Cost of living comparison

Australia

compared to

United States

Mission Viejo vs. Sydney Cost of Living Summary

Mission Viejo is 5.6% cheaper than Sydney.

Restaurants: pay 3.3% less in Mission Viejo
Groceries: pay 2.3% less in Mission Viejo
Transportation: pay 5.1% more in Mission Viejo
Housing: pay 24.3% more in Mission Viejo
Childcare: pay 72.9% less in Mission Viejo
Entertainment and Sports: pay 33.3% less in Mission Viejo
Clothing: pay 39.5% less in Mission Viejo

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

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Mission Viejo vs. Sydney Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Mission Viejo instead of Sydney, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 3.3% less for restaurants

	Sydney	Mission Viejo
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$17.41 A$25.33	$21.50	+23.5%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$11.84 A$17.23	$10.00	-15.5%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.81 A$4.09	$2.00	-28.8%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$2.22 A$3.22	$1.55	-30.1%
Average			-3.3%

Sydney vs. Mission Viejo - Cost of restaurants

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pay 2.3% less for groceries

	Sydney	Mission Viejo
Bread 1 loaf	$2.85 A$4.14	$3.90	+36.9%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.93 A$8.64	$7.00	+18.0%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.42 A$9.34	$4.00	-37.8%
Eggs 1 dozen	$5.56 A$8.08	$4.50	-19.1%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$4.34 A$6.31	$6.21	+43.1%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.81 A$2.63	$2.23	+23.6%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.45 A$2.12	$0.69	-52.5%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.56 A$2.27	$1.29	-17.2%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.98 A$2.88	$2.24	+12.9%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.48 A$2.15	$0.99	-33.0%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.07 A$1.56	$1.94	+81.3%
Average			-2.3%

Sydney vs. Mission Viejo - Cost of groceries

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pay 5.1% more for transportation

	Sydney	Mission Viejo
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.40 A$7.86	$5.12	-5.3%
Monthly public transit pass	$151.36 A$220.28	??
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$28,893.97 A$42,052.05	$33,499.00	+15.9%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$16.24 A$23.63	$18.36	+13.1%
Average			+5.1%

Sydney vs. Mission Viejo - Cost of transportation

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pay 24.3% more for housing

	Sydney	Mission Viejo
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$56.21 A$81.81	$65.67	+16.8%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$2,517.32 A$3,663.68	$2,633.33	+4.6%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,743.66 A$2,537.71	$2,700.00	+54.8%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$168.46 A$245.17	$188.44	+11.9%
Average			+24.3%

Sydney vs. Mission Viejo - Cost of housing

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pay 72.9% less for childcare

	Sydney	Mission Viejo
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$2,195.71 A$3,195.62	$545.83	-75.1%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$28,441.13 A$41,393.00	$8,400.00	-70.5%
Average			-72.9%

Sydney vs. Mission Viejo - Cost of childcare

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pay 33.3% less for entertainment and sports

	Sydney	Mission Viejo
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$7.66 A$11.15	$5.00	-34.7%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.97 A$5.78	$5.47	+37.6%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$44.55 A$64.84	$11.86	-73.4%
Monthly membership at local gym	$75.28 A$109.56	$40.00	-46.9%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$17.41 A$25.33	$12.00	-31.1%
Average			-33.3%

Sydney vs. Mission Viejo - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 39.5% less for clothing

	Sydney	Mission Viejo
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$78.68 A$114.50	$31.44	-60.0%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$69.62 A$101.33	$34.60	-50.3%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$111.40 A$162.13	$72.00	-35.4%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$133.24 A$193.91	$139.17	+4.5%
Average			-39.5%

Sydney vs. Mission Viejo - Cost of clothing

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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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