Cost of living comparison
compared to
Melbourne vs. Bethesda Cost of Living Summary
Melbourne is 0.8% cheaper than Bethesda.
Melbourne vs. Bethesda Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Melbourne instead of Bethesda, you would:
pay 7.0% less for restaurants
|
Bethesda
|
Melbourne
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$22.50
|
$17.41
A$24.77
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$11.00
|
$12.27
A$17.45
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$3.00
|
$3.10
A$4.41
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.46
|
$2.49
A$3.54
|
|
Bethesda vs. Melbourne - Cost of restaurants
pay 2.7% less for groceries
|
Bethesda
|
Melbourne
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$4.23
|
$2.93
A$4.17
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$8.43
|
$5.24
A$7.46
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.47
|
$5.80
A$8.25
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.62
|
$5.48
A$7.80
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$7.14
|
$4.44
A$6.31
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.55
|
$1.84
A$2.62
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.63
|
$1.38
A$1.97
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.86
|
$1.44
A$2.05
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.90
|
$2.14
A$3.05
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.99
|
$1.36
A$1.94
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.22
|
$1.14
A$1.62
|
|
Bethesda vs. Melbourne - Cost of groceries
pay 35.2% more for transportation
|
Bethesda
|
Melbourne
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.63
|
$5.46
A$7.77
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$100.00
|
$139.25
A$198.13
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$23,000.00
|
$28,538.88
A$40,607.41
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$13.94
|
$15.56
A$22.14
|
|
Bethesda vs. Melbourne - Cost of transportation
pay 12.7% less for housing
|
Bethesda
|
Melbourne
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$62.00
|
$56.47
A$80.34
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$2,300.00
|
$1,726.11
A$2,456.05
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,666.67
|
$1,405.75
A$2,000.21
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$124.91
|
$176.73
A$251.47
|
|
Bethesda vs. Melbourne - Cost of housing
pay 11.0% more for childcare
|
Bethesda
|
Melbourne
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,597.92
|
$2,374.95
A$3,379.26
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$36,066.67
|
$29,879.04
A$42,514.29
|
|
Bethesda vs. Melbourne - Cost of childcare
pay 4.4% less for entertainment and sports
|
Bethesda
|
Melbourne
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$7.00
|
$9.75
A$13.87
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.50
|
$4.02
A$5.71
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$10.55
|
$44.55
A$63.39
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$104.00
|
$50.38
A$71.68
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$16.00
|
$15.32
A$21.79
|
|
Bethesda vs. Melbourne - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 7.1% more for clothing
|
Bethesda
|
Melbourne
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$55.33
|
$80.23
A$114.15
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$56.67
|
$49.88
A$70.98
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$102.08
|
$119.33
A$169.79
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$150.00
|
$132.46
A$188.47
|
|
Bethesda vs. Melbourne - 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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