Australia vs China - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

Australia China
🚶 Cost of living one person
$2121
$656
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$4963
$1847
🏠 One person rent
$1235
$279
🏘️ Family rent
$2059
$535
🍽️ Food expenses
$522
$228
🚐 Transport expenses
$226
$70.2
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$3791
$843
💸 GDP per capita
$64821
$12614
😃 Human freedom index
8.8
4.93
❤️ Life expectancy
83.2
78.6
👮 Corruption perceptions index
77
43
🌐 English speaking %
92.8%
0.7%
🎓 Higher education
98
91
😀 Quality of life
95
48
🏙️ Population
26.5M
1.44B

The average cost of living in Australia ($2121) is 223% more expensive than in China ($656). Australia ranked 12th vs 153rd for China in the list of the most expensive countries in the world.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 1.8 months in Australia compared to 1.3 months in China. Ranked 3rd and 82nd best countries to live in the world.

Salary adjustment calculator
the estimated difference in money purchasing power

Cost of living in Australia vs China infographic

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Prices in Australia vs China

We calculate prices for Australia and China as a population-weighted mean of 64 and 544 cities, respectively. Since large cities tend to have a higher cost of living, it's better to visit specific city pages below for more relevant information.

Australia China
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu
$14
$3.26
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$67.8
$21.4
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$9.58
$4.96
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$7.26
$1.27
 Cappuccino
$3.38
$3.03
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$2.54
$0.48
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$1377
$307
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$1014
$213
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$2515
$637
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$1692
$427
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$101
$35.3
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$154
$54.2
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$47.8
$12
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
6.35%
4.2%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$7979
$4438
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$5396
$2622
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$2.65
$0.35
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$92
$20.9
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$19
$3.98
 Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$1.2
$1.12
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.41
$1.77
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$2.14
$1.55
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.94
$0.98
🥚 Eggs, x12
$4.4
$1.59
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$9.79
$12.3
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$8.79
$3.34
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$13.7
$10.9
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$3.11
$1.68
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.71
$1.24
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.92
$1.47
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$3.89
$1.21
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.39
$0.76
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.13
$0.9
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.96
$0.37
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$2.44
$1.18
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$12.8
$11.9
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$4.42
$0.8
🚬 Cigarette pack
$25.8
$3.27
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$6.25
$4.77
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$5.28
$4.5
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$2.83
$1.42
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$2.96
$1.62
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$46.4
$39.5
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$14.2
$6.06
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$53.9
$32.5
💇 Haircut, simple
$19.4
$5.45
👖 Brand Jeans
$73.1
$50.5
👟 Brand Sneakers
$104
$73
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$1641
$407
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$14725
$17132

Cost of living in other countries

Cost of living

Cities Comparison in Australia vs China

More countries to compare

Cost of Living in Popular cities

In Australia

City Cost of living Population
Sydney
$2539
4.84M
Melbourne
$2194
5.03M
Brisbane
$2016
2.71M
Perth
$2075
2.14M
Adelaide
$1978
1.39M
Gold Coast
$2239
608K
Canberra
$2023
381K
Wollongong
$1416
262K
Sunshine Coast
$1709
284K
Ipswich
$1677
233K
Hobart
$2106
197K
Townsville
$1667
174K
Geelong
$1981
180K
Newcastle
$1448
153K
Darwin
$1617
140K
Cairns
$1335
147K
Ballarat
$1390
116K
Bunbury
$1643
75.2K
Toowoomba
$1504
108K
Bendigo
$1291
103K
Melton
$1669
76.3K
Launceston
$1651
80.9K
Coffs Harbour
$1963
74.2K
Rockhampton
$1411
63.2K
Pakenham
$1654
54.1K
Tarneit
$1625
56.4K
Hervey Bay
$1638
57.7K
Berwick
$1643
50.3K
Frankston
$1671
37.3K
Kalgoorlie
$1440
30.8K

In China

City Cost of living Population
Shanghai
$1097
24.9M
Beijing
$1016
21.9M
Shenzhen
$916
17.7M
Chongqing
$634
32.1M
Hong Kong
$2737
7.41M
Guangzhou
$774
18.7M
Chengdu
$623
20.9M
Suzhou
$868
12.7M
Hangzhou
$805
11.9M
Tianjin
$687
13.9M
Xi'an
$587
13M
Wuhan
$656
12.3M
Baoding
$472
11.5M
Wuxi
$670
7.46M
Xuzhou
$484
9.08M
Jinhua
$587
7.05M
Nantong
$602
7.73M
Hefei
$625
9.37M
Nanjing
$746
9.31M
Qingdao
$612
10.1M
Bijie
$584
6.9M
Zhengzhou
$512
12.6M
Changchun
$573
9.07M
Ganzhou
$761
8.97M
Pudong
$984
5.68M
Guiyang
$559
5.99M
Changsha
$577
10M
Quanzhou
$644
8.78M
Dongguan
$656
10.5M
Wenzhou
$726
9.57M