Cost of living comparison

compared to

Adelaide vs. Fairfax Cost of Living Summary

Adelaide is 15.0% cheaper than Fairfax.

Restaurants
pay 7.0% less in Adelaide
Groceries
pay 15.7% less in Adelaide
Transportation
pay 6.6% more in Adelaide
Housing
pay 29.4% less in Adelaide
Childcare
pay 34.6% less in Adelaide
Clothing
pay 19.6% more in Adelaide

The cost of clothing and transportation in Adelaide are more expensive than in Fairfax. Expenses including childcare, housing, groceries, restaurants, and entertainment and sports are lower in Adelaide.

Adelaide vs. Fairfax Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Adelaide instead of Fairfax, you would:

pay 7.0% less for restaurants

 
Fairfax
Adelaide
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $19.00
 
$17.41
A$24.77
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$12.00
 
$11.70
A$16.64
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $3.17
 
$2.76
A$3.92

Improve prices ·

pay 15.7% less for groceries

 
Fairfax
Adelaide
Bread
1 loaf
$4.11
 
$2.75
A$3.91
Local cheese (8 oz) $8.53
 
$5.57
A$7.93
Milk (1 gallon) $4.27
 
$7.49
A$10.66

Improve prices ·

pay 6.6% more for transportation

 
Fairfax
Adelaide
Gasoline (1 gallon) $4.01
 
$5.22
A$7.42
Monthly public transit pass $69.57
 
$83.55
A$118.88
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $36,375.00
 
$26,937.53
A$38,328.88

Improve prices ·

pay 29.4% less for housing

 
Fairfax
Adelaide
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$77.77
 
$56.34
A$80.17
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $2,417.50
 
$1,692.64
A$2,408.42
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $1,920.00
 
$1,271.03
A$1,808.52

Improve prices ·

pay 34.6% less for childcare

 
Fairfax
Adelaide
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $1,952.38
 
$2,057.82
A$2,928.04
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $34,903.57
 
$14,149.34
A$20,132.81

Improve prices ·

pay about the same for entertainment and sports

 
Fairfax
Adelaide
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $7.00
 
$7.66
A$10.90
Cappuccino in mid-range area $6.00
 
$3.98
A$5.67
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$13.94
 
$44.55
A$63.39

Improve prices ·

pay 19.6% more for clothing

 
Fairfax
Adelaide
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$53.33
 
$71.46
A$101.68
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$55.00
 
$53.92
A$76.72
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$92.45
 
$115.83
A$164.81

Improve prices ·

We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated November 2026). How we calculate this

Share this

Compare countries by overall cost of living

See the cost of living in United States vs. Australia. This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within United States and Australia.

Help us improve these prices

MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate. Learn more

Ask the Elsewhere Community

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Adelaide or Fairfax. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.