Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ramallah and Palmerston North

For one person, living is cheaper in Palmerston North: $1,598 a month against $1,940 in Ramallah, rent and utilities included – about $4,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

94

Cost of Living Index in Ramallah
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Ramallah Living Index
78

Cost of Living Index in Palmerston North
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Palmerston North Living Index

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Ramallah

🇵🇸 Palestine

$1,940

/mo nomad

Palmerston North

🇳🇿 New Zealand

$1,598

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Ramallah and in Palmerston North

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,940 in Ramallah versus $1,598 in Palmerston North.

Ramallah $1,940
Palmerston North $1,598

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,803 in Ramallah versus $2,662 in Palmerston North.

Ramallah $2,803
Palmerston North $2,662

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,666 in Ramallah versus $3,726 in Palmerston North.

Ramallah $3,666
Palmerston North $3,726

Living in Ramallah is roughly 21% more expensive than in Palmerston North, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Ramallah 43% above, Palmerston North 17% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$14.14 NZ$25.13

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$65.0 ₪204

$64.5 NZ$115

0.82%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.72 ₪39.90

$8.93 NZ$15.87

42.44%

Cappuccino

$4.99 ₪15.66

$3.30 NZ$5.87

51.21%

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

$1.92 ₪6.04

$2.29 NZ$4.08

-16.16%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.59 ₪4.97

$1.77 NZ$3.15

-10.17%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.65 ₪30.26

$6.56 NZ$11.66

47.10%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.98 ₪25.01

$7.01 NZ$12.46

13.84%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.12 ₪6.66

$1.82 NZ$3.23

16.48%

White Bread (500g)

$2.62 ₪8.21

$2.17 NZ$3.85

20.74%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.98 ₪9.33

$1.37 NZ$2.44

117.52%

Eggs

$3.78 ₪11.85

$5.06 NZ$9.00

-25.30%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.39 ₪35.70

$6.67 NZ$11.85

70.76%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.36 ₪19.95

$9.54 NZ$16.96

-33.33%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$26.28 ₪82.4

$10.59 NZ$18.83

148.16%

Apples (1kg)

$4.81 ₪15.07

$2.62 NZ$4.66

83.59%

Banana (1kg)

$1.64 ₪5.15

$2.24 NZ$3.97

-26.79%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.64 ₪5.15

$2.34 NZ$4.16

-29.91%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.21 ₪6.91

$5.55 NZ$9.87

-60.18%

Potato (1kg)

$1.90 ₪5.95

$1.46 NZ$2.59

30.14%

Onion (1kg)

$1.64 ₪5.14

$0.87 NZ$1.55

88.51%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.33 ₪7.31

$1.74 NZ$3.10

33.91%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.95 ₪2.99

$0.76 NZ$1.35

25.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$22.42 NZ$39.86

Wine (Bottle)

$22.97 ₪72.0

$8.07 NZ$14.35

184.63%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.61 ₪8.20

$2.69 NZ$4.77

-2.97%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.29 ₪7.18

$2.93 NZ$5.21

-21.84%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.65 ₪5.17

$2.01 NZ$3.56

-17.91%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$82.5 ₪259

$117 NZ$209

-29.75%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.85 ₪15.20

$1.89 NZ$3.36

156.61%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$4.88 ₪15.31

$1.78 NZ$3.17

174.16%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$17.19 NZ$30.55

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.55 ₪8.01

$1.68 NZ$2.99

51.79%

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

$57.9K ₪181.6K

$27.3K NZ$48.5K

112.29%

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

$89.3K ₪280.0K

$24.0K NZ$42.6K

272.13%

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

$318 ₪998

$69.0 NZ$123

361.29%

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

$29.76 ₪93.3

$33.60 NZ$59.7

-11.43%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$38.22 ₪120

$35.32 NZ$62.8

8.21%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$90.4 ₪283

$24.91 NZ$44.28

262.91%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.35 ₪60.7

$14.01 NZ$24.90

38.12%

Cinema Ticket

$11.41 ₪35.78

$11.66 NZ$20.73

-2.14%

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

$1,058 NZ$1,881

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,158 ₪25.6K

$8,589 NZ$15.3K

-5.02%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$69.7 NZ$124

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$97.7 ₪306

$28.83 NZ$51.3

238.95%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$131 ₪411

$84.3 NZ$150

55.46%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$96.8 ₪304

$84.6 NZ$150

14.46%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,066 ₪3,341

$914 NZ$1,625

16.58%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$636 ₪1,993

$627 NZ$1,114

1.41%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,438 ₪4,509

$1,618 NZ$2,876

-11.12%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$970 ₪3,041

$1,428 NZ$2,539

-32.11%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,190 ₪3,733

$2,058 NZ$3,658

-42.15%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$895 ₪2,807

$1,907 NZ$3,389

-53.05%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,275 ₪3,998

$2,521 NZ$4,481

-49.41%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.33

5.39

-1.11%

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

Last update for Ramallah: October 24, 2026

Last update for Palmerston North: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Ramallah

$636 32.8%

Palmerston North

$627 39.2% 1.4% $8.8

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ramallah

$386 19.9%

Palmerston North

$138 8.6% 64.3% $248

Groceries & Markets

Ramallah

$364 18.8%

Palmerston North

$286 17.9% 21.3% $78

Eating Out

Ramallah

$176 * 9.1%

Palmerston North

$243 15.2% 37.6% $66

Clothing & Footwear

Ramallah

$147 * 7.6%

Palmerston North

$120 7.5% 17.9% $26

Getting Around

Ramallah

$118 6.1%

Palmerston North

$136 8.5% 15.1% $18

Sport & Entertainment

Ramallah

$113 5.8%

Palmerston North

$48 3% 57.4% $65

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 $1,066 in Ramallah and $914 in Palmerston North. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Palmerston North pays 98% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $65 in Ramallah vs $64 in Palmerston North for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $364 vs $286 per month, with Palmerston North cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇸 Ramallah

🇳🇿 Palmerston North

🕒 Local time

03:48 3:48 AM

14:48 2:48 PM

11 h ahead of Ramallah

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

43,880 Capital

90,500

💱 Currency

Israeli New Shekel ILS ₪

New Zealand Dollar NZD $

📈 Exchange rate

1 ILS = 0.319 USD

1 ILS = 0.286 EUR

1 NZD = 0.563 USD

1 NZD = 0.504 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

NZD, USD, EUR to ILS – Israeli New Shekel Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇮🇱 Israeli New Shekel (₪)

Israeli New Shekel exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 3.14 ILS (1 ILS = 0.319 USD). 1 EUR = 3.5 ILS (1 ILS = 0.286 EUR).

New Zealand Dollar exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 1.78 NZD (1 NZD = 0.563 USD). 1 EUR = 1.98 NZD (1 NZD = 0.504 EUR).

USD to ILS in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Ramallah Palmerston North 16,370 km ≈ 21 h nonstop flight

From you

Ramallah
Palmerston North

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

Ramallah vs Palmerston North: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,940 in Ramallah and $1,598 in Palmerston North, so Palmerston North is about 18% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 49% lower in Ramallah. That’s worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,066 in Ramallah versus $914 in Palmerston North. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Ramallah runs roughly 30% less than in Palmerston North. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

All in, you’ll spend $1,940 per month in Ramallah versus $1,598 in Palmerston North – Palmerston North is about 18% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

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, Ramallah and Palmerston North are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.