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

🙂 Solo nomad: Palmerston North is 6.1% cheaper than Christchurch without rent, and 26.2% cheaper with rent.

🙂 Family of 3: Palmerston North is 6.9% cheaper than Christchurch without rent, and 6.3% cheaper with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.86 NZ$27.81

$16.56 NZ$27.32

1.81%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$72.1 NZ$119

$71.4 NZ$118

0.99%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.27 NZ$20.23

$9.41 NZ$15.53

30.39%

Cappuccino

$3.44 NZ$5.67

$3.34 NZ$5.52

2.99%

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

$2.37 NZ$3.91

$2.3 NZ$3.8

3.04%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.08 NZ$3.43

$2.03 NZ$3.34

2.46%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.32 NZ$12.07

$7.31 NZ$12.06

0.14%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.32 NZ$10.42

$7.2 NZ$11.87

-12.22%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.92 NZ$3.16

$1.91 NZ$3.16

0.52%

White Bread (500g)

$2.05 NZ$3.39

$1.94 NZ$3.2

5.67%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.81 NZ$2.99

$1.73 NZ$2.85

4.62%

Eggs

$5.41 NZ$8.92

$6.26 NZ$10.33

-13.58%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.35 NZ$13.77

$8.18 NZ$13.48

2.08%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.37 NZ$15.46

$9.65 NZ$15.91

-2.90%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.3 NZ$20.28

$12.83 NZ$21.17

-4.13%

Apples (1kg)

$2.52 NZ$4.16

$3.06 NZ$5.04

-17.65%

Banana (1kg)

$1.81 NZ$2.99

$2.71 NZ$4.46

-33.21%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.56 NZ$4.22

$2.95 NZ$4.87

-13.22%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.41 NZ$5.63

$5.52 NZ$9.11

-38.22%

Potato (1kg)

$2.17 NZ$3.57

$2.15 NZ$3.54

0.93%

Onion (1kg)

$2.18 NZ$3.59

$2.21 NZ$3.64

-1.36%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.14 NZ$3.53

$2.98 NZ$4.91

-28.19%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1 NZ$1.66

$1.45 NZ$2.4

-31.03%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$20.09 NZ$33.14

$23.66 NZ$39.02

-15.09%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.77 NZ$14.47

$8.93 NZ$14.72

-1.79%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.46 NZ$4.06

$3.82 NZ$6.29

-35.60%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.25 NZ$8.66

$4.85 NZ$8

8.25%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.64 NZ$7.65

$1.24 NZ$2.05

274.19%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$30.49 NZ$50.3

$41.94 NZ$69.2

-27.30%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.36 NZ$3.89

$2.63 NZ$4.34

-10.27%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.8 NZ$2.97

$1.64 NZ$2.7

9.76%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$17.23 NZ$28.42

$30.26 NZ$49.91

-43.06%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.65 NZ$2.73

$1.71 NZ$2.81

-3.51%

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

$18.8K NZ$31K

$27K NZ$44.5K

-30.37%

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

$21.6K NZ$35.7K

$20K NZ$33K

8.18%

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

$89.5 NZ$148

$116 NZ$191

-22.54%

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

$38 NZ$62.7

$32.15 NZ$53

18.20%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$48.26 NZ$79.6

$52.6 NZ$86.8

-8.30%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$35 NZ$57.7

$34.61 NZ$57.1

1.13%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$12.95 NZ$21.37

$15.47 NZ$25.51

-16.29%

Cinema Ticket

$8.9 NZ$14.68

$10.81 NZ$17.83

-17.67%

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

$999 NZ$1,648

$653 NZ$1,077

53.12%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,262 NZ$10.3K

$9,249 NZ$15.3K

-32.30%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$56.2 NZ$92.7

$64 NZ$105

-12.10%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.3 NZ$63.2

$43.12 NZ$71.1

-11.18%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$92.6 NZ$153

$90.8 NZ$150

1.98%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$93.4 NZ$154

$150 NZ$247

-37.74%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$836 NZ$1,379

$1,536 NZ$2,534

-45.58%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$695 NZ$1,146

$1,158 NZ$1,911

-40.01%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,565 NZ$2,581

$2,059 NZ$3,395

-23.99%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,386 NZ$2,286

$1,488 NZ$2,453

-6.81%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,102 NZ$3,466

$4,194 NZ$6,918

-49.89%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,444 NZ$4,032

$3,361 NZ$5,543

-27.27%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,487 NZ$4,101

$2,736 NZ$4,512

-9.11%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.69

6.74

-0.74%

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

Last update for Palmerston North: October 29, 2025

Last update for Christchurch: October 27, 2025

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