Cost of living comparison
compared to
Sydney vs. Cairns Cost of Living Summary
Sydney is 28.5% more expensive than Cairns.
Sydney vs. Cairns Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Sydney instead of Cairns, you would:
pay 5.1% less for restaurants
|
Cairns
|
Sydney
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$17.41
A$25.04
|
$17.41
A$25.04
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$12.53
A$18.03
|
$11.84
A$17.03
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$3.20
A$4.61
|
$2.81
A$4.04
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.70
A$3.88
|
$2.22
A$3.19
|
|
Cairns vs. Sydney - Cost of restaurants
pay 1.2% less for groceries
|
Cairns
|
Sydney
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$2.70
A$3.89
|
$2.85
A$4.09
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$4.64
A$6.68
|
$5.93
A$8.54
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$7.13
A$10.26
|
$6.42
A$9.24
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$5.22
A$7.51
|
$5.56
A$7.99
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$6.21
A$8.94
|
$4.34
A$6.24
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.86
A$2.67
|
$1.81
A$2.60
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.26
A$1.82
|
$1.45
A$2.09
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.63
A$2.35
|
$1.56
A$2.24
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.63
A$3.78
|
$1.98
A$2.85
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.14
A$1.65
|
$1.48
A$2.12
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.14
A$1.65
|
$1.07
A$1.54
|
|
Cairns vs. Sydney - Cost of groceries
pay 79.3% more for transportation
|
Cairns
|
Sydney
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.78
A$6.88
|
$5.40
A$7.77
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$15.32
A$22.04
|
$151.36
A$217.75
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$30,929.08
A$44,495.87
|
$28,893.97
A$41,568.07
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$18.17
A$26.14
|
$16.24
A$23.36
|
|
Cairns vs. Sydney - Cost of transportation
pay 49.6% more for housing
|
Cairns
|
Sydney
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$66.14
A$95.16
|
$56.21
A$80.87
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,444.70
A$2,078.40
|
$2,517.32
A$3,621.52
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,219.81
A$1,754.87
|
$1,743.66
A$2,508.51
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$124.23
A$178.72
|
$168.46
A$242.35
|
|
Cairns vs. Sydney - Cost of housing
pay 47.0% more for childcare
|
Cairns
|
Sydney
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$2,075.49
A$2,985.89
|
$2,195.71
A$3,158.84
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$13,924.80
A$20,032.81
|
$28,441.13
A$40,916.61
|
|
Cairns vs. Sydney - Cost of childcare
pay 20.7% more for entertainment and sports
|
Cairns
|
Sydney
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$6.96
A$10.02
|
$7.66
A$11.02
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$4.35
A$6.26
|
$3.97
A$5.72
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$44.55
A$64.09
|
$44.55
A$64.09
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$44.56
A$64.10
|
$75.28
A$108.30
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$13.92
A$20.03
|
$17.41
A$25.04
|
|
Cairns vs. Sydney - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 6.0% less for clothing
|
Cairns
|
Sydney
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$90.28
A$129.88
|
$78.68
A$113.19
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$71.94
A$103.50
|
$69.62
A$100.16
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$123.00
A$176.96
|
$111.40
A$160.26
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$130.55
A$187.81
|
$133.24
A$191.68
|
|
Cairns vs. Sydney - 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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