Cost of living comparison

compared to

Anchorage vs. Sydney Cost of Living Summary

Anchorage is 6.2% cheaper than Sydney.

Restaurants
pay 31.7% more in Anchorage
Groceries
pay 17.2% more in Anchorage
Transportation
pay 19.5% less in Anchorage
Housing
pay 9.1% less in Anchorage
Childcare
pay 55.0% less in Anchorage
Entertainment and Sports
pay 0.1% less in Anchorage
Clothing
pay 21.7% less in Anchorage

The cost of restaurants and groceries in Anchorage are more expensive than in Sydney. Expenses including childcare, clothing, transportation, housing, and entertainment and sports are lower in Anchorage.

Anchorage vs. Sydney Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Anchorage instead of Sydney, you would:

pay 31.7% more for restaurants

 
Sydney
Anchorage
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $17.41
A$25.33
$25.00
 
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$11.84
A$17.23
$15.00
 
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $2.81
A$4.09
$3.25
 

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pay 17.2% more for groceries

 
Sydney
Anchorage
Bread
1 loaf
$2.85
A$4.14
$4.89
 
Local cheese (8 oz) $5.93
A$8.64
$6.83
 
Milk (1 gallon) $6.42
A$9.34
$4.57
 

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pay 19.5% less for transportation

 
Sydney
Anchorage
Gasoline (1 gallon) $5.40
A$7.86
$4.80
 
Monthly public transit pass $151.36
A$220.28
$60.00
 
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $28,893.97
A$42,052.05
$33,740.00
 

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pay 9.1% less for housing

 
Sydney
Anchorage
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$56.21
A$81.81
$139.25
 
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $2,517.32
A$3,663.68
$1,760.00
 
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $1,743.66
A$2,537.71
$1,383.57
 

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pay 55.0% less for childcare

 
Sydney
Anchorage
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $2,195.71
A$3,195.62
$1,220.00
 
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $28,441.13
A$41,393.00
$10,350.00
 

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pay 0.1% less for entertainment and sports

 
Sydney
Anchorage
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $7.66
A$11.15
$8.00
 
Cappuccino in mid-range area $3.97
A$5.78
$6.86
 
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$44.55
A$64.84
$12.62
 

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pay 21.7% less for clothing

 
Sydney
Anchorage
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$78.68
A$114.50
$49.00
 
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$69.62
A$101.33
$45.83
 
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$111.40
A$162.13
$113.67
 

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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 November 2026). How we calculate this

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