Cost of Living Comparison Between Palmerston North and Auckland Cost of Living Comparison Between Palmerston North and Auckland

🙂 Solo nomad: Palmerston North is 17.2% cheaper than Auckland without rent, and 27.3% cheaper with rent.

🙂 Family of 3: Palmerston North is 21.7% cheaper than Auckland without rent, and 18.4% cheaper with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.75 NZ$28.47

$15.10 NZ$25.67

10.93%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$72.7 NZ$124

$79.1 NZ$134

-8.01%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.19 NZ$20.73

$9.45 NZ$16.07

28.99%

Cappuccino

$3.53 NZ$6.00

$3.52 NZ$5.99

0.28%

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

$2.29 NZ$3.90

$2.32 NZ$3.95

-1.29%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.15 NZ$3.65

$2.18 NZ$3.71

-1.38%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.11 NZ$12.10

$7.10 NZ$12.07

0.14%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.32 NZ$10.74

$7.06 NZ$12.00

-10.48%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.91 NZ$3.24

$1.82 NZ$3.10

4.95%

White Bread (500g)

$2.10 NZ$3.57

$2.02 NZ$3.44

3.96%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.77 NZ$3.02

$1.93 NZ$3.28

-8.29%

Eggs

$5.31 NZ$9.03

$6.83 NZ$11.61

-22.25%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.93 NZ$13.48

$8.91 NZ$15.14

-11.00%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.26 NZ$15.75

$9.85 NZ$16.74

-5.99%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.17 NZ$20.70

$12.80 NZ$21.76

-4.92%

Apples (1kg)

$2.45 NZ$4.16

$2.78 NZ$4.72

-11.87%

Banana (1kg)

$1.89 NZ$3.21

$2.25 NZ$3.83

-16.00%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.44 NZ$4.14

$3.34 NZ$5.68

-26.95%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.49 NZ$5.94

$4.20 NZ$7.14

-16.90%

Potato (1kg)

$2.12 NZ$3.61

$2.09 NZ$3.55

1.44%

Onion (1kg)

$2.16 NZ$3.67

$1.62 NZ$2.76

33.33%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.07 NZ$3.52

$1.96 NZ$3.33

5.61%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.98 NZ$1.66

$1.29 NZ$2.20

-24.03%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$20.55 NZ$34.93

$25.40 NZ$43.18

-19.09%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.07 NZ$15.42

$10.25 NZ$17.43

-11.51%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.53 NZ$4.29

$3.08 NZ$5.24

-17.86%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.47 NZ$9.30

$3.79 NZ$6.44

44.33%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.63 NZ$7.86

$2.70 NZ$4.58

71.48%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$29.84 NZ$50.7

$128 NZ$218

-76.75%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.44 NZ$4.15

$2.07 NZ$3.51

17.87%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.87 NZ$3.18

$1.91 NZ$3.24

-2.09%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.86 NZ$28.67

$35.55 NZ$60.4

-52.57%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.73 NZ$2.94

$1.63 NZ$2.77

6.13%

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

$18.8K NZ$32.0K

$28.0K NZ$47.6K

-32.84%

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

$21.4K NZ$36.4K

$22.0K NZ$37.4K

-2.66%

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

$88.0 NZ$150

$141 NZ$240

-37.58%

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

$36.87 NZ$62.7

$30.79 NZ$52.3

19.75%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$47.64 NZ$81.0

$49.52 NZ$84.2

-3.80%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$35.20 NZ$59.9

$35.66 NZ$60.6

-1.29%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$13.28 NZ$22.58

$16.36 NZ$27.80

-18.83%

Cinema Ticket

$9.16 NZ$15.57

$15.06 NZ$25.60

-39.18%

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

$995 NZ$1,692

$920 NZ$1,564

8.12%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,171 NZ$10.5K

$13.9K NZ$23.6K

-55.47%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$57.1 NZ$97.0

$69.7 NZ$118

-18.09%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.08 NZ$64.7

$49.31 NZ$83.8

-22.77%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$90.5 NZ$154

$97.6 NZ$166

-7.30%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$93.4 NZ$159

$123 NZ$209

-24.12%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$841 NZ$1,429

$1,283 NZ$2,181

-34.46%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$688 NZ$1,170

$1,150 NZ$1,955

-40.18%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,546 NZ$2,628

$2,450 NZ$4,166

-36.92%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,366 NZ$2,322

$1,880 NZ$3,196

-27.34%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,184 NZ$3,713

$7,596 NZ$12.9K

-71.24%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,910 NZ$3,246

$5,334 NZ$9,067

-64.20%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,576 NZ$4,380

$3,207 NZ$5,452

-19.66%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.69

6.37

5.02%

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

Last update for Palmerston North: April 13, 2026

Last update for Auckland: April 12, 2026

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

Palmerston North vs other spots: cost of living compared

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