Cost of living comparison

Australia

compared to

United States

Charlottesville vs. Sydney Cost of Living Summary

Charlottesville is 10.2% more expensive than Sydney.

Restaurants: pay 14.7% more in Charlottesville
Groceries: pay 76.9% more in Charlottesville
Transportation: pay 6.0% less in Charlottesville
Housing: pay 36.4% more in Charlottesville
Childcare: pay 31.1% less in Charlottesville
Entertainment and Sports: pay 2.8% less in Charlottesville
Clothing: pay 16.5% less in Charlottesville

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

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Charlottesville vs. Sydney Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 14.7% more for restaurants

	Sydney	Charlottesville
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$16.35 A$23.57	$20.00	+22.3%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$9.81 A$14.14	$13.00	+32.5%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.60 A$3.74	$2.80	+7.9%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$2.00 A$2.88	$1.92	-4.1%
Average			+14.7%

Sydney vs. Charlottesville - Cost of restaurants

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pay 76.9% more for groceries

	Sydney	Charlottesville
Bread 1 loaf	$2.63 A$3.79	$3.56	+35.3%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.92 A$7.09	$9.55	+94.1%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.66 A$9.60	$4.38	-34.3%
Eggs 1 dozen	$5.21 A$7.51	$6.00	+15.2%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.86 A$5.56	$9.00	+133.2%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.46 A$2.10	$3.45	+137.0%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.25 A$1.80	$1.32	+5.3%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.39 A$2.00	$3.67	+164.7%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.07 A$2.99	$5.00	+141.0%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.10 A$1.58	$2.17	+97.3%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.06 A$1.52	$1.67	+57.6%
Average			+76.9%

Sydney vs. Charlottesville - Cost of groceries

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pay 6.0% less for transportation

	Sydney	Charlottesville
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.66 A$6.71	$3.16	-32.2%
Monthly public transit pass	$142.21 A$204.95	$150.00	+5.5%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$29,060.36 A$41,879.75	$34,000.00	+17.0%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$23.55 A$33.94	$20.16	-14.4%
Average			-6.0%

Sydney vs. Charlottesville - Cost of transportation

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pay 36.4% more for housing

	Sydney	Charlottesville
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$52.18 A$75.20	$109.60	+110.0%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$2,157.42 A$3,109.12	$1,800.00	-16.6%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,515.46 A$2,183.98	$1,560.00	+2.9%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$147.91 A$213.16	$220.49	+49.1%
Average			+36.4%

Sydney vs. Charlottesville - Cost of housing

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pay 31.1% less for childcare

	Sydney	Charlottesville
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$2,079.13 A$2,996.29	$1,433.33	-31.1%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$18,278.49 A$26,341.69	??
Average			-31.1%

Sydney vs. Charlottesville - Cost of childcare

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pay 2.8% less for entertainment and sports

	Sydney	Charlottesville
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$6.54 A$9.43	$6.00	-8.3%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.48 A$5.02	$5.29	+52.1%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$32.71 A$47.14	$8.00	-75.5%
Monthly membership at local gym	$66.50 A$95.83	$70.80	+6.5%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$13.74 A$19.80	$15.25	+11.0%
Average			-2.8%

Sydney vs. Charlottesville - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 16.5% less for clothing

	Sydney	Charlottesville
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$75.03 A$108.13	$47.50	-36.7%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$61.01 A$87.92	$48.33	-20.8%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$101.79 A$146.69	$95.00	-6.7%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$122.15 A$176.04	$120.00	-1.8%
Average			-16.5%

Sydney vs. Charlottesville - 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: October 2026

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