Australia vs United States - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

Australia United States
🚶 Cost of living one person
$2363
$2454
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$5533
$5738
🏠 One person rent
$1378
$1565
🏘️ Family rent
$2308
$2755
🍽️ Food expenses
$563
$624
🚐 Transport expenses
$274
$102
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$4107
$4635
💸 GDP per capita
$64712
$81695
😃 Human freedom index
8.52
8.39
❤️ Life expectancy
83.2
77.4
👮 Corruption perceptions index
75
69
🌐 English speaking %
92.8%
95.5%
🎓 Higher education
98
100
😀 Quality of life
95
87
🏙️ Population
26.5M
332M

The average cost of living in Australia ($2363) is 4% less expensive than in the United States ($2454). Australia ranked 12th vs 10th for the United States in the list of the most expensive countries in the world.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 1.7 months in Australia compared to 1.9 months in the United States. Ranked 4th and 20th best countries to live in the world.

Salary adjustment calculator
the estimated difference in money purchasing power

Cost of living in Australia vs United States infographic

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Prices in Australia vs the United States

We calculate prices for Australia and the United States as a population-weighted mean of 64 and 2202 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 United States
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu
$15.2
$18.7
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$74.2
$75
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$10.3
$10.8
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$7.74
$6.19
 Cappuccino
$3.63
$5.13
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$2.72
$2.57
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$1488
$1641
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$1139
$1330
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$2800
$2946
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$1894
$2414
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$116
$123
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$179
$189
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$53.9
$66.1
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
6.35%
6.53%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$9162
$4710
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$6144
$3231
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$3.26
$2.37
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$117
$70
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$22.1
$18.4
 Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$1.35
$0.98
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.55
$1.08
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$2.53
$3.5
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.23
$4.35
🥚 Eggs, x12
$4.45
$3.81
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$10.6
$13
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$9.08
$11.6
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$14.6
$15.9
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$3.36
$5.03
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.86
$1.76
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$3.02
$4.51
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$4.33
$4.74
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.46
$2.81
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.19
$2.88
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.05
$1.42
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$2.61
$2.6
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$13.7
$14.4
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$4.95
$2.17
🚬 Cigarette pack
$27.5
$10.3
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$6.96
$9.41
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$5.87
$6.07
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$3.05
$4.4
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$3.25
$2.13
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$51
$51.1
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$15.1
$14.1
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$58.9
$122
💇 Haircut, simple
$20.3
$20.2
👖 Brand Jeans
$79
$52.8
👟 Brand Sneakers
$113
$89.4
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$1814
$1400
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$16573
$20224

Cost of living in other countries

Cost of living

Cities Comparison in Australia vs the United States

More countries to compare

Cost of Living in Popular cities

In Australia

City Cost of living Population
Melbourne
$2397
5.03M
Sydney
$2801
4.84M
Brisbane
$2491
2.36M
Perth
$2345
2.14M
Adelaide
$2246
1.3M
Gold Coast
$2300
608K
Canberra
$2393
381K
Wollongong
$1532
262K
Sunshine Coast
$1733
284K
Ipswich
$1877
233K
Hobart
$2265
197K
Townsville
$1303
174K
Geelong
$1892
180K
Newcastle
$1833
153K
Darwin
$1756
140K
Cairns
$1442
147K
Ballarat
$1357
116K
Bunbury
$2136
75.2K
Toowoomba
$1635
108K
Bendigo
$1397
103K
Melton
$1795
76.3K
Launceston
$1798
80.9K
Coffs Harbour
$1913
74.2K
Rockhampton
$1514
63.2K
Pakenham
$1805
54.1K
Tarneit
$1757
56.4K
Berwick
$1800
50.3K
Hervey Bay
$1835
57.7K
Frankston
$1799
37.3K
Kalgoorlie
$1571
30.8K

In the United States

City Cost of living Population
New York City
$4051
8.8M
Los Angeles
$3187
3.9M
Chicago
$2667
2.75M
Houston
$2248
2.3M
San Diego
$3346
1.39M
Phoenix
$2369
1.61M
San Jose
$3674
1.01M
Dallas
$2550
1.3M
San Francisco
$3781
874K
Philadelphia
$2541
1.6M
San Antonio
$2194
1.43M
Austin
$2473
962K
Seattle
$2908
737K
Indianapolis
$2187
888K
Hempstead
$2702
793K
Charlotte
$2615
875K
Washington
$3139
690K
Boston
$3467
676K
Fort Worth
$2195
919K
Jacksonville
$2386
950K
Columbus
$2252
906K
Denver
$2699
716K
Nashville
$2649
689K
Portland
$2572
653K
Atlanta
$2540
499K
Las Vegas
$2246
642K
Detroit
$2006
639K
Oakland
$3146
441K
El Paso
$1775
679K
Baltimore
$2223
586K