Cost of living comparison
compared to
Los Angeles vs. Sydney Cost of Living Summary
Los Angeles is 14.6% more expensive than Sydney.
Los Angeles vs. Sydney Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Los Angeles instead of Sydney, you would:
pay 37.8% more for restaurants
|
Sydney
|
Los Angeles
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$17.41
A$24.92
|
$26.50
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$11.84
A$16.95
|
$15.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.81
A$4.02
|
$3.72
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.22
A$3.17
|
$2.72
|
|
Sydney vs. Los Angeles - Cost of restaurants
pay 14.6% more for groceries
|
Sydney
|
Los Angeles
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$2.85
A$4.08
|
$4.81
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$5.93
A$8.50
|
$5.75
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$6.42
A$9.19
|
$4.95
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$5.56
A$7.95
|
$5.99
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$4.34
A$6.21
|
$7.26
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.81
A$2.59
|
$2.32
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.45
A$2.08
|
$1.03
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.56
A$2.23
|
$2.16
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.98
A$2.84
|
$2.57
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.48
A$2.11
|
$1.46
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.07
A$1.53
|
$1.30
|
|
Sydney vs. Los Angeles - Cost of groceries
pay 2.8% more for transportation
|
Sydney
|
Los Angeles
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$5.40
A$7.73
|
$5.97
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$151.36
A$216.72
|
$105.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$28,893.97
A$41,371.65
|
$36,998.00
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$16.24
A$23.25
|
$17.91
|
|
Sydney vs. Los Angeles - Cost of transportation
pay 20.9% more for housing
|
Sydney
|
Los Angeles
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$56.21
A$80.49
|
$80.07
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$2,517.32
A$3,604.41
|
$2,544.44
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,743.66
A$2,496.65
|
$2,413.33
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$168.46
A$241.21
|
$217.11
|
|
Sydney vs. Los Angeles - Cost of housing
pay 7.1% less for childcare
|
Sydney
|
Los Angeles
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$2,195.71
A$3,143.91
|
$1,676.09
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$28,441.13
A$40,723.26
|
$32,155.00
|
|
Sydney vs. Los Angeles - Cost of childcare
pay 0.2% less for entertainment and sports
|
Sydney
|
Los Angeles
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$7.66
A$10.97
|
$8.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$3.97
A$5.69
|
$5.95
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$44.55
A$63.79
|
$13.00
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$75.28
A$107.79
|
$75.47
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$17.41
A$24.92
|
$19.75
|
|
Sydney vs. Los Angeles - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 15.2% more for clothing
|
Sydney
|
Los Angeles
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$78.68
A$112.65
|
$89.92
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$69.62
A$99.69
|
$64.92
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$111.40
A$159.51
|
$119.25
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$133.24
A$190.77
|
$205.45
|
|
Sydney vs. Los Angeles - 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 October 2026). How we calculate this
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Compare further: Sydney vs. Los Angeles
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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.
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