Cost of living comparison

compared to

United States vs. Darwin Cost of Living Summary

United States is 12.4% more expensive than Darwin.

Restaurants: pay 12.7% less in United States
Groceries: pay 20.8% more in United States
Transportation: pay 16.9% more in United States
Housing: pay 2.6% more in United States
Childcare: pay 92.0% more in United States
Entertainment and Sports: pay 14.1% less in United States
Clothing: pay 18.4% less in United States

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

United States vs. Darwin Cost Breakdown

If you lived in United States instead of Darwin, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 12.7% less for restaurants

	Darwin	United States
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$19.63 A$29.55	$19.45	-0.9%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$11.78 A$17.73	$11.12	-5.6%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.75 A$4.14	$2.56	-6.9%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$3.19 A$4.80	$2.00	-37.2%
Average			-12.7%

Darwin vs. United States - Cost of restaurants

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pay 20.8% more for groceries

	Darwin	United States
Bread 1 loaf	$2.76 A$4.16	$3.56	+28.7%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.25 A$6.40	$6.50	+52.9%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.95 A$7.46	$3.97	-19.8%
Eggs 1 dozen	$4.08 A$6.14	$4.27	+4.7%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.71 A$5.58	$5.41	+45.8%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.67 A$2.51	$2.37	+41.9%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.31 A$1.96	$0.78	-40.0%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.17 A$1.76	$2.04	+74.1%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.04 A$3.07	$2.21	+8.4%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.41 A$2.12	$1.34	-4.6%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.01 A$1.52	$1.38	+37.2%
Average			+20.8%

Darwin vs. United States - Cost of groceries

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pay 16.9% more for transportation

	Darwin	United States
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.30 A$6.47	$3.41	-20.5%
Monthly public transit pass	$45.59 A$68.64	$65.85	+44.4%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$29,060.36 A$43,752.43	$32,336.38	+11.3%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$13.32 A$20.05	$17.61	+32.2%
Average			+16.9%

Darwin vs. United States - Cost of transportation

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pay 2.6% more for housing

	Darwin	United States
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$59.42 A$89.46	$68.97	+16.1%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,635.43 A$2,462.26	$1,664.59	+1.8%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,301.70 A$1,959.81	$1,416.15	+8.8%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$179.46 A$270.20	$150.19	-16.3%
Average			+2.6%

Darwin vs. United States - Cost of housing

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pay 92.0% more for childcare

	Darwin	United States
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,570.02 A$2,363.77	$1,387.27	-11.6%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$7,850.08 A$11,818.86	$23,196.46	+195.5%
Average			+92.0%

Darwin vs. United States - Cost of childcare

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pay 14.1% less for entertainment and sports

	Darwin	United States
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$6.54 A$9.85	$5.84	-10.8%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.53 A$5.32	$5.15	+45.9%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$25.19 A$37.92	$9.90	-60.7%
Monthly membership at local gym	$75.50 A$113.67	$51.45	-31.9%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$15.70 A$23.64	$13.64	-13.2%
Average			-14.1%

Darwin vs. United States - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 18.4% less for clothing

	Darwin	United States
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$79.32 A$119.42	$51.08	-35.6%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$45.79 A$68.94	$41.81	-8.7%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$103.03 A$155.12	$87.56	-15.0%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$130.83 A$196.98	$112.04	-14.4%
Average			-18.4%

Darwin vs. United States - Cost of clothing

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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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