Australia vs United States - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

Australia United States
🚶 Cost of living one person
$2460
$2522
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$5814
$5757
🏠 One person rent
$1470
$1593
🏘️ Family rent
$2471
$2642
🍽️ Food expenses
$593
$656
🚐 Transport expenses
$241
$103
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$4220
$4550
💸 GDP per capita
$64604
$84534
😃 Human freedom index
8.79
8.71
❤️ Life expectancy
83.1
78.4
👮 Corruption perceptions index
76
64
🌐 English speaking %
91.1%
95.9%
🎓 Higher education
98
100
😀 Quality of life
97
88
🏙️ Population
27.2M
340M

The average cost of living in Australia ($2460) is 2% less expensive than in the United States ($2522). Australia ranked 11th vs 9th 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 1.8 months in the United States. Ranked 4th and 22nd best countries to live in the world.

Salary adjustment calculator
the estimated difference in money purchasing power

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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
$16.2
$19.8
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$75.6
$77
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$11.3
$11.7
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$8.26
$6.39
 Cappuccino
$4.03
$5.44
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$2.89
$2.76
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$1697
$1682
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$1204
$1337
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$2994
$2997
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$2097
$2414
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$117
$130
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$179
$200
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$52.7
$68.9
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
5.8%
6.16%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$8713
$4871
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$6062
$3394
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$3.01
$2.34
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$98.4
$71.1
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$18.7
$18
 Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$1.36
$1.02
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.67
$1.11
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$2.48
$3.58
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.13
$4.47
🥚 Eggs, x12
$5.54
$4.73
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$11.9
$13.2
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$9.63
$12.3
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$15.3
$17.3
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$3.82
$5.06
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$3.09
$1.82
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$3.21
$4.57
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$4.82
$4.83
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.88
$2.88
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.41
$2.97
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.05
$1.52
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$2.74
$2.75
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$14.5
$15
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$4.85
$2.45
🚬 Cigarette pack
$26.1
$11.1
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$7.91
$10.5
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$5.41
$6.66
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$3.38
$4.59
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$3.22
$2.24
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$55.3
$52.6
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$16
$14.7
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$61.5
$127
💇 Haircut, simple
$22.8
$22.1
👖 Brand Jeans
$80.5
$55.3
👟 Brand Sneakers
$116
$94.7
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$2231
$1520
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$20538
$20019

Cost of living in other countries

Cost of living

Cities Comparison in Australia vs the United States

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Cost of Living in Popular cities

In Australia

City Cost of living Population
Melbourne
$2543
5.35M
Sydney
$2844
5.45M
Brisbane
$2323
2.71M
Perth
$2562
2.14M
Adelaide
$2355
1.39M
Gold Coast
$2530
608K
Canberra
$2258
381K
Wollongong
$1695
262K
Sunshine Coast
$1838
284K
Ipswich
$1825
233K
Hobart
$2364
197K
Townsville
$2015
174K
Cairns
$1851
147K
Darwin
$2065
140K
Geelong
$2179
180K
Newcastle
$1995
153K
Launceston
$1728
80.9K
Toowoomba
$1720
108K
Ballarat
$1606
116K
Bunbury
$1831
75.2K
Bendigo
$1493
103K
Melton
$1896
76.3K
Rockhampton
$1642
63.2K
Tarneit
$1813
56.4K
Pakenham
$1936
54.1K
Hervey Bay
$1883
57.7K
Berwick
$1915
50.3K
Blacktown
$1709
51K
Orange
$1460
41.2K
Gladstone
$1643
34.7K

In the United States

City Cost of living Population
New York City
$4202
8.8M
Los Angeles
$3420
3.9M
Chicago
$2851
2.75M
Houston
$2261
2.3M
San Diego
$3486
1.39M
Philadelphia
$2597
1.6M
San Francisco
$4110
874K
Phoenix
$2423
1.61M
Dallas
$2472
1.3M
San Jose
$3957
1.01M
San Antonio
$2071
1.43M
Washington
$3350
690K
Seattle
$3183
737K
Austin
$2475
962K
Boston
$3680
676K
Fort Worth
$2259
919K
Hempstead
$2710
793K
Indianapolis
$2405
888K
Charlotte
$2470
875K
Jacksonville
$2192
950K
Columbus
$2140
906K
Denver
$2848
716K
Portland
$2785
653K
Nashville
$2451
689K
Atlanta
$2628
499K
Oklahoma City
$1931
681K
Baltimore
$2224
586K
Las Vegas
$2294
642K
Sacramento
$2682
525K
Memphis
$1917
633K