Cost of living comparison

compared to

Palo Alto vs. Perth Cost of Living Summary

Palo Alto is 37.2% more expensive than Perth.

Restaurants
pay 21.3% more in Palo Alto
Groceries
pay 26.4% more in Palo Alto
Transportation
pay 24.6% more in Palo Alto
Housing
pay 76.4% more in Palo Alto
Childcare
pay 53.5% more in Palo Alto
Entertainment and Sports
pay 19.2% more in Palo Alto
Clothing
pay 21.2% less in Palo Alto

The cost of housing, childcare, groceries, transportation, restaurants, and entertainment and sports in Palo Alto are more expensive than in Perth. Notably, housing is significantly more expensive in Palo Alto.

Palo Alto vs. Perth Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Palo Alto instead of Perth, you would:

pay 21.3% more for restaurants

 
Perth
Palo Alto
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $20.19
A$28.91
$25.00
 
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$10.67
A$15.27
$13.00
 
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $2.87
A$4.11
$3.13
 

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pay 26.4% more for groceries

 
Perth
Palo Alto
Bread
1 loaf
$3.14
A$4.49
$5.31
 
Local cheese (8 oz) $4.64
A$6.65
$8.16
 
Milk (1 gallon) $6.56
A$9.40
$6.38
 

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pay 24.6% more for transportation

 
Perth
Palo Alto
Gasoline (1 gallon) $5.20
A$7.44
$5.86
 
Monthly public transit pass $97.47
A$139.57
??
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $27,264.76
A$39,038.89
$36,998.00
 

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pay 76.4% more for housing

 
Perth
Palo Alto
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$63.36
A$90.72
$76.29
 
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $1,952.70
A$2,795.96
$3,600.00
 
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $1,634.39
A$2,340.18
$3,148.75
 

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pay 53.5% more for childcare

 
Perth
Palo Alto
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $2,297.67
A$3,289.91
$2,942.94
 
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $23,129.10
A$33,117.26
$42,562.50
 

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pay 19.2% more for entertainment and sports

 
Perth
Palo Alto
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $8.35
A$11.96
$8.00
 
Cappuccino in mid-range area $4.45
A$6.38
$5.80
 
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$41.77
A$59.81
$11.71
 

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pay 21.2% less for clothing

 
Perth
Palo Alto
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$77.69
A$111.24
$67.50
 
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$65.03
A$93.11
$47.67
 
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$122.65
A$175.62
$100.40
 

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

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