Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Timaru and Gizo

For one person, living is cheaper in Timaru: $1,980 a month against $2,164 in Gizo, rent and utilities included – about $2,200 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Gizo outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

90

Cost of Living Index in Timaru
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Timaru Living Index
105

Cost of Living Index in Gizo
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Gizo Living Index

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Timaru

🇳🇿 New Zealand

$1,980

/mo nomad

Gizo

🇸🇧 Solomon Islands

$2,164

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Timaru and in Gizo

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,980 in Timaru versus $2,164 in Gizo.

Timaru $1,980
Gizo $2,164

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,925 in Timaru versus $3,051 in Gizo.

Timaru $2,925
Gizo $3,051

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,870 in Timaru versus $3,938 in Gizo.

Timaru $3,870
Gizo $3,938

Living in Timaru costs roughly 9% less than in Gizo, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Timaru 47% above, Gizo 60% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.80 NZ$24.41

$3.01 SBD 24.25

358.47%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$62.1 NZ$110

$54.7 SBD 441

13.35%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.70 NZ$18.93

$15.57 SBD 126

-31.28%

Cappuccino

$3.37 NZ$5.95

$2.85 SBD 22.95

18.25%

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

$2.03 NZ$3.59

$1.26 SBD 10.13

61.11%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.81 NZ$3.20

$1.21 SBD 9.79

49.59%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.72 NZ$10.11

$2.47 SBD 19.88

131.58%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.12 NZ$10.81

$2.41 SBD 19.41

153.94%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.11 NZ$1.96

$3.27 SBD 26.35

-66.06%

White Bread (500g)

$1.82 NZ$3.22

$1.39 SBD 11.19

30.94%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.09 NZ$1.93

$1.40 SBD 11.30

-22.14%

Eggs

$5.69 NZ$10.06

$7.24 SBD 58.4

-21.41%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.24 NZ$14.57

$8.47 SBD 68.3

-2.72%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.13 NZ$16.15

$6.20 SBD 50.0

47.26%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.33 NZ$28.89

$8.41 SBD 67.8

94.17%

Apples (1kg)

$2.92 NZ$5.17

$6.88 SBD 55.5

-57.56%

Banana (1kg)

$2.33 NZ$4.12

$6.34 SBD 51.1

-63.25%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.24 NZ$5.72

$6.06 SBD 48.84

-46.53%

Tomato (1kg)

$5.19 NZ$9.18

$3.02 SBD 24.32

71.85%

Potato (1kg)

$1.87 NZ$3.30

$3.07 SBD 24.74

-39.09%

Onion (1kg)

$1.78 NZ$3.14

$2.41 SBD 19.45

-26.14%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.25 NZ$3.98

$2.53 SBD 20.39

-11.07%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.55 NZ$0.97

$1.34 SBD 10.79

-58.96%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$20.75 NZ$36.70

$4.25 SBD 34.29

388.24%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.63 NZ$9.96

$12.36 SBD 99.6

-54.45%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.07 NZ$5.42

$1.83 SBD 14.77

67.76%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.18 NZ$2.09

$2.19 SBD 17.66

-46.12%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.65 NZ$2.91

$0.39 SBD 3.11

323.08%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$92.4 NZ$163

$31.36 SBD 253

194.74%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.29 NZ$4.04

$1.25 SBD 10.09

83.20%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.08 NZ$3.68

$2.43 SBD 19.56

-14.40%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$27.65 NZ$48.90

$12.52 SBD 101

120.85%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.48 NZ$2.61

$1.75 SBD 14.10

-15.43%

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

$24.8K NZ$43.9K

$20.7K SBD 166.9K

19.99%

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

$24.9K NZ$44.1K

$21.9K SBD 176.9K

13.65%

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

$110 NZ$194

$750 SBD 6,048

-85.37%

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

$22.70 NZ$40.15

$13.42 SBD 108

69.15%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$51.4 NZ$90.9

$123 SBD 989

-58.12%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$38.87 NZ$68.7

$18.49 SBD 149

110.22%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.14 SBD 49.54

Cinema Ticket

$10.17 NZ$17.98

$4.20 SBD 33.87

142.14%

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

$579 NZ$1,025

$126 SBD 1,014

360.82%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.1K NZ$30.3K

$1,242 SBD 10.0K

1277.66%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$59.1 NZ$105

$25.29 SBD 204

133.77%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$34.65 NZ$61.3

$94.4 SBD 761

-63.28%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$91.0 NZ$161

$99.8 SBD 804

-8.83%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$132 NZ$234

$90.6 SBD 730

46.04%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$877 NZ$1,550

$599 SBD 4,833

46.22%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$946 NZ$1,674

$580 SBD 4,678

63.12%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,616 NZ$2,857

$630 SBD 5,081

156.33%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,510 NZ$2,670

$1,217 SBD 9,809

24.10%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,303 NZ$7,610

$85.9K SBD 692.3K

-94.99%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,018 NZ$5,337

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$389 SBD 3,140

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

7.07

16.33

-56.71%

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

Last update for Timaru: October 11, 2026

Last update for Gizo: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Timaru

$946 47.8%

Gizo

$580 26.8% 38.7% $366

Groceries & Markets

Timaru

$297 15%

Gizo

$353 16.3% 18.9% $56

Eating Out

Timaru

$239 12.1%

Gizo

$132 6.1% 44.8% $107

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Timaru

$184 9.3%

Gizo

$886 41% 382% $703

Clothing & Footwear

Timaru

$143 7.2%

Gizo

$139 6.5% 2.2% $3.2

Getting Around

Timaru

$112 5.6%

Gizo

$46 2.1% 58.6% $65

Sport & Entertainment

Timaru

$59 3%

Gizo

$27 1.2% 54.6% $32

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $877 in Timaru and $599 in Gizo. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $62.0 in Timaru vs $55.0 in Gizo. Groceries flip the comparison at $297 vs $353, with Timaru cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇳🇿 Timaru

🇸🇧 Gizo

🕒 Local time

07:39 7:39 AM

05:39 5:39 AM

2 h behind Timaru

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

28,600

7,177

💱 Currency

New Zealand Dollar NZD $

Solomon Islands Dollar SBD $

📈 Exchange rate

1 NZD = 0.565 USD

1 NZD = 0.503 EUR

1 SBD = 0.124 USD

1 SBD = 0.11 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

SBD, USD, EUR to NZD – New Zealand Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇳🇿 New Zealand Dollar ($)

New Zealand Dollar exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 1.77 NZD (1 NZD = 0.565 USD). 1 EUR = 1.99 NZD (1 NZD = 0.503 EUR).

Solomon Islands Dollar exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 8.06 SBD (1 SBD = 0.124 USD). 1 EUR = 9.06 SBD (1 SBD = 0.11 EUR).

USD to NZD in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Timaru Gizo 4,270 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Timaru
Gizo

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

Timaru vs Gizo: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Timaru wins on cost – living expenses run 9% lower than in Gizo. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Timaru the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

You'd need roughly $2,970 in Timaru and $3,246 in Gizo to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $877 in Timaru versus $599 in Gizo. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 19% higher in Gizo. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Timaru – a meal for two runs $62.0 versus $55.0 in Gizo. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,980 in Timaru versus $2,164 in Gizo, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Timaru but tight or insufficient in Gizo. The gap between the two cities makes Timaru the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

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, Timaru and Gizo are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Timaru gentler on the wallet – expenses run 9% less than in Gizo. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.