccino

$3.34 NZ$5.93

$3.27 NZ$5.80

2.14%

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

$2.12 NZ$3.76

$2.07 NZ$3.68

2.42%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.85 NZ$3.28

$2.06 NZ$3.65

-10.19%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.32 NZ$9.45

$6.73 NZ$11.95

-20.95%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.65 NZ$10.02

$6.16 NZ$10.94

-8.28%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.44 NZ$2.55

$2.15 NZ$3.81

-33.02%

White Bread (500g)

$1.25 NZ$2.22

$1.99 NZ$3.54

-37.19%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.65 NZ$2.92

$1.76 NZ$3.13

-6.25%

Eggs

$5.53 NZ$9.82

$5.90 NZ$10.48

-6.27%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$5.52 NZ$9.79

$8.52 NZ$15.12

-35.21%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.19 NZ$12.76

$9.21 NZ$16.36

-21.93%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.42 NZ$20.28

$16.72 NZ$29.68

-31.70%

Apples (1kg)

$2.63 NZ$4.67

$3.02 NZ$5.36

-12.91%

Banana (1kg)

$1.86 NZ$3.29

$2.29 NZ$4.06

-18.78%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.93 NZ$5.20

$3.27 NZ$5.80

-10.40%

Tomato (1kg)

$6.12 NZ$10.86

$5.13 NZ$9.11

19.30%

Potato (1kg)

$1.99 NZ$3.53

$1.84 NZ$3.27

8.15%

Onion (1kg)

$1.41 NZ$2.51

$1.87 NZ$3.33

-24.60%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.88 NZ$3.33

$2.41 NZ$4.28

-21.99%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.32 NZ$2.35

$0.60 NZ$1.07

120.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.12 NZ$41.04

$20.90 NZ$37.11

10.62%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.73 NZ$15.51

$9.01 NZ$16.00

-3.11%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.03 NZ$5.37

$3.17 NZ$5.63

-4.42%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.78 NZ$6.72

$1.26 NZ$2.23

200.00%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.68 NZ$2.99

$1.43 NZ$2.54

17.48%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$74.6 NZ$133

$102 NZ$180

-26.56%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.68 NZ$6.53

$5.76 NZ$10.22

-36.11%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$28.63 NZ$50.8

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.67 NZ$2.97

$1.77 NZ$3.14

-5.65%

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

$28.7K NZ$50.9K

$28.2K NZ$50.1K

1.59%

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

$22.8K NZ$40.5K

$23.5K NZ$41.7K

-2.93%

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

$130 NZ$231

$110 NZ$196

17.60%

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

$27.85 NZ$49.44

$29.44 NZ$52.3

-5.40%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$48.35 NZ$85.8

$52.3 NZ$92.8

-7.53%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$43.29 NZ$76.9

$45.90 NZ$81.5

-5.69%

Cinema Ticket

$8.20 NZ$14.55

$11.20 NZ$19.89

-26.79%

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

$680 NZ$1,206

$588 NZ$1,045

15.50%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$23.1K NZ$41.0K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$61.3 NZ$109

$58.8 NZ$104

4.29%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.74 NZ$68.8

$35.28 NZ$62.6

9.81%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$90.6 NZ$161

$91.3 NZ$162

-0.75%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$106 NZ$188

$135 NZ$240

-21.57%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$907 NZ$1,611

$1,013 NZ$1,798

-10.41%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$836 NZ$1,485

$897 NZ$1,593

-6.76%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,740 NZ$3,089

$1,632 NZ$2,897

6.62%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,589 NZ$2,821

$1,358 NZ$2,410

17.02%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,209 NZ$5,697

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,622 NZ$4,655

$2,273 NZ$4,035

15.37%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,787 NZ$4,948

$2,464 NZ$4,374

13.13%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.93

7.07

-16.12%

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

Last update for New Plymouth: October 26, 2026

Last update for Dunedin: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

New Plymouth

$836 45.9%

Dunedin

$897 45.2% 7.2% $61

Groceries & Markets

New Plymouth

$281 15.5%

Dunedin

$324 16.3% 15.2% $43

Eating Out

New Plymouth

$219 12%

Dunedin

$248 12.5% 13.5% $30

Monthly Utilities & Internet

New Plymouth

$206 11.3%

Dunedin

$192 9.7% 6.7% $14

Clothing & Footwear

New Plymouth

$133 7.3%

Dunedin

$144 7.3% 8% $11

Getting Around

New Plymouth

$85 * 4.7%

Dunedin

$113 * 5.7% 33% $28

Sport & Entertainment

New Plymouth

$60 3.3%

Dunedin

$68 3.4% 14.4% $8.6

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 $907 in New Plymouth and $1,013 in Dunedin. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

New Plymouth pays 13% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $68 in New Plymouth vs $62 in Dunedin. Groceries flip the comparison at $281 vs $324, with New Plymouth cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇳🇿 New Plymouth

🇳🇿 Dunedin

🕒 Local time

14:10 2:10 PM

Same time as New Plymouth

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

58,400

105,000

💱 Currency

New Zealand Dollar NZD $

📈 Exchange rate

1 NZD = 0.563 USD

1 NZD = 0.504 EUR

1 NZD = 0.563 USD

1 NZD = 0.504 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

New Plymouth Dunedin 810 km ≈ 1 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

New Plymouth
Dunedin

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

New Plymouth vs Dunedin: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,820 in New Plymouth and $1,987 in Dunedin, so New Plymouth is about 8% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 13% higher in New Plymouth, 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: $907 in New Plymouth versus $1,013 in Dunedin. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in New Plymouth runs roughly 27% less than in Dunedin. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Childcare runs $680 in New Plymouth versus $588 in Dunedin. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Either city works on $3,000 a month, though New Plymouth gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

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, New Plymouth and Dunedin are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.