Cost of living comparison

Australia

compared to

United States

Mountain View vs. Sydney Cost of Living Summary

Mountain View is 21.4% more expensive than Sydney.

Restaurants: pay 8.8% more in Mountain View
Groceries: pay 20.6% more in Mountain View
Transportation: pay 30.1% more in Mountain View
Housing: pay 38.6% more in Mountain View
Childcare: pay 6.3% less in Mountain View
Entertainment and Sports: pay 10.3% less in Mountain View
Clothing: pay 9.4% more in Mountain View

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

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Mountain View vs. Sydney Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Mountain View instead of Sydney, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 8.8% more for restaurants

	Sydney	Mountain View
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$17.41 A$25.04	$20.00	+14.9%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$11.84 A$17.03	$12.00	+1.4%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.81 A$4.04	$2.75	-2.2%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$2.22 A$3.19	$2.70	+21.7%
Average			+8.8%

Sydney vs. Mountain View - Cost of restaurants

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pay 20.6% more for groceries

	Sydney	Mountain View
Bread 1 loaf	$2.85 A$4.09	$4.30	+51.0%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.93 A$8.54	$8.27	+39.3%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.42 A$9.24	$4.90	-23.7%
Eggs 1 dozen	$5.56 A$7.99	$5.38	-3.2%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$4.34 A$6.24	$5.33	+22.9%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.81 A$2.60	$2.50	+38.3%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.45 A$2.09	$0.88	-39.8%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.56 A$2.24	$2.00	+28.4%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.98 A$2.85	$2.66	+34.3%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.48 A$2.12	$1.75	+18.5%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.07 A$1.54	$2.60	+142.7%
Average			+20.6%

Sydney vs. Mountain View - Cost of groceries

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pay 30.1% more for transportation

	Sydney	Mountain View
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.40 A$7.77	$5.78	+7.1%
Monthly public transit pass	$151.36 A$217.75	??
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$28,893.97 A$41,568.07	$36,998.00	+28.0%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$16.24 A$23.36	$43.77	+169.6%
Average			+30.1%

Sydney vs. Mountain View - Cost of transportation

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pay 38.6% more for housing

	Sydney	Mountain View
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$56.21 A$80.87	$63.00	+12.1%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$2,517.32 A$3,621.52	$2,898.75	+15.2%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,743.66 A$2,508.51	$3,028.33	+73.7%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$168.46 A$242.35	$224.96	+33.5%
Average			+38.6%

Sydney vs. Mountain View - Cost of housing

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pay 6.3% less for childcare

	Sydney	Mountain View
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$2,195.71 A$3,158.84	$2,285.25	+4.1%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$28,441.13 A$40,916.61	$24,000.00	-15.6%
Average			-6.3%

Sydney vs. Mountain View - Cost of childcare

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pay 10.3% less for entertainment and sports

	Sydney	Mountain View
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$7.66 A$11.02	$7.00	-8.6%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.97 A$5.72	$5.33	+34.2%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$44.55 A$64.09	$11.71	-73.7%
Monthly membership at local gym	$75.28 A$108.30	$72.25	-4.0%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$17.41 A$25.04	$17.00	-2.3%
Average			-10.3%

Sydney vs. Mountain View - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 9.4% more for clothing

	Sydney	Mountain View
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$78.68 A$113.19	$51.67	-34.3%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$69.62 A$100.16	$100.00	+43.6%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$111.40 A$160.26	$150.00	+34.7%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$133.24 A$191.68	$150.00	+12.6%
Average			+9.4%

Sydney vs. Mountain View - 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 October 2026). How we calculate this

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