Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Wellington and Cromwell

For one person, living is cheaper in Cromwell: $2,011 a month against $2,313 in Wellington, rent and utilities included – about $3,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

110

Cost of Living Index in Wellington
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Wellington Living Index
97

Cost of Living Index in Cromwell
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Cromwell Living Index

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Wellington

🇳🇿 New Zealand

$2,313

/mo nomad

Cromwell

🇳🇿 New Zealand

$2,011

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Wellington and in Cromwell

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,313 in Wellington versus $2,011 in Cromwell.

Wellington $2,313
Cromwell $2,011

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,422 in Wellington versus $2,881 in Cromwell.

Wellington $3,422
Cromwell $2,881

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,530 in Wellington versus $3,751 in Cromwell.

Wellington $4,530
Cromwell $3,751

Living in Wellington is roughly 15% more expensive than in Cromwell, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Wellington 70% above, Cromwell 48% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$14.02 NZ$24.90

$14.42 NZ$25.61

-2.77%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$66.5 NZ$118

$62.5 NZ$111

6.28%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.23 NZ$16.38

$11.51 NZ$20.43

-19.81%

Cappuccino

$3.41 NZ$6.06

$3.26 NZ$5.79

4.60%

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

$2.43 NZ$4.32

$2.15 NZ$3.81

13.02%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.69 NZ$3.00

$2.05 NZ$3.65

-17.56%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.48 NZ$13.29

$6.68 NZ$11.86

11.98%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.74 NZ$11.97

$6.29 NZ$11.16

7.15%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.95 NZ$3.47

$2.11 NZ$3.75

-7.58%

White Bread (500g)

$2.25 NZ$4.00

$1.94 NZ$3.45

15.98%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.85 NZ$3.29

$1.69 NZ$3.01

9.47%

Eggs

$7.10 NZ$12.61

$5.81 NZ$10.31

22.20%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.54 NZ$16.94

$8.65 NZ$15.36

10.29%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.62 NZ$17.08

$9.37 NZ$16.64

2.67%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.26 NZ$27.09

$16.61 NZ$29.48

-8.13%

Apples (1kg)

$3.09 NZ$5.49

$3.07 NZ$5.45

0.65%

Banana (1kg)

$2.15 NZ$3.83

$2.32 NZ$4.12

-7.33%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.08 NZ$5.47

$3.18 NZ$5.64

-3.14%

Tomato (1kg)

$6.42 NZ$11.40

$5.02 NZ$8.91

27.89%

Potato (1kg)

$2.10 NZ$3.72

$1.85 NZ$3.29

13.51%

Onion (1kg)

$1.23 NZ$2.19

$1.81 NZ$3.21

-32.04%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.01 NZ$3.57

$2.28 NZ$4.05

-11.84%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.16 NZ$2.06

$0.60 NZ$1.06

93.33%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$25.37 NZ$45.04

$21.12 NZ$37.50

20.12%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.48 NZ$20.39

$8.94 NZ$15.87

28.41%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.12 NZ$5.53

$3.15 NZ$5.59

-0.95%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.89 NZ$5.12

$1.21 NZ$2.15

138.84%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.86 NZ$5.08

$1.88 NZ$3.33

52.13%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$105 NZ$186

$93.3 NZ$166

12.46%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.88 NZ$3.34

$2.22 NZ$3.94

-15.32%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.83 NZ$3.25

$2.09 NZ$3.71

-12.44%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$34.31 NZ$60.9

$28.85 NZ$51.2

18.93%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.84 NZ$3.27

$1.83 NZ$3.25

0.55%

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

$28.4K NZ$50.4K

$28.2K NZ$50.0K

0.77%

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

$23.8K NZ$42.3K

$22.8K NZ$40.5K

4.39%

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

$201 NZ$357

$110 NZ$195

82.41%

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

$33.35 NZ$59.2

$28.58 NZ$50.7

16.69%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$53.7 NZ$95.3

$52.9 NZ$93.9

1.44%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$35.87 NZ$63.7

$39.41 NZ$70.0

-8.98%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.18 NZ$28.73

$7.00 NZ$12.43

131.14%

Cinema Ticket

$11.78 NZ$20.92

$8.35 NZ$14.82

41.08%

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

$1,065 NZ$1,890

$796 NZ$1,413

33.72%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$13.3K NZ$23.6K

$12.4K NZ$22.1K

6.68%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$80.4 NZ$143

$59.8 NZ$106

34.55%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.04 NZ$49.78

$35.97 NZ$63.9

-22.05%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$102 NZ$180

$90.7 NZ$161

12.07%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$154 NZ$274

$134 NZ$237

15.28%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,143 NZ$2,029

$1,013 NZ$1,798

12.81%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,078 NZ$1,914

$932 NZ$1,655

15.68%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,057 NZ$3,651

$1,638 NZ$2,908

25.55%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,814 NZ$3,220

$1,292 NZ$2,293

40.43%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,594 NZ$11.7K

$4,771 NZ$8,470

38.22%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,655 NZ$6,489

$3,354 NZ$5,955

8.97%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,785 NZ$4,945

$3,034 NZ$5,387

-8.21%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.39

6.6

-18.33%

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

Last update for Wellington: October 27, 2026

Last update for Cromwell: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Wellington

$1.1K 46.6%

Cromwell

$932 46.4% 13.6% $146

Groceries & Markets

Wellington

$348 15.1%

Cromwell

$322 16% 7.6% $27

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Wellington

$288 12.4%

Cromwell

$192 9.5% 33.4% $96

Eating Out

Wellington

$248 10.7%

Cromwell

$252 12.5% 1.5% $3.6

Clothing & Footwear

Wellington

$164 7.1%

Cromwell

$144 7.2% 12.1% $20

Getting Around

Wellington

$127 5.5%

Cromwell

$113 5.6% 10.9% $14

Sport & Entertainment

Wellington

$59 2.6%

Cromwell

$56 2.8% 5.6% $3.3

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,143 in Wellington and $1,013 in Cromwell. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Cromwell pays 9% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $66 in Wellington vs $63 in Cromwell for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $348 vs $322 per month, with Cromwell cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇳🇿 Wellington

🇳🇿 Cromwell

🕒 Local time

08:38 8:38 AM

Same time as Wellington

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

215,900 Capital

5,000

💱 Currency

New Zealand Dollar NZD $

📈 Exchange rate

1 NZD = 0.563 USD

1 NZD = 0.504 EUR

1 NZD = 0.563 USD

1 NZD = 0.504 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

Lowest

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Between locations

Wellington Cromwell 610 km ≈ 1 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Wellington
Cromwell

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

Wellington vs Cromwell: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cromwell is about 13% cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and transport. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 8% lower in Wellington. 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: $1,143 in Wellington versus $1,013 in Cromwell. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 8% higher in Wellington. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Cromwell – a meal for two runs $63 versus $66 in Wellington. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

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, Wellington and Cromwell are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

Expats usually find Cromwell gentler on the wallet – expenses run 13% less than in Wellington. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.