Cost of living comparison
compared to
Toronto vs. Cairns Cost of Living Summary
Toronto is 3.4% cheaper than Cairns.
Toronto vs. Cairns Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Toronto instead of Cairns, you would:
pay 13.7% less for restaurants
|
Cairns
|
Toronto
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$17.41
A$25.04
|
$17.53
CA$24.82
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$12.53
A$18.03
|
$10.52
CA$14.89
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$3.20
A$4.61
|
$2.08
CA$2.94
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.70
A$3.88
|
$1.71
CA$2.42
|
|
Cairns vs. Toronto - Cost of restaurants
pay 19.2% less for groceries
|
Cairns
|
Toronto
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$2.70
A$3.89
|
$2.74
CA$3.88
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$4.64
A$6.68
|
$4.56
CA$6.46
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$7.13
A$10.26
|
$9.44
CA$13.37
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$5.22
A$7.51
|
$3.54
CA$5.01
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$6.21
A$8.94
|
$5.16
CA$7.30
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.86
A$2.67
|
$1.68
CA$2.38
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.26
A$1.82
|
$0.54
CA$0.76
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.63
A$2.35
|
$1.59
CA$2.25
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.63
A$3.78
|
$1.95
CA$2.76
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.14
A$1.65
|
$0.82
CA$1.17
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.14
A$1.65
|
$0.73
CA$1.04
|
|
Cairns vs. Toronto - Cost of groceries
pay 51.6% more for transportation
|
Cairns
|
Toronto
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.78
A$6.88
|
$4.68
CA$6.62
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$15.32
A$22.04
|
$109.41
CA$154.90
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$30,929.08
A$44,495.87
|
$27,760.48
CA$39,301.90
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$18.17
A$26.14
|
$12.80
CA$18.12
|
|
Cairns vs. Toronto - Cost of transportation
pay 3.7% more for housing
|
Cairns
|
Toronto
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$66.14
A$95.16
|
$47.87
CA$67.77
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,444.70
A$2,078.40
|
$1,584.56
CA$2,243.34
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,219.81
A$1,754.87
|
$1,416.89
CA$2,005.96
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$124.23
A$178.72
|
$92.23
CA$130.57
|
|
Cairns vs. Toronto - Cost of housing
pay 18.1% less for childcare
|
Cairns
|
Toronto
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$2,075.49
A$2,985.89
|
$824.14
CA$1,166.78
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$13,924.80
A$20,032.81
|
$23,500.21
CA$33,270.42
|
|
Cairns vs. Toronto - Cost of childcare
pay 19.4% less for entertainment and sports
|
Cairns
|
Toronto
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$6.96
A$10.02
|
$6.31
CA$8.94
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$4.35
A$6.26
|
$3.97
CA$5.62
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$44.55
A$64.09
|
$14.03
CA$19.86
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$44.56
A$64.10
|
$38.35
CA$54.29
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$13.92
A$20.03
|
$12.62
CA$17.87
|
|
Cairns vs. Toronto - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 30.4% less for clothing
|
Cairns
|
Toronto
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$90.28
A$129.88
|
$51.64
CA$73.11
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$71.94
A$103.50
|
$39.51
CA$55.94
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$123.00
A$176.96
|
$98.10
CA$138.88
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$130.55
A$187.81
|
$122.24
CA$173.06
|
|
Cairns vs. Toronto - 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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