Cost of living comparison
compared to
Charleston vs. Sydney Cost of Living Summary
Charleston is 3.8% cheaper than Sydney.
Charleston vs. Sydney Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Charleston instead of Sydney, you would:
pay 7.8% more for restaurants
|
Sydney
|
Charleston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$17.41
A$25.33
|
$20.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$11.84
A$17.23
|
$12.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.81
A$4.09
|
$2.92
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.22
A$3.22
|
$2.31
|
|
Sydney vs. Charleston - Cost of restaurants
pay 30.3% more for groceries
|
Sydney
|
Charleston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$2.85
A$4.14
|
$4.12
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$5.93
A$8.64
|
$11.45
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$6.42
A$9.34
|
$4.29
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$5.56
A$8.08
|
$5.41
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$4.34
A$6.31
|
$6.58
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.81
A$2.63
|
$3.66
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.45
A$2.12
|
$0.82
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.56
A$2.27
|
$2.30
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.98
A$2.88
|
$3.15
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.48
A$2.15
|
$2.32
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.07
A$1.56
|
$1.70
|
|
Sydney vs. Charleston - Cost of groceries
pay 28.5% less for transportation
|
Sydney
|
Charleston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$5.40
A$7.86
|
$3.76
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$151.36
A$220.28
|
$57.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$28,893.97
A$42,052.05
|
$35,112.00
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$16.24
A$23.63
|
$12.94
|
|
Sydney vs. Charleston - Cost of transportation
pay 1.2% less for housing
|
Sydney
|
Charleston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$56.21
A$81.81
|
$84.89
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$2,517.32
A$3,663.68
|
$2,324.88
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,743.66
A$2,537.71
|
$1,708.67
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$168.46
A$245.17
|
$176.85
|
|
Sydney vs. Charleston - Cost of housing
pay 25.3% less for childcare
|
Sydney
|
Charleston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$2,195.71
A$3,195.62
|
$1,264.00
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$28,441.13
A$41,393.00
|
$27,566.67
|
|
Sydney vs. Charleston - Cost of childcare
pay 24.7% less for entertainment and sports
|
Sydney
|
Charleston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$7.66
A$11.15
|
$6.50
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$3.97
A$5.78
|
$5.88
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$44.55
A$64.84
|
$10.00
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$75.28
A$109.56
|
$45.71
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$17.41
A$25.33
|
$14.00
|
|
Sydney vs. Charleston - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 9.6% less for clothing
|
Sydney
|
Charleston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$78.68
A$114.50
|
$77.50
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$69.62
A$101.33
|
$46.25
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$111.40
A$162.13
|
$112.33
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$133.24
A$193.91
|
$135.00
|
|
Sydney vs. Charleston - Cost of clothing
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
Change currency:
Compare further: Sydney vs. Charleston
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 Charleston or Sydney. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.