Cost of living comparison
compared to
California vs. Australia Cost of Living Summary
California is 29.1% more expensive than Australia overall.
California vs. Australia Cost Breakdown
If you lived in California instead of Australia, you would:
pay 17.9% more for restaurants
|
Australia
|
California
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$18.42
A$26.81
|
$22.31
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$10.19
A$14.83
|
$12.78
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.88
A$4.19
|
$2.96
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.33
A$3.39
|
$2.26
|
|
Australia vs. California - Cost of restaurants
pay 24.5% more for groceries
|
Australia
|
California
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$2.64
A$3.84
|
$4.33
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$4.67
A$6.80
|
$7.51
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$6.28
A$9.14
|
$4.92
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.79
A$6.97
|
$5.18
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$4.19
A$6.10
|
$6.10
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.62
A$2.35
|
$2.32
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.32
A$1.92
|
$0.94
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.35
A$1.97
|
$2.02
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.06
A$3.00
|
$2.60
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.19
A$1.73
|
$1.61
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.05
A$1.53
|
$1.39
|
|
Australia vs. California - Cost of groceries
pay 5.2% more for transportation
|
Australia
|
California
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.98
A$7.25
|
$5.53
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$91.09
A$132.57
|
$64.45
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$27,191.77
A$39,574.68
|
$35,604.61
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$17.22
A$25.07
|
$20.97
|
|
Australia vs. California - Cost of transportation
pay 71.6% more for housing
|
Australia
|
California
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$57.16
A$83.18
|
$69.16
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,309.09
A$1,905.24
|
$2,414.89
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,073.97
A$1,563.04
|
$2,061.17
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$146.37
A$213.03
|
$172.98
|
|
Australia vs. California - Cost of housing
pay 19.0% more for childcare
|
Australia
|
California
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,957.92
A$2,849.54
|
$1,659.26
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$18,377.12
A$26,745.91
|
$30,706.19
|
|
Australia vs. California - Cost of childcare
pay about the same for entertainment and sports
|
Australia
|
California
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$7.20
A$10.48
|
$7.15
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$3.95
A$5.75
|
$5.63
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$36.89
A$53.69
|
$11.42
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$56.05
A$81.58
|
$65.06
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$14.44
A$21.01
|
$15.07
|
Australia vs. California - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 13.6% less for clothing
|
Australia
|
California
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$77.86
A$113.32
|
$58.89
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$53.33
A$77.62
|
$43.96
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$112.59
A$163.87
|
$91.63
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$118.82
A$172.93
|
$130.37
|
|
Australia vs. California - Cost of clothing
We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated November 2026). How we calculate this
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Compare countries by overall cost of living
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cost of living in Australia vs. United States.
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