Cost of living comparison
compared to
Canberra vs. Chicago Cost of Living Summary
Canberra is 6.6% cheaper than Chicago.
Canberra vs. Chicago Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Canberra instead of Chicago, you would:
pay 13.2% less for restaurants
|
Chicago
|
Canberra
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$21.25
|
$17.41
A$25.04
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$13.00
|
$10.44
A$15.02
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.66
|
$3.09
A$4.45
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.30
|
$2.55
A$3.67
|
|
Chicago vs. Canberra - Cost of restaurants
pay 1.5% less for groceries
|
Chicago
|
Canberra
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$3.92
|
$3.25
A$4.68
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$7.07
|
$6.48
A$9.32
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.97
|
$5.82
A$8.37
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.78
|
$5.26
A$7.56
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$6.65
|
$4.47
A$6.44
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.39
|
$1.80
A$2.58
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.89
|
$1.43
A$2.06
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.87
|
$1.59
A$2.28
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.21
|
$2.36
A$3.39
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.24
|
$1.41
A$2.03
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.23
|
$1.26
A$1.81
|
|
Chicago vs. Canberra - Cost of groceries
pay 0.5% more for transportation
|
Chicago
|
Canberra
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.66
|
$5.07
A$7.30
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$75.00
|
$92.46
A$133.02
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$36,531.00
|
$26,937.53
A$38,753.46
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$14.45
|
$16.79
A$24.16
|
|
Chicago vs. Canberra - Cost of transportation
pay 17.5% less for housing
|
Chicago
|
Canberra
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$61.13
|
$55.39
A$79.69
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$2,400.00
|
$1,743.39
A$2,508.11
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,679.31
|
$1,478.12
A$2,126.48
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$147.87
|
$139.13
A$200.16
|
|
Chicago vs. Canberra - Cost of housing
pay 0.5% less for childcare
|
Chicago
|
Canberra
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,536.88
|
$2,367.60
A$3,406.13
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$31,537.78
|
$20,280.48
A$29,176.35
|
|
Chicago vs. Canberra - Cost of childcare
pay 15.3% more for entertainment and sports
|
Chicago
|
Canberra
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$7.00
|
$8.35
A$12.02
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.70
|
$4.03
A$5.79
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$16.00
|
$44.55
A$64.09
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$53.47
|
$82.62
A$118.86
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$18.00
|
$15.67
A$22.54
|
|
Chicago vs. Canberra - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 7.4% more for clothing
|
Chicago
|
Canberra
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$66.94
|
$76.36
A$109.86
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$51.67
|
$56.12
A$80.74
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$99.58
|
$116.35
A$167.39
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$143.78
|
$131.92
A$189.79
|
|
Chicago vs. Canberra - 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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