Cost of living comparison

compared to

Charlottesville vs. Canberra Cost of Living Summary

Charlottesville is 17.3% more expensive than Canberra.

Restaurants
pay 12.2% more in Charlottesville
Groceries
pay 82.4% more in Charlottesville
Transportation
pay 4.3% more in Charlottesville
Housing
pay 49.9% more in Charlottesville
Childcare
pay 18.3% less in Charlottesville
Entertainment and Sports
pay 2.0% more in Charlottesville
Clothing
pay 11.4% less in Charlottesville

The cost of groceries, housing, restaurants, transportation, and entertainment and sports in Charlottesville are more expensive than in Canberra. Expenses including childcare and clothing are lower in Charlottesville. Notably, groceries is significantly more expensive in Charlottesville.

Charlottesville vs. Canberra Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Charlottesville instead of Canberra, you would:

pay 12.2% more for restaurants

 
Canberra
Charlottesville
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $16.34
A$24.61
$20.00
 
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$9.81
A$14.76
$13.00
 
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $2.59
A$3.90
$2.80
 

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pay 82.4% more for groceries

 
Canberra
Charlottesville
Bread
1 loaf
$2.71
A$4.07
$3.56
 
Local cheese (8 oz) $4.99
A$7.51
$9.55
 
Milk (1 gallon) $5.50
A$8.27
$4.38
 

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pay 4.3% more for transportation

 
Canberra
Charlottesville
Gasoline (1 gallon) $4.42
A$6.65
$3.16
 
Monthly public transit pass $122.90
A$185.04
$150.00
 
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $29,041.09
A$43,723.43
$34,000.00
 

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pay 49.9% more for housing

 
Canberra
Charlottesville
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$51.97
A$78.25
$109.60
 
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $1,554.45
A$2,340.33
$1,800.00
 
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $1,160.39
A$1,747.05
$1,560.00
 

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pay 18.3% less for childcare

 
Canberra
Charlottesville
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $1,754.20
A$2,641.08
$1,433.33
 
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $13,323.22
A$20,059.06
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pay 2.0% more for entertainment and sports

 
Canberra
Charlottesville
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $6.54
A$9.84
$6.00
 
Cappuccino in mid-range area $3.41
A$5.13
$5.29
 
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$31.05
A$46.75
$8.00
 

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pay 11.4% less for clothing

 
Canberra
Charlottesville
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$69.40
A$104.48
$47.50
 
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$57.75
A$86.94
$48.33
 
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$94.06
A$141.61
$95.00
 

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The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you. We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: December 2025
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