Cost of living comparison
compared to
Massachusetts vs. Australia Cost of Living Summary
Massachusetts is 21.1% more expensive than Australia overall.
- Restaurants
-
pay 11.9% more in Massachusetts
- Groceries
-
pay 18.6% more in Massachusetts
- Transportation
-
pay 6.7% less in Massachusetts
- Housing
-
pay 61.1% more in Massachusetts
- Childcare
-
pay 29.5% more in Massachusetts
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 8.2% less in Massachusetts
- Clothing
-
pay 21.4% less in Massachusetts
Massachusetts vs. Australia Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Massachusetts instead of Australia, you would:
pay 11.9% more for restaurants
|
Australia
|
Massachusetts
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$18.42
A$26.50
|
$21.38
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$10.19
A$14.66
|
$11.97
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.88
A$4.14
|
$2.74
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.33
A$3.35
|
$2.20
|
|
Australia vs. Massachusetts - Cost of restaurants
pay 18.6% more for groceries
|
Australia
|
Massachusetts
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$2.64
A$3.80
|
$3.86
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$4.67
A$6.72
|
$7.01
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$6.28
A$9.03
|
$4.07
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.79
A$6.89
|
$4.58
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$4.19
A$6.03
|
$5.52
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.62
A$2.32
|
$2.55
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.32
A$1.90
|
$0.91
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.35
A$1.94
|
$2.13
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.06
A$2.96
|
$2.43
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.19
A$1.71
|
$1.54
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.05
A$1.51
|
$1.47
|
|
Australia vs. Massachusetts - Cost of groceries
pay 6.7% less for transportation
|
Australia
|
Massachusetts
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.98
A$7.17
|
$3.83
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$91.09
A$131.05
|
$71.50
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$27,191.77
A$39,119.22
|
$35,766.23
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$17.22
A$24.78
|
$17.36
|
|
Australia vs. Massachusetts - Cost of transportation
pay 61.1% more for housing
|
Australia
|
Massachusetts
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$57.16
A$82.23
|
$73.63
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,309.09
A$1,883.31
|
$2,181.37
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,073.97
A$1,545.05
|
$1,944.96
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$146.37
A$210.58
|
$170.22
|
|
Australia vs. Massachusetts - Cost of housing
pay 29.5% more for childcare
|
Australia
|
Massachusetts
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,957.92
A$2,816.75
|
$2,041.15
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$18,377.12
A$26,438.09
|
$29,539.47
|
|
Australia vs. Massachusetts - Cost of childcare
pay 8.2% less for entertainment and sports
|
Australia
|
Massachusetts
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$7.20
A$10.36
|
$6.35
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$3.95
A$5.68
|
$5.18
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$36.89
A$53.08
|
$12.90
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$56.05
A$80.64
|
$54.54
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$14.44
A$20.77
|
$14.30
|
|
Australia vs. Massachusetts - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 21.4% less for clothing
|
Australia
|
Massachusetts
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$77.86
A$112.01
|
$51.91
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$53.33
A$76.73
|
$36.86
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$112.59
A$161.98
|
$92.15
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$118.82
A$170.94
|
$119.99
|
|
Australia vs. Massachusetts - 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 October 2026). How we calculate this
Change currency:
Compare further: Australia vs. Massachusetts
Salary Calculator · Free tool
What salary would you need in Massachusetts?
→
Quality of Life Comparison · 3 statistics
Make 34.9% more money in Massachusetts
→
Size Comparison · See true size
Australia is about 381 times bigger than Massachusetts.
→
Moving from Australia to Massachusetts · Cost, visas & climate
Compare cost of living, salary and climate.
→
City Size Comparison · See true size
Compare the size of Sydney vs Boston
→
Compare countries by overall cost of living
See the
cost of living in Australia vs. United States.
This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within Australia and United States.
Help us improve these prices
MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate.
Learn more
Ask the Elsewhere Community
Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Massachusetts or Australia. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.