Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Wellington and Lincoln

For one person, living is cheaper in Lincoln: $2,203 a month against $2,376 in Wellington, rent and utilities included – about $2,100 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Wellington outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

115

Cost of Living Index in Wellington
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Wellington Living Index
107

Cost of Living Index in Lincoln
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Lincoln Living Index

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Wellington

🇳🇿 New Zealand

$2,376

/mo nomad

Lincoln

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,203

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Wellington and in Lincoln

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 Lincoln actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,376 in Wellington versus $2,203 in Lincoln.

Wellington $2,376
Lincoln $2,203

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,407 in Wellington versus $3,290 in Lincoln.

Wellington $3,407
Lincoln $3,290

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,439 in Wellington versus $4,376 in Lincoln.

Wellington $4,439
Lincoln $4,376

Living in Wellington is roughly 8% more expensive than in Lincoln, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Wellington 75% above, Lincoln 63% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$14.01 NZ$24.78

$26.70 £20.03

-47.53%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$65.8 NZ$116

$85.8 £64.4

-23.32%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.37 NZ$16.56

$8.14 £6.11

15.11%

Cappuccino

$3.40 NZ$6.02

$4.98 £3.74

-31.73%

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

$2.46 NZ$4.35

$2.64 £1.98

-6.82%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.75 NZ$3.09

$1.97 £1.48

-11.17%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.27 NZ$12.85

$6.70 £5.03

8.51%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.71 NZ$11.87

$6.58 £4.94

1.98%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.94 NZ$3.43

$1.40 £1.05

38.57%

White Bread (500g)

$2.15 NZ$3.81

$1.49 £1.12

44.30%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.83 NZ$3.25

$1.34 £1.01

36.57%

Eggs

$6.88 NZ$12.16

$3.36 £2.52

104.76%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.19 NZ$16.26

$8.31 £6.23

10.59%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.99 NZ$17.67

$8.59 £6.44

16.30%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.97 NZ$26.48

$11.39 £8.54

31.43%

Apples (1kg)

$3.03 NZ$5.36

$3.48 £2.61

-12.93%

Banana (1kg)

$2.24 NZ$3.96

$1.20 £0.90

86.67%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.09 NZ$5.47

$3.11 £2.33

-0.64%

Tomato (1kg)

$6.55 NZ$11.59

$3.65 £2.74

79.45%

Potato (1kg)

$2.16 NZ$3.83

$1.47 £1.10

46.94%

Onion (1kg)

$1.28 NZ$2.27

$1.16 £0.87

10.34%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.10 NZ$3.71

$1.04 £0.78

101.92%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.20 NZ$2.12

$1.35 £1.02

-11.11%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$25.79 NZ$45.60

$23.57 £17.68

9.42%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.27 NZ$19.94

$10.50 £7.88

7.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.12 NZ$5.51

$3.18 £2.39

-1.89%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.82 NZ$4.98

$3.59 £2.69

-21.45%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.76 NZ$4.89

$4.15 £3.12

-33.49%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$104 NZ$184

$107 £80.3

-2.71%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.88 NZ$3.33

$3.88 £2.91

-51.55%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.78 NZ$3.14

$0.71 £0.54

150.70%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.72 NZ$59.6

$19.84 £14.89

69.96%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.85 NZ$3.27

$2.06 £1.54

-10.19%

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

$28.7K NZ$50.8K

$38.6K £28.9K

-25.56%

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

$23.8K NZ$42.1K

$40.4K £30.3K

-41.03%

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

$194 NZ$344

$304 £228

-36.08%

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

$33.42 NZ$59.1

$17.07 £12.81

95.78%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$53.5 NZ$94.7

$40.02 £30.02

33.73%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$38.12 NZ$67.4

$26.70 £20.03

42.77%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.15 NZ$28.56

$21.35 £16.01

-24.36%

Cinema Ticket

$11.97 NZ$21.17

$15.55 £11.66

-23.02%

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

$1,056 NZ$1,868

$1,831 £1,373

-42.30%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.9K NZ$22.9K

$20.6K £15.5K

-37.35%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$79.2 NZ$140

$115 £85.9

-30.84%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.87 NZ$51.1

$58.6 £43.98

-50.75%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$103 NZ$182

$84.9 £63.7

21.04%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$156 NZ$275

$99.3 £74.5

56.87%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,217 NZ$2,152

$1,078 £809

12.87%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,147 NZ$2,028

$854 £640

34.36%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,154 NZ$3,809

$1,936 £1,453

11.24%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,731 NZ$3,061

$1,426 £1,070

21.39%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,780 NZ$12.0K

$2,503 £1,878

170.84%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,655 NZ$6,464

$1,220 £916

199.48%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,812 NZ$4,972

$3,307 £2,481

-14.98%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.39

4.88

10.45%

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

Last update for Wellington: October 18, 2026

Last update for Lincoln: October 17, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Wellington

$1.1K 48.3%

Lincoln

$854 38.7% 25.6% $293

Groceries & Markets

Wellington

$348 14.6%

Lincoln

$276 12.5% 20.5% $71

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Wellington

$281 11.8%

Lincoln

$361 16.4% 28.4% $80

Eating Out

Wellington

$248 10.4%

Lincoln

$363 16.5% 46.5% $115

Clothing & Footwear

Wellington

$165 6.9%

Lincoln

$161 7.3% 2.5% $4.2

Getting Around

Wellington

$126 5.3%

Lincoln

$131 6% 4.1% $5.2

Sport & Entertainment

Wellington

$62 2.6%

Lincoln

$58 2.6% 6.9% $4.3

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,217 in Wellington and $1,078 in Lincoln. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lincoln pays 18% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $66.0 in Wellington vs $86.0 in Lincoln. Groceries flip the comparison at $348 vs $276, with Lincoln cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇳🇿 Wellington

🇬🇧 Lincoln

🕒 Local time

15:14 3:14 PM

03:14 3:14 AM

12 h behind Wellington

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

215,900 Capital

97,541

💱 Currency

New Zealand Dollar NZD $

British Pound GBP £

📈 Exchange rate

1 NZD = 0.565 USD

1 NZD = 0.503 EUR

1 GBP = 1.33 USD

1 GBP = 1.19 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 22, 2026: 1 USD = 1.77 NZD (1 NZD = 0.565 USD). 1 EUR = 1.99 NZD (1 NZD = 0.503 EUR).

British Pound exchange rates as of October 22, 2026: 1 USD = 0.75 GBP (1 GBP = 1.33 USD). 1 EUR = 0.843 GBP (1 GBP = 1.19 EUR).

USD to NZD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Wellington Lincoln 18,640 km ≈ 24 h nonstop flight

From you

Wellington
Lincoln

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 Lincoln: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Wellington and Lincoln differ by about 8% in total monthly costs ($2,376 vs $2,203 including rent). Lincoln is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 18% lower in Lincoln. 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: $1,217 in Wellington versus $1,078 in Lincoln. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Lincoln – a meal for two runs $86.0 versus $66.0 in Wellington. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $2,376 per month in Wellington versus $2,203 in Lincoln – a 8% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $2,203 in Lincoln versus $2,376 in Wellington, a $3,000 budget is realistic in Lincoln but tight or insufficient in Wellington. The gap between the two cities makes Lincoln 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, Wellington and Lincoln 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 Lincoln gentler on the wallet – expenses run 8% less than in Wellington. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.