Australia vs United States - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

Australia United States
🚶 Cost of living one person
$2425
$2515
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$5719
$5738
🏠 One person rent
$1445
$1593
🏘️ Family rent
$2426
$2641
🍽️ Food expenses
$589
$654
🚐 Transport expenses
$239
$101
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$4122
$4433
💸 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 %
92.8%
95.3%
🎓 Higher education
98
100
😀 Quality of life
96
88
🏙️ Population
27.2M
340M

The average cost of living in Australia ($2425) is 4% less expensive than in the United States ($2515). 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 1.8 months in the United States. Ranked 4th and 21st 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
$16.4
$19.7
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$75.8
$78.4
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$11.3
$11.6
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$8.04
$6.36
 Cappuccino
$3.96
$5.38
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$2.89
$2.69
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$1653
$1682
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$1197
$1341
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$2975
$3111
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$2074
$2433
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$117
$129
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$179
$198
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$53.6
$68.4
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
5.88%
6.36%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$8768
$4955
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$6090
$3526
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$3.04
$2.34
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$97.1
$70.6
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$19.1
$17.9
 Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$1.33
$0.91
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.71
$1.11
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$2.53
$3.61
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.15
$4.52
🥚 Eggs, x12
$5.46
$4.83
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$12.1
$13.5
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$9.48
$12.3
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$15.4
$17.2
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$3.66
$5.09
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$3.13
$1.86
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$3.28
$4.5
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$4.77
$4.76
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.82
$2.87
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.46
$2.94
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.07
$1.52
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$2.75
$2.75
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$14.5
$14.8
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$4.96
$2.43
🚬 Cigarette pack
$24.5
$11
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$8.52
$10.5
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$5.44
$6.64
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$3.16
$4.55
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$3.02
$2.22
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$51.8
$52
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$15.5
$14.5
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$60.4
$123
💇 Haircut, simple
$22
$22.1
👖 Brand Jeans
$79.8
$55.1
👟 Brand Sneakers
$117
$93.8
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$2052
$1517
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$19056
$21058

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
$2496
5.35M
Sydney
$2844
5.45M
Brisbane
$2269
2.71M
Perth
$2448
2.14M
Adelaide
$2338
1.39M
Gold Coast
$2528
608K
Canberra
$2223
381K
Wollongong
$1695
262K
Sunshine Coast
$1835
284K
Ipswich
$1813
233K
Hobart
$2308
197K
Townsville
$1839
174K
Geelong
$2217
180K
Darwin
$1861
140K
Newcastle
$1997
153K
Cairns
$1695
147K
Ballarat
$1604
116K
Bunbury
$1838
75.2K
Bendigo
$1487
103K
Toowoomba
$1766
108K
Launceston
$1753
80.9K
Melton
$1906
76.3K
Rockhampton
$1635
63.2K
Hervey Bay
$1864
57.7K
Tarneit
$1822
56.4K
Blacktown
$1710
51K
Orange
$1477
41.2K
Bundaberg
$1727
70.5K
Gladstone
$1640
34.7K
Wagga Wagga
$1583
49.7K

In the United States

City Cost of living Population
New York City
$4207
8.8M
Los Angeles
$3378
3.9M
Chicago
$2822
2.75M
Houston
$2265
2.3M
San Diego
$3507
1.39M
Philadelphia
$2597
1.6M
Phoenix
$2357
1.61M
San Francisco
$4040
874K
Dallas
$2461
1.3M
San Antonio
$2063
1.43M
San Jose
$3962
1.01M
Seattle
$3154
737K
Austin
$2444
962K
Boston
$3638
676K
Washington
$3306
690K
Hempstead
$2697
793K
Fort Worth
$2219
919K
Charlotte
$2403
875K
Indianapolis
$2374
888K
Jacksonville
$2224
950K
Columbus
$2127
906K
Denver
$2791
716K
Portland
$2738
653K
Nashville
$2477
689K
Atlanta
$2617
499K
Oklahoma City
$1922
681K
Las Vegas
$2407
642K
Baltimore
$2234
586K
Sacramento
$2846
525K
Oakland
$3212
441K