Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Wanaka and Scarborough, United Kingdom

For one person, living is cheaper in Wanaka: $1,696 a month against $2,122 in Scarborough, rent and utilities included – about $5,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

81

Cost of Living Index in Wanaka
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Wanaka Living Index
102

Cost of Living Index in Scarborough
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Scarborough Living Index

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Wanaka

🇳🇿 New Zealand

$1,696

/mo nomad

Scarborough

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,122

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Wanaka and in Scarborough

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,696 in Wanaka versus $2,122 in Scarborough.

Wanaka $1,696
Scarborough $2,122

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,695 in Wanaka versus $3,085 in Scarborough.

Wanaka $2,695
Scarborough $3,085

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,694 in Wanaka versus $4,048 in Scarborough.

Wanaka $3,694
Scarborough $4,048

Living in Wanaka costs roughly 20% less than in Scarborough, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Wanaka 25% above, Scarborough 56% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.97 NZ$24.59

$15.36 £11.55

-9.05%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$57.1 NZ$101

$68.8 £51.7

-16.89%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.60 NZ$15.14

$12.17 £9.14

-29.33%

Cappuccino

$3.03 NZ$5.33

$3.43 £2.58

-11.66%

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

$1.71 NZ$3.01

$2.09 £1.57

-18.18%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.91 NZ$3.35

$0.97 £0.73

96.91%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.96 NZ$12.26

$4.77 £3.59

45.91%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.35 NZ$11.18

$4.37 £3.28

45.31%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.12 NZ$3.73

$1.25 £0.94

69.60%

White Bread (500g)

$2.01 NZ$3.54

$1.42 £1.07

41.55%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.79 NZ$3.14

$1.06 £0.79

68.87%

Eggs

$6.00 NZ$10.56

$3.57 £2.69

68.07%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.51 NZ$14.97

$7.93 £5.96

7.31%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.71 NZ$17.09

$7.09 £5.33

36.95%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.78 NZ$29.52

$14.07 £10.58

19.26%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 NZ$5.10

$3.29 £2.47

-11.85%

Banana (1kg)

$2.14 NZ$3.76

$2.10 £1.58

1.90%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.30 NZ$5.80

$2.70 £2.03

22.22%

Tomato (1kg)

$5.10 NZ$8.98

$2.12 £1.59

140.57%

Potato (1kg)

$1.89 NZ$3.33

$1.76 £1.33

7.39%

Onion (1kg)

$1.78 NZ$3.13

$1.64 £1.23

8.54%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.28 NZ$4.01

$1.21 £0.91

88.43%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.60 NZ$1.06

$2.00 £1.51

-70.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$22.66 NZ$39.89

$22.39 £16.83

1.21%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.85 NZ$15.57

$9.36 £7.04

-5.45%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.15 NZ$5.54

$3.51 £2.64

-10.26%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.26 NZ$2.22

$3.61 £2.72

-65.10%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.27 £2.46

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$85.8 £64.4

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.83 NZ$10.25

$5.54 £4.17

5.23%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$4.94 £3.72

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$28.08 NZ$49.42

$32.72 £24.59

-14.18%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.80 NZ$3.17

$1.86 £1.40

-3.23%

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

$28.6K NZ$50.4K

$36.6K £27.5K

-21.81%

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

$23.0K NZ$40.5K

$38.6K £29.0K

-40.43%

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

$112 NZ$198

$346 £260

-67.53%

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

$29.42 NZ$51.8

$25.63 £19.26

14.79%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$51.9 NZ$91.4

$33.33 £25.05

55.75%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$66.1 £49.67

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$12.60 £9.47

Cinema Ticket

$11.57 NZ$20.36

$10.65 £8.00

8.64%

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

$601 NZ$1,059

$1,588 £1,194

-62.13%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.5K £10.9K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$59.9 NZ$105

$66.5 £50.0

-10.02%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$35.14 NZ$61.9

$35.50 £26.68

-1.01%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$68.5 NZ$121

$109 £81.6

-36.91%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$73.9 NZ$130

$115 £86.4

-35.64%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$971 NZ$1,708

$873 £656

11.12%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$806 NZ$1,418

$830 £624

-3.00%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,880 NZ$3,309

$1,532 £1,152

22.69%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,656 NZ$2,915

$1,367 £1,027

21.16%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,641 NZ$9,929

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,352 NZ$7,660

$908 £682

379.44%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.53

-27.67%

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

Last update for Wanaka: October 25, 2026

Last update for Scarborough: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Wanaka

$805 47.5%

Scarborough

$830 39.1% 3.1% $25

Groceries & Markets

Wanaka

$324 19.1%

Scarborough

$278 13.1% 14.3% $46

Eating Out

Wanaka

$236 13.9%

Scarborough

$245 11.6% 4% $9.5

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Wanaka

$194 11.4%

Scarborough

$405 19.1% 109% $212

Clothing & Footwear

Wanaka

$107 6.3%

Scarborough

$146 6.9% 37.1% $40

Sport & Entertainment

Wanaka

$23 * 1.4%

Scarborough

$87 4.1% 278% $64

Getting Around

Wanaka

$5.8 * 0.3%

Scarborough

$129 6.1% 2114% $123

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 $971 in Wanaka and $873 in Scarborough. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Wanaka pays about 4.8 times more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $57 in Wanaka vs $69 in Scarborough. Groceries flip the comparison at $324 vs $278, with Scarborough cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇳🇿 Wanaka

🇬🇧 Scarborough

🕒 Local time

02:05 2:05 AM

13:05 1:05 PM

13 h behind Wanaka

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

11,600

61,749

💱 Currency

New Zealand Dollar NZD $

British Pound GBP £

📈 Exchange rate

1 NZD = 0.568 USD

1 NZD = 0.511 EUR

1 GBP = 1.33 USD

1 GBP = 1.2 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇳🇿 New Zealand Dollar ($)

New Zealand Dollar exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 1.76 NZD (1 NZD = 0.568 USD). 1 EUR = 1.96 NZD (1 NZD = 0.511 EUR).

British Pound exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 0.752 GBP (1 GBP = 1.33 USD). 1 EUR = 0.836 GBP (1 GBP = 1.2 EUR).

USD to NZD in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Wanaka Scarborough 18,710 km ≈ 24 h nonstop flight

From you

Wanaka
Scarborough

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

Wanaka vs Scarborough: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Wanaka and Scarborough differ by about 25% in total monthly costs ($1,696 vs $2,122 including rent). Wanaka is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Wanaka is about 4.8 times higher, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $971 in Wanaka versus $873 in Scarborough. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $601 in Wanaka versus $1,588 in Scarborough. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Wanaka – a meal for two runs $57 versus $69 in Scarborough. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

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

Safety-wise, Wanaka and Scarborough are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.