Cost of living comparison
compared to
Cairns vs. Brisbane Cost of Living Summary
Cairns is 3.4% cheaper than Brisbane.
Cairns vs. Brisbane Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Cairns instead of Brisbane, you would:
pay 6.1% more for restaurants
|
Brisbane
|
Cairns
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$17.41
A$25.04
|
$17.41
A$25.04
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$11.14
A$16.03
|
$12.53
A$18.03
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.86
A$4.11
|
$3.20
A$4.61
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.52
A$3.62
|
$2.70
A$3.88
|
|
Brisbane vs. Cairns - Cost of restaurants
pay 7.9% more for groceries
|
Brisbane
|
Cairns
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$2.68
A$3.86
|
$2.70
A$3.89
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$4.61
A$6.63
|
$4.64
A$6.68
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$6.22
A$8.95
|
$7.13
A$10.26
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.84
A$6.96
|
$5.22
A$7.51
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$4.15
A$5.96
|
$6.21
A$8.94
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.91
A$2.75
|
$1.86
A$2.67
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.39
A$2.01
|
$1.26
A$1.82
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.34
A$1.92
|
$1.63
A$2.35
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.19
A$3.16
|
$2.63
A$3.78
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.26
A$1.82
|
$1.14
A$1.65
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.08
A$1.56
|
$1.14
A$1.65
|
|
Brisbane vs. Cairns - Cost of groceries
pay 6.9% less for transportation
|
Brisbane
|
Cairns
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$5.34
A$7.68
|
$4.78
A$6.88
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$20.89
A$30.05
|
$15.32
A$22.04
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$26,937.53
A$38,753.46
|
$30,929.08
A$44,495.87
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$17.59
A$25.30
|
$18.17
A$26.14
|
|
Brisbane vs. Cairns - Cost of transportation
pay 13.6% less for housing
|
Brisbane
|
Cairns
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$60.25
A$86.68
|
$66.14
A$95.16
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,938.39
A$2,788.64
|
$1,444.70
A$2,078.40
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,339.97
A$1,927.74
|
$1,219.81
A$1,754.87
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$120.77
A$173.74
|
$124.23
A$178.72
|
|
Brisbane vs. Cairns - Cost of housing
pay 9.5% more for childcare
|
Brisbane
|
Cairns
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,919.27
A$2,761.14
|
$2,075.49
A$2,985.89
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$12,560.73
A$18,070.39
|
$13,924.80
A$20,032.81
|
|
Brisbane vs. Cairns - Cost of childcare
pay 14.5% less for entertainment and sports
|
Brisbane
|
Cairns
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$8.35
A$12.02
|
$6.96
A$10.02
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$4.35
A$6.26
|
$4.35
A$6.26
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$38.29
A$55.09
|
$44.55
A$64.09
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$61.15
A$87.97
|
$44.56
A$64.10
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$17.41
A$25.04
|
$13.92
A$20.03
|
|
Brisbane vs. Cairns - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 23.1% more for clothing
|
Brisbane
|
Cairns
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$83.20
A$119.70
|
$90.28
A$129.88
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$44.18
A$63.56
|
$71.94
A$103.50
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$111.40
A$160.26
|
$123.00
A$176.96
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$110.82
A$159.43
|
$130.55
A$187.81
|
|
Brisbane vs. Cairns - 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
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