Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Rome and Hamilton, New Zealand

For one person, living is cheaper in Hamilton: $1,917 a month against $1,997 in Rome, rent and utilities included – about $960 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

96

Cost of Living Index in Rome
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Rome Living Index
93

Cost of Living Index in Hamilton
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Hamilton Living Index

Jump to prices

Rome

🇮🇹 Italy

$1,997

/mo nomad

Hamilton

🇳🇿 New Zealand

$1,917

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Rome and in Hamilton

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,997 in Rome versus $1,917 in Hamilton.

Rome $1,997
Hamilton $1,917

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,132 in Rome versus $2,828 in Hamilton.

Rome $3,132
Hamilton $2,828

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,266 in Rome versus $3,739 in Hamilton.

Rome $4,266
Hamilton $3,739

Living in Rome is roughly 4% more expensive than in Hamilton, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in leisure.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Rome 47% above, Hamilton 41% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.44 €14.74

$12.20 NZ$21.69

34.75%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$68.0 €60.9

$74.6 NZ$133

-8.88%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.14 €9.98

$8.34 NZ$14.82

33.57%

Cappuccino

$2.02 €1.81

$3.49 NZ$6.21

-42.12%

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

$3.00 €2.69

$2.31 NZ$4.11

29.87%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.48 €1.33

$2.50 NZ$4.45

-40.80%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.69 €5.10

$6.08 NZ$10.81

-6.41%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.77 €6.06

$5.61 NZ$9.97

20.68%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.69 €1.51

$1.46 NZ$2.59

15.75%

White Bread (500g)

$2.19 €1.96

$1.25 NZ$2.23

75.20%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.08 €2.76

$1.94 NZ$3.44

58.76%

Eggs

$4.74 €4.25

$5.52 NZ$9.81

-14.13%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$14.65 €13.12

$5.78 NZ$10.28

153.46%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$12.45 €11.16

$7.18 NZ$12.77

73.40%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.48 €17.46

$11.70 NZ$20.80

66.50%

Apples (1kg)

$2.60 €2.33

$2.71 NZ$4.81

-4.06%

Banana (1kg)

$2.35 €2.10

$2.31 NZ$4.11

1.73%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.33 €2.08

$3.24 NZ$5.77

-28.09%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.34 €2.10

$6.21 NZ$11.04

-62.32%

Potato (1kg)

$1.36 €1.22

$2.05 NZ$3.64

-33.66%

Onion (1kg)

$1.61 €1.44

$1.41 NZ$2.51

14.18%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.32 €1.18

$2.49 NZ$4.42

-46.99%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.51 €0.45

$0.98 NZ$1.75

-47.96%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$7.03 €6.30

$26.19 NZ$46.56

-73.16%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.61 €5.03

$10.72 NZ$19.06

-47.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.64 €1.47

$4.02 NZ$7.15

-59.20%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.51 €2.25

$4.14 NZ$7.36

-39.37%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.64 €1.47

$2.66 NZ$4.73

-38.35%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$39.58 €35.47

$52.7 NZ$93.6

-24.82%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$6.77 €6.06

$3.70 NZ$6.58

82.97%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.65 €1.48

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$34.02 €30.49

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.17 €1.95

$1.67 NZ$2.96

29.94%

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

$35.4K €31.7K

$28.2K NZ$50.2K

25.35%

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

$36.6K €32.8K

$22.4K NZ$39.7K

63.77%

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

$210 €188

$58.3 NZ$104

259.87%

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

$11.53 €10.33

$36.48 NZ$64.9

-68.39%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.32 €28.96

$55.5 NZ$98.6

-41.74%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$65.0 €58.3

$25.73 NZ$45.74

152.62%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.53 €21.08

$28.98 NZ$51.5

-18.81%

Cinema Ticket

$11.32 €10.15

$13.93 NZ$24.77

-18.74%

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

$488 €437

$670 NZ$1,192

-27.19%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.7K €15.0K

$22.5K NZ$39.9K

-25.69%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$71.1 €63.7

$63.7 NZ$113

11.75%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$36.84 €33.01

$38.93 NZ$69.2

-5.37%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$85.4 €76.5

$94.7 NZ$168

-9.83%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$128 €115

$107 NZ$189

19.94%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,297 €1,162

$1,090 NZ$1,937

19.02%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$875 €784

$987 NZ$1,755

-11.33%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,584 €2,315

$1,636 NZ$2,908

57.94%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,739 €1,559

$1,476 NZ$2,624

17.84%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$8,477 €7,596

$4,019 NZ$7,145

110.91%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,239 €2,902

$4,525 NZ$8,044

-28.42%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,948 €1,746

$2,678 NZ$4,760

-27.24%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.52

6.83

-48.46%

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

Last update for Rome: October 25, 2026

Last update for Hamilton: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Rome

$875 43.8%

Hamilton

$987 51.5% 12.8% $112

Groceries & Markets

Rome

$326 16.3%

Hamilton

$297 15.5% 8.8% $29

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Rome

$254 12.7%

Hamilton

$150 7.8% 40.7% $103

Eating Out

Rome

$249 12.5%

Hamilton

$225 11.8% 9.5% $24

Clothing & Footwear

Rome

$145 7.2%

Hamilton

$137 7.1% 5.4% $7.8

Sport & Entertainment

Rome

$88 4.4%

Hamilton

$54 2.8% 38.8% $34

Getting Around

Rome

$61 3.1%

Hamilton

$67 * 3.5% 9.6% $5.9

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 $1,297 in Rome and $1,090 in Hamilton. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Hamilton pays 37% 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 Rome vs $75 in Hamilton. Groceries flip the comparison at $326 vs $297, with Hamilton cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇮🇹 Rome

🇳🇿 Hamilton

🕒 Local time

08:01 8:01 AM

20:01 8:01 PM

12 h ahead of Rome

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,848,084 Capital

169,500

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

New Zealand Dollar NZD $

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1 NZD = 0.563 USD

1 NZD = 0.504 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

NZD, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 0.896 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

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 EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Rome Hamilton 18,480 km ≈ 24 h nonstop flight

From you

Rome
Hamilton

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

Rome vs Hamilton: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Hamilton is about 4% cheaper overall, especially in leisure, groceries, and eating out. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 27% lower in Rome. 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: $1,297 in Rome versus $1,090 in Hamilton. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Rome – a meal for two runs $68 versus $75 in Hamilton. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you’ll spend $1,997 per month in Rome versus $1,917 in Hamilton – Hamilton is about 4% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

Either city works on $2,500 a month, though Hamilton 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.