Cost of living comparison

compared to

Canberra vs. Nelson BC Cost of Living Summary

Canberra is 31.1% more expensive than Nelson BC.

Restaurants: pay 19.9% more in Canberra
Groceries: pay 32.9% more in Canberra
Transportation: pay 76.9% more in Canberra
Housing: pay 12.1% more in Canberra
Childcare: pay 24.6% more in Canberra
Entertainment and Sports: pay 29.3% more in Canberra
Clothing: pay 22.0% more in Canberra

The cost of transportation, groceries, entertainment and sports, childcare, clothing, and restaurants in Canberra are more expensive than in Nelson BC. Notably, transportation is significantly more expensive in Canberra.

Canberra vs. Nelson BC Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Canberra instead of Nelson BC, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 19.9% more for restaurants

	Nelson BC	Canberra
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$14.35 CA$19.85	$16.34 A$24.61	+13.9%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$8.97 CA$12.40	$9.81 A$14.76	+9.3%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.08 CA$2.87	$2.59 A$3.90	+24.5%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.70 CA$2.35	$2.24 A$3.37	+31.8%
Average			+19.9%

Nelson BC vs. Canberra - Cost of restaurants

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pay 32.9% more for groceries

	Nelson BC	Canberra
Bread 1 loaf	$3.02 CA$4.17	$2.71 A$4.07	-10.3%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.14 CA$7.10	$4.99 A$7.51	-2.9%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.44 CA$10.29	$5.50 A$8.27	-26.2%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.64 CA$5.03	$4.31 A$6.50	+18.5%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$6.12 CA$8.46	$4.17 A$6.28	-31.8%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.42 CA$1.97	$1.48 A$2.23	+4.0%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.29 CA$0.40	$1.35 A$2.03	+369.1%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.72 CA$0.99	$1.33 A$2.01	+86.0%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.97 CA$2.72	$1.86 A$2.80	-5.4%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.31 CA$1.81	$1.01 A$1.52	-22.8%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.25 CA$1.73	$1.04 A$1.57	-16.8%
Average			+32.9%

Nelson BC vs. Canberra - Cost of groceries

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pay 76.9% more for transportation

	Nelson BC	Canberra
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.52 CA$6.25	$4.42 A$6.65	-2.3%
Monthly public transit pass	$32.29 CA$44.65	$122.90 A$185.04	+280.6%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$24,382.26 CA$33,717.01	$29,041.09 A$43,723.43	+19.1%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$17.18 CA$23.76	$18.93 A$28.49	+10.2%
Average			+76.9%

Nelson BC vs. Canberra - Cost of transportation

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pay 12.1% more for housing

	Nelson BC	Canberra
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$57.41 CA$79.39	$51.97 A$78.25	-9.5%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,363.42 CA$1,885.41	$1,554.45 A$2,340.33	+14.0%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,148.14 CA$1,587.71	$1,160.39 A$1,747.05	+1.1%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$111.30 CA$153.91	$159.03 A$239.43	+42.9%
Average			+12.1%

Nelson BC vs. Canberra - Cost of housing

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pay 24.6% more for childcare

	Nelson BC	Canberra
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,040.51 CA$1,438.86	$1,754.20 A$2,641.08	+68.6%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$16,504.56 CA$22,823.34	$13,323.22 A$20,059.06	-19.3%
Average			+24.6%

Nelson BC vs. Canberra - Cost of childcare

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pay 29.3% more for entertainment and sports

	Nelson BC	Canberra
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$5.02 CA$6.95	$6.54 A$9.84	+30.1%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.95 CA$5.46	$3.41 A$5.13	-13.7%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$14.35 CA$19.85	$31.05 A$46.75	+116.4%
Monthly membership at local gym	$58.84 CA$81.37	$58.70 A$88.37	-0.2%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$11.48 CA$15.88	$13.07 A$19.69	+13.9%
Average			+29.3%

Nelson BC vs. Canberra - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 22.0% more for clothing

	Nelson BC	Canberra
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$50.23 CA$69.46	$69.40 A$104.48	+38.2%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$40.66 CA$56.23	$57.75 A$86.94	+42.0%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$84.52 CA$116.87	$94.06 A$141.61	+11.3%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$122.59 CA$169.52	$118.40 A$178.26	-3.4%
Average			+22.0%

Nelson BC vs. Canberra - 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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