Canberra vs Sydney - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated: October 10, 2024

	Canberra	Sydney
🚶 Cost of living one person	$2393	$2801
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family	$5235	$6767
🏠 One person rent	$1495	$1663
🏘️ Family rent	$2245	$3057
🍽️ Food expenses	$618	$569
🚐 Transport expenses	$133	$410
💳 Monthly salary after tax	$3763	$4399
😷 Air quality	Excellent	Excellent
✈️ Airport proximity	6 km	9 km
🎓 Higher education	30	99
😀 Quality of life	83	99
🏙️ Population	381K	4.84M

The cost of living in Canberra is 15% less expensive than in Sydney. Cities ranked 929th and 312th ($2393 vs $2801) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 5th and 1st in Australia.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 1.6 months in Canberra compared to 1.6 months in Sydney. Ranked 8th vs 2nd best cities to live in Australia, and 393rd vs 4th among the best cities to live in the world.

Salary adjustment calculator
the estimated difference in money purchasing power

Cost of living in Canberra vs Sydney infographic

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<img src="https://livingcost.org/assets/photo/cost/canberra/sydney.jpg" alt="Cost of living in Canberra vs Sydney infographic" style="max-width: 100%; height: auto;"><p>Source: <a href="https://livingcost.org/cost/canberra/sydney" target="_blank">Canberra vs Sydney - Cost of Living Comparison</a></p>

Prices in Canberra vs Sydney

Prices for goods and services in Canberra and Sydney are partly crowdsourced by our visitors, just like yourself. Please consider telling us about your city.

	Canberra	Sydney
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu	$20.1	$15.3
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2	$84.9	$70.6
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's	$9.85	$10.3
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$7.11	$7.41
☕ Cappuccino	$3.72	$3.54
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz	$2.92	$2.66
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$1584	$1992
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$1222	$1372
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$2518	$4038
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$1831	$2523
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$141	$114
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$217	$177
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited	$59.6	$53.8
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years	6.35%	6.38%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$7663	$16279
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$5992	$9905
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket	$3.32	$3.46
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport	$107	$143
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi	$17.7	$29.6
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal	$1.38	$1.4
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt	$1.58	$1.71
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb	$2.44	$2.86
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.24	$2.52
🥚 Eggs, x12	$4.89	$4.82
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$12.3	$12.5
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$9.41	$8.94
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$16.6	$15
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$3.62	$3.42
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$3.11	$2.92
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$3.61	$3.22
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$4.94	$4.5
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.69	$2.54
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.6	$2.32
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt	$1.59	$0.98
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz	$2.14	$2.43
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle	$17.1	$14.1
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$5.09	$5.08
🚬 Cigarette pack	$27.7	$29.8
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week	$4.79	$6.92
🧴 Hair Shampoo	$4.68	$5.48
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls	$2.46	$2.83
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube	$2.07	$2.9
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month	$60.9	$58.7
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person	$14	$16.9
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit	$51.6	$67.7
💇 Haircut, simple	$18.3	$20.8
👖 Brand Jeans	$87	$78.9
👟 Brand Sneakers	$125	$117
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month	$1893	$2054
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year	$15472	$18951

Cost of living in other countries

Cost of living

Cost of Living in the nearest cities

Cities near Canberra

Distance	City	Cost of living
81 km or 50 mi	Goulburn	$1748
161 km or 100 mi	Wagga Wagga	$1628
187 km or 116 mi	Wollongong	$1532
212 km or 132 mi	Bathurst	$1674
223 km or 139 mi	Orange	$1500
235 km or 146 mi	Blacktown	$1732
238 km or 148 mi	Parramatta	$2472
243 km or 151 mi	Kellyville	$1997
247 km or 154 mi	Sydney	$2801
261 km or 162 mi	Dee Why	$2286
303 km or 188 mi	Griffith	$1746
341 km or 212 mi	Dubbo	$1815
357 km or 222 mi	Shepparton	$1717
358 km or 222 mi	Newcastle	$1833
397 km or 246 mi	Traralgon	$1829
448 km or 278 mi	Pakenham	$1805
454 km or 282 mi	Berwick	$1800
459 km or 285 mi	Dandenong	$1876
464 km or 288 mi	Cranbourne	$1738
466 km or 289 mi	South Yarra	$1758
466 km or 290 mi	Bendigo	$1397
466 km or 290 mi	Melbourne	$2397
470 km or 292 mi	Sunbury	$1822
477 km or 297 mi	Frankston	$1799
485 km or 302 mi	Melton	$1795
488 km or 303 mi	Tarneit	$1757
489 km or 304 mi	Hoppers Crossing	$1767
531 km or 330 mi	Geelong	$1892
535 km or 332 mi	Ballarat	$1357
554 km or 344 mi	Port Macquarie	$1661
583 km or 362 mi	Armidale	$1289
649 km or 403 mi	Mildura	$1816
669 km or 415 mi	Coffs Harbour	$1913
684 km or 425 mi	Warrnambool	$1697
698 km or 434 mi	Devonport	$1900
706 km or 438 mi	Launceston	$1798
796 km or 495 mi	Mount Gambier	$1788
852 km or 529 mi	Byron Bay	$1958
858 km or 533 mi	Hobart	$2265
902 km or 560 mi	Toowoomba	$1635

Cities near Sydney

Distance	City	Cost of living
15 km or 9.2 mi	Dee Why	$2286
19 km or 12 mi	Parramatta	$2472
29 km or 18 mi	Kellyville	$1997
29 km or 18 mi	Blacktown	$1732
69 km or 43 mi	Wollongong	$1532
117 km or 73 mi	Newcastle	$1833
158 km or 98 mi	Bathurst	$1674
168 km or 104 mi	Goulburn	$1748
205 km or 127 mi	Orange	$1500
247 km or 154 mi	Canberra	$2393
301 km or 187 mi	Dubbo	$1815
314 km or 195 mi	Port Macquarie	$1661
377 km or 234 mi	Armidale	$1289
378 km or 235 mi	Wagga Wagga	$1628
436 km or 271 mi	Coffs Harbour	$1913
478 km or 297 mi	Griffith	$1746
597 km or 371 mi	Shepparton	$1717
624 km or 388 mi	Byron Bay	$1958
638 km or 396 mi	Traralgon	$1829
683 km or 425 mi	Gold Coast	$2300
689 km or 428 mi	Southport	$2141
695 km or 432 mi	Pakenham	$1805
701 km or 436 mi	Berwick	$1800
706 km or 439 mi	Bendigo	$1397
706 km or 439 mi	Toowoomba	$1635
707 km or 439 mi	Dandenong	$1876
711 km or 442 mi	Ipswich	$1877
711 km or 442 mi	Cranbourne	$1738
713 km or 443 mi	South Yarra	$1758
713 km or 443 mi	Melbourne	$2397
716 km or 445 mi	Sunbury	$1822
724 km or 450 mi	Frankston	$1799
732 km or 455 mi	Melton	$1795
733 km or 455 mi	Brisbane	$2491
735 km or 457 mi	Tarneit	$1757
736 km or 457 mi	Hoppers Crossing	$1767
775 km or 481 mi	Caboolture	$1925
778 km or 484 mi	Geelong	$1892
779 km or 484 mi	Ballarat	$1357
807 km or 502 mi	Caloundra	$1754