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Side by side · Reviewed September 4, 2026

United States vs New Zealand

The same 12 measures, one baseline, both directions. Across the 10 measures that compare like with like, New Zealand comes out ahead on 5 and the United States on 4, with 1 too close to call. The remaining 2 are healthcare lines that do not reduce to a winner.

5measures won by New Zealand
4measures won by the US
1too close to call
Cheaperoverall price level 87 vs 100

Every measure, both sides

United States against New Zealand, one row per measure. Country figures reviewed September 4, 2026; the US baseline reviewed September 4, 2026. Price indices use a US national average of 100, so a lower number means cheaper.
MeasureUnited StatesNew ZealandWhich side wins
Overall price levelconsumer prices including rent, US = 10010087New Zealand 13% cheaper
Rent, 1-bed in the centremonthly average$1,700$1,112New Zealand 35% cheaper
Rent, 1-bed outside the centremonthly average$1,350$1,094New Zealand 19% cheaper
Groceriesindex, US = 10010098New Zealand 2% cheaper
Transportindex, US = 10010088New Zealand 12% cheaper
Utilitiesindex, US = 100100117United States 15% cheaper
Restaurantsindex, US = 10010099Level within 2% of each other
Average net salarymonthly, what local jobs pay$4,230$3,392United States 25% more, $838/mo
Top income tax rateheadline top bracket, not the effective rate37%39%United States 2 points lower
VAT / sales taxUS figure is an average state and local sales tax7.5%15%United States 7.5 points lower
Healthcare modelhow the cost is collectedMainly private, employer-linkedUniversal public systemNot comparable Different funding, not a score
Typical cover for one adultUS figure is the full employer-sponsored premium, most of it paid by the employer$777/mo$95/moNot comparable One is a payroll benefit, one is a policy you buy

The two healthcare rows are left out of the count because the US number is a premium mostly paid by an employer and the New Zealand number is not. Read the margins rather than the total: six of the cost rows are components of the same price index, so a cheap country wins them together and the headline score overstates the spread.

The same comparison in dollars a month

A US net income of $4,230 a month buys the average American lifestyle. Reproducing that same basket in New Zealand, at a price level of 87, costs about $3,680, leaving roughly $550 a month unspent.

Two ways to arrive, each run through the price level in New Zealand.
If youMonthly incomeWhat it is worth in New Zealand
Keep a US-paying job and work remotely$4,230Buys the US average basket for $3,680, $550 left over each month
Take a local job at the New Zealand average$3,392Buys what $3,899 buys in the US, 8% below the US average net salary

The same three gaps over a full year:

Same basket, over a year
$6,600 kept rather than spent
Centre rent, over a year
$7,056 less than the US average
Local pay against US pay
$10,056 less a year on the local average

Every line uses the overall price index, rent included, and assumes you spend like an average household, which nobody does exactly. The rent figure is a national average for a one-bedroom in a city centre, not a quote for a specific city. Put your own numbers in below.

Run your own income through New Zealand

The table above uses the US average. Enter what you actually take home and see how the comparison changes.

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Enter your income to see the comparison.

Same lifestyle costs you—
Monthly difference—
1-bed rent, city centre—
1-bed rent, outside centre—
Category price levels, US average = 100
CategoryIndexvs US

A ratio, not a budget: it scales your income by the country's overall consumer price level against the US average. Your actual costs depend on the city and how you live. Rent figures are national market averages for a one-bedroom apartment.

Where New Zealand sits among the 15 countries compared

The same measures again, this time against the rest of the set rather than against the US. A comparison can look strong on its own and still be mid-table.

Rank is out of the 15 countries with a full comparison. "What local pay buys locally" divides average net pay by the local price level, so it answers a different question from the salary row above.
MeasureNew ZealandRank in the setLeaderUnited States
Overall price level878th of 15Thailand 32100
Rent, 1-bed in the centre$1,1124th of 15Thailand $475$1,700
Average net salary$3,3928th of 15Australia $4,996$4,230
What local pay buys locally$3,8996th of 15Australia $4,996$4,230
Top income tax rate39%3rd of 15Mexico 35%37%
VAT / sales tax15%5th of 15Canada 5%7.5%

What the numbers do not say

The salary column is a local salary

$3,392 a month is what employment in New Zealand pays on average, not what you would earn there. If you carry a US income with you, the salary row stops applying and only the cost rows matter, which changes the result of this whole page.

US healthcare hides inside the employer

Employer-sponsored single coverage averaged about $777 a month in total premium, most of it paid by the employer, before deductibles and out-of-pocket costs. That cost never appears in a consumer price index, so a raw price comparison flatters the US. New Zealand collects it differently (Universal public system), and what you can actually use depends on your status: Eligibility for publicly funded health services requires a residence class visa, New Zealand or Australian citizenship, or a work visa that allows you to stay for two years or more (counted from your first day in New Zealand, and able to be met by stacking consecutive visas). A US citizen on a three-year Accredited Employer Work Visa is eligible from arrival; someone on a working holiday visa, a visitor visa or a short work visa is not, and must pay full cost for non-accident care. ACC covers accidental injury regardless of visa status, and emergency and infectious-disease treatment is available to everyone.

Tax follows your citizenship, not your address

The United States taxes citizens on worldwide income wherever they live, so the tax row is not a swap of one system for another. New Zealand has an income tax treaty with the US and no totalization agreement, so social contributions can be owed on both sides. Local tax residency rule: You become a New Zealand tax resident if you are present for more than 183 days in any 12-month period (residency then backdates to the first of those days) or if you have a permanent place of abode in New Zealand, which can apply even with far fewer days. Residency ends only once you have no permanent place of abode and have been away more than 325 days in any 12-month period.

Top rates are not what you pay

The table shows 39% against 37%, but those are top brackets. Where the brackets start, what social contributions add, and what deductions exist decide the actual bill. The two sides are not measured the same way: the US figure is the top FEDERAL rate only, before state and city income tax, while many countries' headline rates already include regional or municipal tax. Read the gap as indicative, not as a like-for-like difference. The US-New Zealand income tax convention (1982, amended by the 2008 protocol) is in force, so double taxation is normally relieved by foreign tax credits. US citizens still file a US return every year regardless of where they live, and FBAR and FATCA reporting apply to New Zealand bank accounts and KiwiSaver. Most Americans in salaried work in New Zealand end up using the foreign tax credit rather than the foreign earned income exclusion, because New Zealand's effective rate on a typical salary exceeds the US rate. The big planning item is the four-year transitional resident exemption: new tax residents who have not been NZ-resident in the previous 10 years pay no New Zealand tax on most foreign income, including overseas interest, dividends, rent and foreign investment fund income, for roughly four years. Foreign employment income and income from personal services performed overseas are excluded from the exemption, and it ends early if you or your partner claim Working for Families tax credits. When the four years expire, the foreign investment fund rules can tax a US brokerage portfolio on a deemed 5 percent return rather than on realised gains, which surprises people. There is no general capital gains tax, no inheritance tax and no social security payroll tax, but there is also no totalization agreement with the US, so years worked in New Zealand earn no US Social Security credits and self-employed Americans remain liable for US self-employment tax. GST is 15 percent on almost everything.

Consumption tax lands differently

15% VAT is already inside the shelf price in New Zealand. The US average sales tax of 7.5% is added at the till and varies by state and city. Comparing the two rates directly overstates the gap you feel at the counter.

National averages hide the city you would live in

Every figure here is a national average. Wellington does not price like the rest of New Zealand, and the US average is stretched between Manhattan and rural Ohio. Compare the city you would actually move to against the city you are actually leaving.

The exchange rate is a live variable

Local prices and salaries are converted to US dollars so the two columns can be compared. Everything on the New Zealand side is quoted in New Zealand dollar at home, so a swing in the NZD to USD rate moves every number in that column without anything local actually changing.

Nothing here prices the move itself

Shipping, flights, a deposit on a first lease, visa fees and the months before local income starts are one-off costs that sit outside a cost of living index. They usually decide the first year, not the price of groceries.

This page is reference information, not immigration, tax or medical advice. The tax and healthcare rows are deliberately simplified. Verify anything you plan to act on against the official sources: New Zealand tax authority → · health authority →

The call

New Zealand suits Americans who can arrive with a skilled job offer or a partner who is already a citizen, and who will accept average full-time earnings roughly 18 percent below the US full-time median, and a far larger cut in the high-paying professions, in exchange for cheap healthcare, low-cost schooling and short commutes. It is a poor fit for anyone hoping to buy their way in cheaply, retire on a modest fixed income, or keep a high-earning US career at US pay.

New Zealand suits you if

  • Skilled workers with a Green List occupation or a job offer from an accredited employer
  • Families who want free public schooling and near-free children's healthcare
  • Partners and spouses of New Zealand citizens and residents
  • Outdoor-focused people who value short commutes and easy access to mountains and coast
  • New arrivals with foreign investment income, who get roughly four tax-free years on it

Think twice about

  • Salaries are far below US levels for the same job, especially in tech, law, medicine and finance
  • Housing is expensive relative to local incomes, and older rentals are cold and poorly insulated
  • There is no retirement visa, and no cheap residence-by-investment route
  • Public hospital waiting lists for non-urgent surgery are long, which is why many locals buy private cover
  • Foreign investment fund rules can tax your US brokerage portfolio on a deemed return once the four-year exemption ends
  • Distance and cost of flights make visiting family in the US a major annual expense

Go deeper on New Zealand

This page only compares. The country guide explains how each of these systems works and what you have to do about it.

Moving to New Zealand from the USThe full guide: 8 residence routes, taxes, healthcare and practical setup.Cost of living in New ZealandCategory-by-category price levels, rent and a worked monthly budget.Visas & residency in New ZealandEvery route a US citizen can actually use, with costs and official links.Taxes in New ZealandResidency triggers, the US filing obligation, treaties and FEIE.Healthcare in New ZealandHow the system works, what foreigners can access, what cover costs.

Other comparisons to read next

Ranked by how closely their price levels across rent, groceries, dining, transport and utilities track New Zealand, not by how close the headline index is.

US vs the NetherlandsIndex 88 · $1,640 centre rent · $3,950 net payUS vs the UKIndex 92 · $2,370 centre rent · $3,566 net payUS vs AustraliaIndex 100 · $1,675 centre rent · $4,996 net pay

All US vs country comparisons →

Sources and review

Every figure for New Zealand on this page comes from the sources below. The US baseline is held in one place site-wide and reviewed alongside them, so the same comparison run on another country page means the same thing.

What these numbers are. The headline figures were re-derived from primary sources during review. Some category indices could not be matched to a published statistic and are reasoned estimates, marked as such in the list below. Where a source entry says a value is derived, estimated or crowd-sourced, that is exactly what it is: no international body publishes a like-for-like index for every category, and private insurance premiums are not published at all in most countries. Rent figures are national market averages, so a capital city will run above them. How the dataset is built.

  1. OECD, Monthly comparative price levels (private consumption, USA = 100), July 2026: New Zealand 87 (verified in the returned dataset alongside Canada 87, United Kingdom 92 and Australia 100). Retrieved from the OECD SDMX API, dataflow OECD.SDD.TPS,DSD_PPP_M@DF_PP_CPL_M. — accessed September 4, 2026
  2. OECD, PPP detailed results: price level indices by analytical category, 2024, USA = 100. New Zealand: food and non-alcoholic beverages 102, housing/water/electricity/gas/other fuels 105, transport 92, restaurants and hotels 103, health 45.6, education 45.1, household final consumption expenditure 90.8. Category indices in this profile are rescaled by 0.958 (the ratio of the July 2026 monthly index of 87 to the 2024 household consumption index of 90.8) to align with the current exchange rate. Retrieved from dataflow OECD.SDD.TPS,DSD_PPP@DF_PPP_CPL. — accessed September 4, 2026
  3. Tenancy Services (MBIE), Market rent tool, bonds lodged 1 January to 30 June 2026. City-centre one-bedroom apartment median weekly rent: Auckland Central NZD $440 (6,108 active bonds), Christchurch Central NZD $420 (406), Dunedin Central NZD $400 (243), Wellington Central NZD $370 (265), Hamilton Central NZD $360 (61). Bond-weighted city-centre average NZD $434 per week. Outside the centre, the same tool across 13 suburban areas of Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch (Mount Roskill, Papatoetoe, Mount Eden, New Lynn, Onehunga, Takapuna, Manukau, Karori, Newtown, Johnsonville, Riccarton, Addington, Papanui) gives a bond-weighted one-bedroom apartment and flat median of NZD $427 per week across 2,877 bonds. Three Christchurch flat categories with medians of NZD $104 to $168 were excluded as room-share records rather than whole-dwelling rents. — accessed September 4, 2026
  4. Tenancy Services (MBIE), Rental bond data, detailed monthly by region, June 2026: national median weekly rent NZD $595, geometric mean NZD $564, across 520,662 active bonds. The detailed quarterly file (Q1 2020 to Q3 2026) gives national one-bedroom medians for the quarter ended 30 June 2026 of NZD $460 a week for apartments and NZD $395 for flats. — accessed September 4, 2026
  5. Stats NZ, Labour market statistics: June 2026 quarter (released 5 August 2026). Quarterly Employment Survey Table 7, average weekly earnings including overtime for full-time equivalent employees: total NZD $1,729.95 (private sector $1,641.53, public sector $2,061.68). Average ordinary time hourly earnings NZD $44.62. Seasonally adjusted unemployment rate 5.6 percent, up from 5.4 percent in the March 2026 quarter. — accessed September 4, 2026
  6. Stats NZ, National population estimates: at 30 June 2026. Provisional estimated resident population 5,357,300, up 36,400 (0.7 percent) over the year. — accessed September 4, 2026
  7. Inland Revenue (IRD), Tax rates for individuals, from 1 April 2025: 10.5% to NZD $15,600, 17.5% to $53,500, 30% to $78,100, 33% to $180,000, 39% above. Net salary in this profile is NZD $89,957 gross (52 x $1,729.95) less NZD $19,563 income tax and NZD $1,572 ACC earners' levy, giving NZD $5,735 per month, or USD $3,392 at 0.5915. — accessed September 4, 2026
  8. ACC, Understanding levies if you work or own a business: earners' levy NZD $1.52 per $100 of liable income excluding GST, equal to about 1.75 percent including 15 percent GST. ACC applies minimum and maximum liable income thresholds, so very high earners pay less than 1.75 percent of total pay. — accessed September 4, 2026
  9. Inland Revenue (IRD), Tax residency status for individuals: 183-day rule with backdating, permanent place of abode test, and the 325-day rule for ceasing residence. — accessed September 4, 2026
  10. Inland Revenue (IRD), Temporary tax exemption for transitional tax residents: about four years of exemption on most foreign income for new tax residents not resident in the previous 10 years; overseas employment income and personal services performed overseas are excluded; applying for Working for Families ends it early. — accessed September 4, 2026
  11. Inland Revenue (IRD), GST: charged at a rate of 15 percent on most goods and services, including imports. — accessed September 4, 2026
  12. IRS, New Zealand tax treaty documents: 1982 income tax convention, 2008 protocol and 2008 technical explanation. — accessed September 4, 2026
  13. IRS, Totalization agreements. The page does not itself list the countries; it directs readers to the Social Security Administration's list of US international social security agreements, which covers about 30 countries and does not include New Zealand. New Zealand work years therefore earn no US Social Security credits. — accessed September 4, 2026
  14. Health New Zealand (Te Whatu Ora), Eligibility for publicly funded healthcare: residence class visa, or a work visa allowing a stay of two years or more counted from your first day in New Zealand; ACC can fund treatment for accidental injury regardless of residency status. — accessed September 4, 2026
  15. Health New Zealand (Te Whatu Ora), Zero fees for under-14s: free daytime GP visits and free prescriptions for eligible children aged 13 and under at participating practices; everyone else pays a standard NZD $5 prescription co-payment per medicine. — accessed September 4, 2026
  16. Southern Cross Health Society, our plans (HealthEssentials, Wellbeing One and Two, UltraCare, KiwiCare, RegularCare). Premiums are quote-based and not published on the site, and no New Zealand government or OECD series publishes an average individual health insurance premium. The USD $95 per month in this profile is therefore an indicative estimate for a working-age adult on a mainstream surgical and specialist plan, not a verified published price, and it is the one figure in this profile not traceable to a primary source. Because a structured field on the page rests on an estimate rather than a published series, data_confidence for this country is set to medium rather than high. — accessed September 4, 2026
  17. Immigration New Zealand, Accredited Employer Work Visa: up to 5 years based on the job offered, from NZD $1,540, can lead to a resident visa. — accessed September 4, 2026
  18. Immigration New Zealand, Straight to Residence Visa: Green List Tier 1 job or job offer with an accredited employer, aged 55 or younger, at least NZD $35.00 an hour where no higher rate is specified, from NZD $6,450, 80 percent processed within 3 months, Permanent Resident Visa after 2 years. — accessed September 4, 2026
  19. Immigration New Zealand, Skilled Migrant Category Resident Visa: six-point system with 3 to 6 points from qualifications, occupational registration or income plus up to 3 for New Zealand work experience, aged 55 or younger, from NZD $6,450. Expressions of interest are open and free to submit. — accessed September 4, 2026
  20. Immigration New Zealand, Active Investor Plus Visa: applications are open. Growth NZD $5 million over 36 months with 21 days required in New Zealand; Balanced NZD $10 million over 60 months with 105 days, reducible by up to 42 days with additional Growth-category investment. Fee from NZD $27,470. — accessed September 4, 2026
  21. Immigration New Zealand, USA Working Holiday Visa: ages 18 to 30, up to 12 months, at least NZD $4,200 in funds and full medical insurance for the length of stay required, fee from NZD $770. — accessed September 4, 2026
  22. Immigration New Zealand, Working Holiday Extension Work Visa: a further 3 months, available only after at least 3 months of seasonal planting, maintaining, harvesting or packing work in the horticulture or viticulture industry. — accessed September 4, 2026
  23. Immigration New Zealand, Visitor Visa: up to 9 months in an 18-month period, from NZD $441, and you may work remotely for a business overseas. — accessed September 4, 2026
  24. Immigration New Zealand, NZeTA: from NZD $17, valid 2 years for travellers, allows stays of up to 3 months per visit; visitors must show at least NZD $1,000 a month, or NZD $400 a month if accommodation is already paid for. — accessed September 4, 2026
  25. Immigration New Zealand, Partner of a New Zealander Resident Visa: at least 12 months living together required, fee from NZD $5,360, 80 percent processed within 7 months, Permanent Resident Visa after 2 years. — accessed September 4, 2026
  26. MBIE, Electricity cost and price monitoring: method page for the Quarterly Survey of Domestic Electricity Prices. The survey models a typical New Zealand household consuming about 22 kWh a day (8,000 kWh a year) on a low-user tariff, using electricity for water heating, with GST and the line charge component included and prompt payment discounts claimed. This 8,000 kWh figure is the national household consumption assumption used for the electricity leg of the utilities index below. — accessed September 4, 2026
  27. MBIE, Quarterly Survey of Domestic Electricity Prices to 15 May 2026: New Zealand national average residential retail price 42.0 cents per kWh including GST (lines component 16.8, energy and other costs 25.2). At the survey's own 8,000 kWh a year this is NZD $3,360 a year, NZD $280.00 a month, USD $165.62 at 0.5915. In the modal New Zealand dwelling this single bill also carries space heating (heat pumps and electric heaters) and water heating, so it is the electricity-and-heating leg of the utilities basket. — accessed September 4, 2026
  28. Watercare (Auckland Council's water utility), Residential water services and wastewater charges and IGC, 2026-2027, effective 1 July 2026: water NZD $2.46 per 1,000 litres including GST; wastewater volumetric NZD $4.28 per 1,000 litres including GST charged on 78.5 percent of metered water use; fixed wastewater charge NZD $355.90 per meter per year including GST. Applied to the consumption assumption in the next source, this is NZD $135.31 a month (water $44.66, wastewater volumetric $60.99, fixed $29.66), USD $80.03 at 0.5915. — accessed September 4, 2026
  29. Watercare, 'Auckland water and wastewater prices to increase by 9.5% from 1 July 2023': the release states that the 9.5 percent rise meant 'households with average water use will pay about $2.20 more per week', implying an average household water and wastewater bill of about NZD $23.16 a week before the rise, on the same GST-exclusive basis as the tariffs quoted alongside it. Solving that against the 2023-24 tariffs (water $1.998 and wastewater $3.476 per 1,000 litres, wastewater billed on 78.5 percent of water use, fixed charge $289 a year) gives an average household use of about 4,190 litres a week, roughly 218 cubic metres a year or 18.15 a month. Watercare's earlier 5 April 2022 release, where a 7 percent rise added 'around $1.50 more per week', independently implies the same average bill to within about 1 percent. That 218 cubic metres a year is the consumption assumption used for the water and wastewater leg of the utilities index. — accessed September 4, 2026
  30. US EIA, Electric Power Monthly Table 5.6.B: US average residential retail price 18.16 cents per kWh, year to date through June 2026, up from 16.91 cents a year earlier. — accessed September 4, 2026
  31. US EIA, FAQ: how much electricity does an American home use. The average US residential utility customer used 10,791 kWh in 2022, about 899 kWh a month, which at 18.16 cents is about USD $163 a month. New Zealand households buy about a quarter less electricity than American ones but pay roughly 37 percent more per kilowatt hour, so the two electricity bills land within a few dollars of each other; the gap in the utilities index comes from water and wastewater, not from power. — accessed September 4, 2026
  32. Utilities index derivation (utilities_index_vs_us = 117). Typical monthly household bill for electricity, heating, water and refuse, converted to USD and indexed against a US monthly equivalent of USD $210 for the same basket. Electricity and heating: NZD $280.00 a month, from MBIE's national average of 42.0 cents per kWh including GST at MBIE's own typical-household consumption of 8,000 kWh a year; because most New Zealand homes heat and heat water with electricity, this one bill covers the heating leg too. Water and wastewater: NZD $135.31 a month, from Watercare's 2026-27 residential tariffs at an average household use of 218 cubic metres a year derived from Watercare's own published average-bill statements. Total NZD $415.31 a month, USD $245.65 at 0.5915, giving 245.65 / 210 x 100 = 117. Two caveats. Kerbside refuse collection is not billed to New Zealand households as a utility: it is funded through council rates, which the property owner pays and which are bundled into rent, so no separate refuse line is added here and the index is if anything a slight understatement against a US basket that includes a trash bill. Water is metered and billed to the occupier in Auckland, about a third of the country; in Wellington, Christchurch and most other centres water is also funded through rates and therefore bundled into rent, so the Auckland figure is used as the like-for-like whole-of-basket cost rather than the unbundled tenant-only part. No crowd-sourced pricing is used. — accessed September 4, 2026
  33. US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Usual weekly earnings of wage and salary workers: median usual weekly earnings of the 120.9 million US full-time wage and salary workers were USD $1,251 in the second quarter of 2026. Used as the US comparator for New Zealand's NZD $1,730 (USD $1,023) average weekly earnings for full-time equivalent employees. — accessed September 4, 2026
  34. Federal Reserve, H.10 Foreign Exchange Rates (release of 31 August 2026): NZD 0.5915 US dollars per New Zealand dollar on 28 August 2026. All NZD to USD conversions in this profile use this rate. Weekly rents are converted to monthly by multiplying by 52 and dividing by 12. — accessed September 4, 2026
  35. World Bank, International Comparison Program: PPP conversion factor for household final consumption in New Zealand 1.5291 NZD per international dollar in 2025, against an average market rate of 1.7201 NZD per USD, an independent price level check of about 89 against the US at 100. — accessed September 4, 2026

Nathan Brooks · Editor, Your New Country

Nathan builds and maintains the Your New Country dataset, reconciling figures from the OECD, Eurostat, the World Bank and national statistics offices, and reading each country’s immigration and tax guidance at the source before it is published.

  • Reads each country’s immigration, tax and health guidance in the original official source rather than in secondary coverage
  • Reconciles every published figure against OECD, Eurostat, World Bank and national statistics releases on a quarterly cycle
  • Publishes the derivation and the access date beside each number, and marks estimates as estimates

Data reviewed September 4, 2026 · source confidence: medium ·methodology