Cost of living comparison

compared to

Canberra vs. Wollongong Cost of Living Summary

Canberra is 11.6% more expensive than Wollongong.

Restaurants: pay 0.1% less in Canberra
Groceries: pay 7.9% more in Canberra
Transportation: pay 40.0% more in Canberra
Housing: pay 28.1% more in Canberra
Childcare: pay 5.8% more in Canberra
Entertainment and Sports: pay 1.9% less in Canberra
Clothing: pay 1.4% more in Canberra

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

Canberra vs. Wollongong Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Canberra instead of Wollongong, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 0.1% less for restaurants

	Wollongong	Canberra
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$16.35 A$24.59	$16.34 A$24.57	-0.1%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$9.81 A$14.75	$9.81 A$14.74	-0.1%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.59 A$3.89	$2.59 A$3.89	-0.1%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$2.24 A$3.37	$2.24 A$3.36	-0.1%
Average			-0.1%

Wollongong vs. Canberra - Cost of restaurants

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pay 7.9% more for groceries

	Wollongong	Canberra
Bread 1 loaf	$2.71 A$4.07	$2.71 A$4.07	-0.1%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.91 A$7.38	$4.99 A$7.50	+1.6%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.28 A$6.44	$5.50 A$8.26	+28.3%
Eggs 1 dozen	$4.01 A$6.02	$4.31 A$6.49	+7.7%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$4.00 A$6.02	$4.17 A$6.27	+4.2%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.26 A$1.89	$1.48 A$2.22	+17.5%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.07 A$1.60	$1.35 A$2.02	+26.2%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.34 A$2.01	$1.33 A$2.01	-0.1%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.86 A$2.80	$1.86 A$2.80	-0.1%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.00 A$1.50	$1.01 A$1.52	+1.1%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.04 A$1.56	$1.04 A$1.57	+0.3%
Average			+7.9%

Wollongong vs. Canberra - Cost of groceries

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pay 40.0% more for transportation

	Wollongong	Canberra
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.42 A$6.64	$4.42 A$6.64	-0.1%
Monthly public transit pass	$47.20 A$70.95	$122.90 A$184.76	+160.4%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$29,060.36 A$43,686.64	$29,041.09 A$43,657.68	-0.1%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$18.94 A$28.47	$18.93 A$28.45	-0.1%
Average			+40.0%

Wollongong vs. Canberra - Cost of transportation

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pay 28.1% more for housing

	Wollongong	Canberra
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$48.93 A$73.56	$51.97 A$78.13	+6.2%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$979.52 A$1,472.51	$1,554.45 A$2,336.81	+58.7%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$803.00 A$1,207.15	$1,160.39 A$1,744.42	+44.5%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$154.54 A$232.32	$159.03 A$239.07	+2.9%
Average			+28.1%

Wollongong vs. Canberra - Cost of housing

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pay 5.8% more for childcare

	Wollongong	Canberra
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,570.02 A$2,360.22	$1,754.20 A$2,637.10	+11.7%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$13,332.06 A$20,042.18	$13,323.22 A$20,028.89	-0.1%
Average			+5.8%

Wollongong vs. Canberra - Cost of childcare

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pay 1.9% less for entertainment and sports

	Wollongong	Canberra
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$5.56 A$8.36	$6.54 A$9.83	+17.6%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.41 A$5.12	$3.41 A$5.12	-0.1%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$31.07 A$46.71	$31.05 A$46.68	-0.1%
Monthly membership at local gym	$86.48 A$130.01	$58.70 A$88.24	-32.1%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$12.43 A$18.69	$13.07 A$19.66	+5.2%
Average			-1.9%

Wollongong vs. Canberra - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 1.4% more for clothing

	Wollongong	Canberra
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$65.42 A$98.34	$69.40 A$104.33	+6.1%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$57.79 A$86.87	$57.75 A$86.81	-0.1%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$94.12 A$141.49	$94.06 A$141.40	-0.1%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$118.48 A$178.11	$118.40 A$177.99	-0.1%
Average			+1.4%

Wollongong vs. Canberra - 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: December 2025

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