Cost of living comparison
compared to
Reston vs. Wollongong Cost of Living Summary
Reston is 28.8% more expensive than Wollongong.
Reston vs. Wollongong Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Reston instead of Wollongong, you would:
pay 24.4% more for restaurants
|
Wollongong
|
Reston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$17.06
A$24.27
|
$28.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$10.44
A$14.86
|
$10.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$3.09
A$4.40
|
$2.91
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.23
A$3.17
|
$2.64
|
|
Wollongong vs. Reston - Cost of restaurants
pay 35.6% more for groceries
|
Wollongong
|
Reston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$2.87
A$4.09
|
$4.23
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$5.22
A$7.43
|
$8.53
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.40
A$6.26
|
$4.95
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.02
A$5.72
|
$5.33
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$4.26
A$6.06
|
$7.63
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.34
A$1.91
|
$3.17
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.14
A$1.62
|
$0.76
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.53
A$2.17
|
$1.86
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.08
A$2.96
|
$2.62
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.07
A$1.52
|
$1.29
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.14
A$1.63
|
$1.73
|
|
Wollongong vs. Reston - Cost of groceries
pay 10.8% less for transportation
|
Wollongong
|
Reston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$5.07
A$7.22
|
$3.63
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass | ?? |
$130.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$26,937.53
A$38,328.88
|
$30,000.00
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$16.79
A$23.89
|
$16.73
|
|
Wollongong vs. Reston - Cost of transportation
pay 55.4% more for housing
|
Wollongong
|
Reston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$50.13
A$71.33
|
$77.80
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,244.53
A$1,770.82
|
$2,333.33
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,089.62
A$1,550.39
|
$1,566.67
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$139.13
A$197.96
|
$161.22
|
|
Wollongong vs. Reston - Cost of housing
pay 73.1% more for childcare
|
Wollongong
|
Reston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$2,167.40
A$3,083.94
|
$3,175.00
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$20,280.48
A$28,856.69
|
$41,506.00
|
|
Wollongong vs. Reston - Cost of childcare
pay 10.2% more for entertainment and sports
|
Wollongong
|
Reston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$6.96
A$9.91
|
$7.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$3.48
A$4.95
|
$6.15
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$44.55
A$63.39
|
$13.94
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$81.49
A$115.96
|
$100.00
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$13.23
A$18.82
|
$16.00
|
|
Wollongong vs. Reston - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 3.3% less for clothing
|
Wollongong
|
Reston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$69.62
A$99.07
|
$75.00
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$56.12
A$79.86
|
$44.11
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$116.35
A$165.55
|
$104.50
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$109.08
A$155.20
|
$125.16
|
|
Wollongong vs. Reston - 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 November 2026). How we calculate this
Change currency:
Compare further: Wollongong vs. Reston
Compare countries by overall cost of living
See the
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.
Help us improve these prices
MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate.
Learn more
Ask the Elsewhere Community
Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Reston or Wollongong. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.