New Zealand is a comfortable, clean, and beautiful country, but quite an expensive one. Of course, everything is relative. There are many countries that are even more expensive. Nevertheless, prices here often come as a surprise to newcomers. In addition, New Zealand is considered one of the best places in the world to raise children. It’s not just our personal opinion. Many international rankings support this view, taking into account a wide range of quality-of-life factors.

So let’s try to calculate how expensive it is to raise a child from birth to adulthood in the Land of the Long White Cloud.

Different Approaches

People have different approaches and expectations when it comes to parenting, and that’s important to keep in mind. So, we’ll give an overview based on three general levels: budget, mid-range, and premium. Fortunately, there are options available.

To keep this article from becoming overly analytical, we won’t include the cost of diapers, hygiene products, and food. Those are part of a completely separate topic. And we have another article on our website specifically about the cost of living.

Read Cost of living in NZ

Here, we’ll focus on the education system and its associated costs. All prices will be in New Zealand dollars (NZD). Exchange rates vary, so please convert accordingly.

Preschool Age

Prenatal care, various parenting classes, childbirth, and postnatal care are free for citizens, residents, and those in the country on long-term work visas.

Childcare centers (early childhood education, or ECE) can accept children under the age of one if needed. From ages 3 to 5, the government provides 20 hours of free childcare per week, thanks to the ECE subsidy scheme.

Budget Option

In the budget scenario, let’s assume that parents or grandparents take care of the child until the age of 3. After that, they attend a childcare centers for only the 20 subsidized hours per week, which involves a somewhat complicated calculation system.

Even then, many kindergartens still request “voluntary” donations, which in reality aren’t always so voluntary. But let’s say you manage to secure a spot with no extra fees (which is absolutely possible). In that case, the total annual cost for childcare would be NZ$0, assuming strong involvement from caregivers throughout the preschool years.

Mid-Range Option

In this case, let’s assume the mother wants or needs to return to work. Under New Zealand law, one parent is entitled to 26 weeks of paid parental leave and an additional 26 weeks of unpaid leave.

Additional subsidies are minimal (about NZ$70 per week, depending on income), so we won’t factor them in here. In this scenario, the child starts childcare from age 1.

• For the first two years, before the ECE subsidy begins:
  NZ$200–400 per week, averaging NZ$15,000 per year.
• For the next two years, after age 3, with subsidies:
  NZ$100–300 per week, averaging NZ$10,000 per year.

Total for the full preschool period (ages 1–5): approximately NZ$50,000.

Premium Option

In this scenario, the child attends one of the top-tier kindergartens from age 1 to 5, with the longest available daily hours.
This would cost around NZ$450 per week, or roughly NZ$23,000 per year.

In addition, the child regularly participates in extracurricular activities such as enrichment classes, amusement parks, trampoline parks, nature groups, and other group activities. It is approximately NZ$150 per week. That’s about NZ$8,000 per year.

Total cost for the full preschool period: approximately NZ$124,000.

It’s also worth noting that the costs and conditions are the same for both locals and newcomers, regardless of visa type.

Read about preschool in NZ

School

Public schools in New Zealand provide free education to citizens, residents, and children of parents on work visas. It’s also worth noting that teenagers in New Zealand are legally allowed to start working part-time from the age of 13, and many actually do. By around 16, part-time jobs become common. However, this income usually serves as their personal pocket money, so we won’t include it in our calculations.

Budget Option

In the budget scenario, we’re looking at good public schools, which are free of tuition. Still, you’ll need to spend around NZ$1,000 per year on school uniforms and footwear. Maybe slightly less, but we’ll round it up. Add to that about NZ$1,000 per year for basic school activities, trips, and a minimal number of extracurricular clubs.

Total over 13 years (the full length of school education in NZ): ~NZ$26,000.

Mid-Range Option

In the mid-range scenario, even in a free public school, expenses can add up. For instance, voluntary school donations might cost around NZ$500 per year. Additionally, many parents mention that extracurricular activities (like sports, clubs, or tutoring) cost roughly NZ$5,000 per year.

Adding in uniforms and other basic expenses, the total cost over 13 years comes to approximately NZ$98,000.

Premium Option

In the premium scenario, we’re talking about private schools with stronger academic reputations. On top of all the expenses listed above, you’ll be paying a tuition fee, which increases as the child gets older. On average, private schooling in NZ costs around NZ$24,000 per year.

So, over 13 years of school: ~NZ$312,000.
Also, additional expenses from the mid-range scenario, making the total around NZ$410,000.

Note: These costs are relevant for children with Domestic Student status — those with citizenship, residency, or parents holding work visas.

For international students: Public schools charge between NZ$12,000 and NZ$20,000 per year. Private schools can cost NZ$30,000 to NZ$45,000 per year.

Read about school system in NZ

Higher education

University education in New Zealand is paid, even for domestic students. Depending on the chosen field, a degree can take between 1 to 4 years to complete. For our example, we’ll use a standard Bachelor’s degree, which typically takes 3 years.

Currently, there’s an opportunity for some students to receive their first year of university study free. After that, tuition costs average around NZ$7,000 per year. However, here’s the interesting part: students can apply for an interest-free student loan, which they begin repaying once they start working. So technically, parents may not need to contribute financially at all.

Thus, under the budget scenario, the total cost to the parent could be NZ$0.

Mid-Range Option

In the mid-range scenario, we assume that the chosen field of study is not covered by the first-year subsidy, and you’re willing to pay for your child’s university education to help them start their adult life debt-free.

This would cost approximately NZ$7,000 per year, or NZ$21,000 for a three-year Bachelor’s degree.

Premium Option

In the premium scenario, we look at more expensive fields of study. For example, medicine is one of the most costly programs in New Zealand, averaging around NZ$17,000 per year, with a longer duration before qualification.

Total cost for a full medical degree: approximately NZ$100,000 over 6 years.

Please note that these prices apply to students with New Zealand citizenship or residency.
If you’re sending a child to study in New Zealand on a student visa, the cost will depend on the institution and program:

• NZ$15,000 to NZ$40,000 per year for most degrees.
• NZ$40,000 to NZ$110,000 per year for medical and related fields.

Read about universities in NZ

Summary

Let’s summarize the total estimated costs in NZ$ of raising a child through to full professional independence, based on different financial approaches:

Once again, we haven’t included many other expenses here, as they depend heavily on personal preferences and circumstances. These include food, hygiene products, everyday clothing, gadgets and electronics, travel, private tutoring, possible separate accommodation, and so on. Please factor those in separately when calculating.

Whether this is affordable, expensive, or extremely expensive — that’s for you to decide. Also, you might even want to compare it to what you currently spend on your child’s education in your own country. Anyway, it’s worth remembering: this is an investment in your child’s future.

To New Zealand with partner and children