Cost of living comparison
compared to
Lake Forest vs. Canberra Cost of Living Summary
Lake Forest is 11.3% more expensive than Canberra.
- Restaurants
-
pay 21.3% more in Lake Forest
- Groceries
-
pay 34.4% more in Lake Forest
- Transportation
-
pay 2.8% more in Lake Forest
- Housing
-
pay 15.6% more in Lake Forest
- Childcare
-
pay 9.6% more in Lake Forest
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 7.1% more in Lake Forest
- Clothing
-
pay 11.7% less in Lake Forest
The cost of groceries, restaurants, housing, childcare, entertainment and sports, and transportation in Lake Forest are more expensive than in Canberra.
Lake Forest vs. Canberra Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Lake Forest instead of Canberra, you would:
pay 21.3% more for restaurants
|
Canberra
|
Lake Forest
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$16.34
A$24.57
|
$25.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$9.81
A$14.74
|
$11.50
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.59
A$3.89
|
$2.67
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.24
A$3.36
|
$2.50
|
|
Canberra vs. Lake Forest - Cost of restaurants
pay 34.4% more for groceries
|
Canberra
|
Lake Forest
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$2.71
A$4.07
|
$3.80
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$4.99
A$7.50
|
$6.22
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$5.50
A$8.26
|
$4.59
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.31
A$6.49
|
$3.75
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$4.17
A$6.27
|
$9.15
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.48
A$2.22
|
$2.90
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.35
A$2.02
|
$0.66
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.33
A$2.01
|
$1.75
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.86
A$2.80
|
$2.68
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.01
A$1.52
|
$1.75
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.04
A$1.57
|
$1.36
|
|
Canberra vs. Lake Forest - Cost of groceries
pay 2.8% more for transportation
|
Canberra
|
Lake Forest
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.42
A$6.64
|
$4.76
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$122.90
A$184.76
|
?? | |
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$29,041.09
A$43,657.68
|
$28,500.00
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$18.93
A$28.45
|
$19.41
|
|
Canberra vs. Lake Forest - Cost of transportation
pay 15.6% more for housing
|
Canberra
|
Lake Forest
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$51.97
A$78.13
|
$75.00
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,554.45
A$2,336.81
|
$1,433.33
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,160.39
A$1,744.42
|
$1,500.00
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$159.03
A$239.07
|
$153.80
|
|
Canberra vs. Lake Forest - Cost of housing
pay 9.6% more for childcare
|
Canberra
|
Lake Forest
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,754.20
A$2,637.10
|
$1,211.00
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$13,323.22
A$20,028.89
|
$20,000.00
|
|
Canberra vs. Lake Forest - Cost of childcare
pay 7.1% more for entertainment and sports
|
Canberra
|
Lake Forest
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$6.54
A$9.83
|
$9.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$3.41
A$5.12
|
$5.75
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$31.05
A$46.68
|
$9.63
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$58.70
A$88.24
|
$50.00
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$13.07
A$19.66
|
$14.75
|
|
Canberra vs. Lake Forest - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 11.7% less for clothing
|
Canberra
|
Lake Forest
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$69.40
A$104.33
|
$55.00
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$57.75
A$86.81
|
$40.75
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$94.06
A$141.40
|
$80.00
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$118.40
A$177.99
|
$140.00
|
|
Canberra vs. Lake Forest - Cost of clothing
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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