Cost of living comparison
compared to
Sydney vs. Lake Charles Cost of Living Summary
Sydney is 42.2% more expensive than Lake Charles.
Sydney vs. Lake Charles Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Sydney instead of Lake Charles, you would:
pay 6.2% less for restaurants
|
Lake Charles
|
Sydney
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$26.00
|
$17.41
A$25.33
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$11.00
|
$11.84
A$17.23
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.00
|
$2.81
A$4.09
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.25
|
$2.22
A$3.22
|
|
Lake Charles vs. Sydney - Cost of restaurants
pay 4.3% more for groceries
|
Lake Charles
|
Sydney
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$4.12
|
$2.85
A$4.14
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$7.78
|
$5.93
A$8.64
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$5.14
|
$6.42
A$9.34
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$5.38
|
$5.56
A$8.08
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$4.61
|
$4.34
A$6.31
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.99
|
$1.81
A$2.63
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.59
|
$1.45
A$2.12
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$0.89
|
$1.56
A$2.27
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.53
|
$1.98
A$2.88
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.96
|
$1.48
A$2.15
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.99
|
$1.07
A$1.56
|
|
Lake Charles vs. Sydney - Cost of groceries
pay 19.0% more for transportation
|
Lake Charles
|
Sydney
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.16
|
$5.40
A$7.86
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass | ?? |
$151.36
A$220.28
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$35,578.00
|
$28,893.97
A$42,052.05
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$15.43
|
$16.24
A$23.63
|
|
Lake Charles vs. Sydney - Cost of transportation
pay 81.7% more for housing
|
Lake Charles
|
Sydney
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$57.50
|
$56.21
A$81.81
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,020.00
|
$2,517.32
A$3,663.68
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$904.00
|
$1,743.66
A$2,537.71
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$200.34
|
$168.46
A$245.17
|
|
Lake Charles vs. Sydney - Cost of housing
pay 97.6% more for childcare
|
Lake Charles
|
Sydney
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,563.89
|
$2,195.71
A$3,195.62
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$10,230.00
|
$28,441.13
A$41,393.00
|
|
Lake Charles vs. Sydney - Cost of childcare
pay 64.1% more for entertainment and sports
|
Lake Charles
|
Sydney
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$5.00
|
$7.66
A$11.15
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.43
|
$3.97
A$5.78
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$8.50
|
$44.55
A$64.84
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$32.00
|
$75.28
A$109.56
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$12.00
|
$17.41
A$25.33
|
|
Lake Charles vs. Sydney - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 79.8% more for clothing
|
Lake Charles
|
Sydney
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$25.00
|
$78.68
A$114.50
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$43.07
|
$69.62
A$101.33
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$60.00
|
$111.40
A$162.13
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$120.31
|
$133.24
A$193.91
|
|
Lake Charles vs. Sydney - 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 November 2026). How we calculate this
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