Cost of living comparison
compared to
California vs. Melbourne Cost of Living Summary
California is 10.8% more expensive than Melbourne.
- Restaurants
-
pay 5.6% more in California
- Groceries
-
pay 22.3% more in California
- Transportation
-
pay 2.5% more in California
- Housing
-
pay 48.1% more in California
- Childcare
-
pay 8.3% more in California
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 1.6% more in California
- Clothing
-
pay 13.1% less in California
The cost of housing, groceries, childcare, restaurants, transportation, and entertainment and sports in California are more expensive than in Melbourne.
California vs. Melbourne Cost Breakdown
If you lived in California instead of Melbourne, you would:
pay 5.6% more for restaurants
|
Melbourne
|
California
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$19.63
A$29.50
|
$21.84
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$10.47
A$15.73
|
$12.33
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.69
A$4.05
|
$2.79
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.43
A$3.65
|
$2.17
|
|
Melbourne vs. California - Cost of restaurants
pay 22.3% more for groceries
|
Melbourne
|
California
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$2.73
A$4.11
|
$4.20
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$4.60
A$6.91
|
$6.77
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$6.19
A$9.31
|
$4.73
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$5.43
A$8.16
|
$5.14
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$4.11
A$6.18
|
$6.05
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.52
A$2.28
|
$2.30
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.36
A$2.04
|
$0.92
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.40
A$2.10
|
$1.91
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.87
A$2.82
|
$2.38
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.29
A$1.94
|
$1.50
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.11
A$1.67
|
$1.41
|
|
Melbourne vs. California - Cost of groceries
pay 2.5% more for transportation
|
Melbourne
|
California
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.42
A$6.65
|
$4.72
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$122.33
A$183.90
|
$63.04
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$29,060.36
A$43,686.64
|
$30,529.84
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$14.62
A$21.98
|
$21.43
|
|
Melbourne vs. California - Cost of transportation
pay 48.1% more for housing
|
Melbourne
|
California
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$51.49
A$77.40
|
$67.96
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,557.21
A$2,340.97
|
$2,385.40
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,186.33
A$1,783.41
|
$2,043.56
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$127.27
A$191.33
|
$171.94
|
|
Melbourne vs. California - Cost of housing
pay 8.3% more for childcare
|
Melbourne
|
California
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,960.54
A$2,947.29
|
$1,633.13
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$22,736.38
A$34,179.76
|
$30,339.97
|
|
Melbourne vs. California - Cost of childcare
pay 1.6% more for entertainment and sports
|
Melbourne
|
California
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$7.85
A$11.80
|
$7.31
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$3.69
A$5.55
|
$5.58
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$32.71
A$49.17
|
$10.92
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$49.01
A$73.67
|
$68.02
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$16.35
A$24.59
|
$14.99
|
|
Melbourne vs. California - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 13.1% less for clothing
|
Melbourne
|
California
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$70.24
A$105.59
|
$56.47
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$53.21
A$80.00
|
$40.47
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$107.56
A$161.70
|
$87.50
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$109.31
A$164.33
|
$119.94
|
|
Melbourne vs. California - 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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