Cost of living comparison
compared to
Sydney vs. Houston Cost of Living Summary
Sydney is 23.1% more expensive than Houston.
- Restaurants
-
pay 9.1% less in Sydney
- Groceries
-
pay 15.7% more in Sydney
- Transportation
-
pay 49.8% more in Sydney
- Housing
-
pay 5.7% more in Sydney
- Childcare
-
pay 17.6% more in Sydney
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 54.4% more in Sydney
- Clothing
-
pay 27.8% more in Sydney
The cost of entertainment and sports, transportation, clothing, childcare, groceries, and housing in Sydney are more expensive than in Houston.
Sydney vs. Houston Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Sydney instead of Houston, you would:
pay 9.1% less for restaurants
|
Houston
|
Sydney
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$20.00
|
$16.35
A$25.02
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$10.00
|
$9.81
A$15.01
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.76
|
$2.60
A$3.97
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.23
|
$2.00
A$3.06
|
|
Houston vs. Sydney - Cost of restaurants
pay 15.7% more for groceries
|
Houston
|
Sydney
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$3.23
|
$2.63
A$4.03
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$6.32
|
$4.92
A$7.53
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$3.44
|
$6.66
A$10.19
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.35
|
$5.21
A$7.97
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$5.20
|
$3.86
A$5.90
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.88
|
$1.46
A$2.23
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.67
|
$1.25
A$1.91
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.67
|
$1.39
A$2.12
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.12
|
$2.07
A$3.17
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.20
|
$1.10
A$1.68
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.05
|
$1.06
A$1.62
|
|
Houston vs. Sydney - Cost of groceries
pay 49.8% more for transportation
|
Houston
|
Sydney
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$2.81
|
$4.66
A$7.12
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$75.00
|
$142.21
A$217.55
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$36,278.39
|
$29,060.36
A$44,455.17
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$14.39
|
$23.55
A$36.03
|
|
Houston vs. Sydney - Cost of transportation
pay 5.7% more for housing
|
Houston
|
Sydney
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$70.76
|
$52.18
A$79.82
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,660.33
|
$2,157.42
A$3,300.32
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,287.77
|
$1,515.46
A$2,318.29
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$145.65
|
$147.91
A$226.26
|
|
Houston vs. Sydney - Cost of housing
pay 17.6% more for childcare
|
Houston
|
Sydney
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,258.33
|
$2,079.13
A$3,180.55
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$26,120.00
|
$18,278.49
A$27,961.58
|
|
Houston vs. Sydney - Cost of childcare
pay 54.4% more for entertainment and sports
|
Houston
|
Sydney
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$6.00
|
$6.54
A$10.01
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.41
|
$3.48
A$5.32
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$9.95
|
$32.71
A$50.04
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$37.29
|
$66.50
A$101.73
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$15.00
|
$13.74
A$21.02
|
|
Houston vs. Sydney - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 27.8% more for clothing
|
Houston
|
Sydney
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$45.57
|
$75.03
A$114.78
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$44.00
|
$61.01
A$93.33
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$98.95
|
$101.79
A$155.71
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$116.43
|
$122.15
A$186.87
|
|
Houston vs. Sydney - 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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