Cost of living comparison

compared to

Asheville vs. Sydney Cost of Living Summary

Asheville is 8.6% cheaper than Sydney.

Restaurants
pay 3.5% more in Asheville
Groceries
pay 1.4% less in Asheville
Transportation
pay 18.8% less in Asheville
Housing
pay 11.6% less in Asheville
Childcare
pay 50.3% more in Asheville
Entertainment and Sports
pay 30.3% less in Asheville
Clothing
pay 10.5% less in Asheville

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

Asheville vs. Sydney Cost Breakdown

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

pay 3.5% more for restaurants

 
Sydney
Asheville
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $17.41
A$25.33
$21.00
 
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$11.84
A$17.23
$11.00
 
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $2.81
A$4.09
$2.54
 

Improve prices ·

pay 1.4% less for groceries

 
Sydney
Asheville
Bread
1 loaf
$2.85
A$4.14
$4.38
 
Local cheese (8 oz) $5.93
A$8.64
$8.26
 
Milk (1 gallon) $6.42
A$9.34
$4.44
 

Improve prices ·

pay 18.8% less for transportation

 
Sydney
Asheville
Gasoline (1 gallon) $5.40
A$7.86
$3.64
 
Monthly public transit pass $151.36
A$220.28
$80.00
 
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $28,893.97
A$42,052.05
$32,000.00
 

Improve prices ·

pay 11.6% less for housing

 
Sydney
Asheville
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$56.21
A$81.81
$105.60
 
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $2,517.32
A$3,663.68
$2,029.33
 
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $1,743.66
A$2,537.71
$1,583.33
 

Improve prices ·

pay 50.3% more for childcare

 
Sydney
Asheville
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $2,195.71
A$3,195.62
$2,577.11
 
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $28,441.13
A$41,393.00
$54,725.00
 

Improve prices ·

pay 30.3% less for entertainment and sports

 
Sydney
Asheville
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $7.66
A$11.15
$7.00
 
Cappuccino in mid-range area $3.97
A$5.78
$5.83
 
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$44.55
A$64.84
$7.95
 

Improve prices ·

pay 10.5% less for clothing

 
Sydney
Asheville
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$78.68
A$114.50
$63.75
 
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$69.62
A$101.33
$50.00
 
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$111.40
A$162.13
$103.75
 

Improve prices ·

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

Share this

Compare countries by overall cost of living

See the cost of living in Australia vs. United States. This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within Australia and United States.

Help us improve these prices

MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate. Learn more

Ask the Elsewhere Community

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Asheville or Sydney. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.