Cost of Living in Brisbane

Summary about cost of living in Brisbane, Australia:

Restaurants
Edit Range
Meal, Inexpensive Restaurant 25.00 A$ 15.00-45.00
Meal for 2 People, Mid-range Restaurant, Three-course 120.00 A$ 70.00-230.00
McMeal at McDonalds (or Equivalent Combo Meal) 15.00 A$ 12.00-16.00
Domestic Beer (1 pint draught) 11.00 A$ 7.00-14.00
Imported Beer (12 oz small bottle) 11.50 A$ 8.00-14.00
Cappuccino (regular) 5.27 A$ 4.00-7.25
Coke/Pepsi (12 oz small bottle) 4.22 A$ 3.00-5.50
Water (12 oz small bottle) 3.44 A$ 3.00-4.50
Markets
Edit
Milk (regular), (1 gallon) 8.60 A$ 5.11-12.87
Loaf of Fresh White Bread (1 lb) 3.30 A$ 1.72-5.81
Rice (white), (1 lb) 1.45 A$ 0.73-2.27
Eggs (regular) (12) 5.46 A$ 3.60-8.40
Local Cheese (1 lb) 6.89 A$ 3.63-17.24
Chicken Fillets (1 lb) 5.75 A$ 4.08-7.71
Beef Round (1 lb) (or Equivalent Back Leg Red Meat) 10.87 A$ 5.44-15.88
Apples (1 lb) 2.17 A$ 1.36-2.72
Banana (1 lb) 1.78 A$ 1.13-2.72
Oranges (1 lb) 2.36 A$ 0.91-3.67
Tomato (1 lb) 3.20 A$ 1.59-4.54
Potato (1 lb) 1.62 A$ 0.91-2.27
Onion (1 lb) 1.42 A$ 0.91-1.81
Lettuce (1 head) 4.07 A$ 1.90-7.00
Water (1.5 liter bottle) 2.82 A$ 0.81-4.00
Bottle of Wine (Mid-Range) 20.00 A$ 15.00-29.00
Domestic Beer (0.5 liter bottle) 6.70 A$ 3.57-10.00
Imported Beer (12 oz small bottle) 7.89 A$ 4.00-10.00
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro) 40.00 A$ 30.00-60.00
Transportation
Edit
One-way Ticket (Local Transport) 5.25 A$ 3.50-8.50
Monthly Pass (Regular Price) 217.39 A$ 160.00-250.00
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff) 6.00 A$ 4.50-7.00
Taxi 1 mile (Normal Tariff) 3.49 A$ 3.49-4.83
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff) 60.00 A$ 60.00-65.00
Gasoline (1 gallon) 7.93 A$ 6.51-8.90
Volkswagen Golf 1.4 90 KW Trendline (Or Equivalent New Car) 36,500.00 A$ 32,000.00-40,500.00
Toyota Corolla Sedan 1.6l 97kW Comfort (Or Equivalent New Car) 30,595.71 A$ 28,000.00-38,000.00
Utilities (Monthly)
Edit
Basic (Electricity, Heating, Cooling, Water, Garbage) for 915 sq ft Apartment 314.50 A$ 180.04-391.67
1 min. of Prepaid Mobile Tariff Local (No Discounts or Plans) 0.70 A$ 0.50-0.99
Internet (60 Mbps or More, Unlimited Data, Cable/ADSL) 89.00 A$ 70.00-109.50
Sports And Leisure
Edit
Fitness Club, Monthly Fee for 1 Adult 74.38 A$ 30.00-125.00
Tennis Court Rent (1 Hour on Weekend) 29.00 A$ 18.00-40.00
Cinema, International Release, 1 Seat 20.00 A$ 15.00-29.00
Childcare
Edit
Preschool (or Kindergarten), Full Day, Private, Monthly for 1 Child 2,755.56 A$ 2,000.00-3,033.33
International Primary School, Yearly for 1 Child 15,983.33 A$ 12,000.00-25,000.00
Clothing And Shoes
Edit
1 Pair of Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar) 141.97 A$ 70.00-169.00
1 Summer Dress in a Chain Store (Zara, H&M, ...) 87.55 A$ 30.00-125.00
1 Pair of Nike Running Shoes (Mid-Range) 208.00 A$ 120.00-250.00
1 Pair of Men Leather Business Shoes 200.40 A$ 100.00-269.00
Rent Per Month
Edit
Apartment (1 bedroom) in City Centre 2,400.17 A$ 1,680.00-2,875.00
Apartment (1 bedroom) Outside of Centre 2,056.47 A$ 1,500.00-2,400.00
Apartment (3 bedrooms) in City Centre 3,918.44 A$ 3,000.00-4,400.00
Apartment (3 bedrooms) Outside of Centre 2,403.79 A$ 2,000.00-2,800.00
Buy Apartment Price
Edit
Price per Square Feet to Buy Apartment in City Centre 1,230.89 A$ 1,107.86-1,393.53
Price per Square Feet to Buy Apartment Outside of Centre 899.47 A$ 603.86-1,021.92
Salaries And Financing
Edit
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax) 5,249.25 A$
Mortgage Interest Rate in Percentages (%), Yearly, for 20 Years Fixed-Rate 4.91 4.00-5.28

Prices in Brisbane

This city had 2325 entries in the past 12 months by 199 different contributors.
Last update: March 2023
Sources and References
Distribution of Expenses Using Our Statistical Model:
Sign Up for Our Newsletter:
Your Email Address:
  
Leave a comment:

Your name: Sign In

Your email address (optional):

Your comment (no HTML):

10 Comments so far
Sam on Jan 02, 2023:
1 Bedroom new Apartment in West End (5km from city) ~ 70sqm from 2019: $400/wk, then $425/wk after negotiation down from $450, then $450/wk currently.

pricing closer to Tanja's, wages are higher though, i am a hiring exec and there is account managers on 80-90k + fully paid car with fuel etc admin on 60-65k.

Hope this helps.
Anonymous on Oct 06, 2022:
Tanjs has 2 university degree and worked in management and senior level but hasn't reached AUD70K gross? I got an offer to work in Brisbane for AUD120K and still very low in my opinion since the cost of living in Brisbane is high
RadDudw on Jun 27, 2022:
While Tanja raises a good point about some of the other costs. Her claims about wages are deadset wrong. Most tradesmen are netting $55k easily. Think about it, it’s around $1k in hand each week, it’s not that much. Honestly if your not making $70k gross, you either have useless degrees, no trade skills or aren’t very good at your job
dk on Feb 12, 2022:
anyone know how much a cigarette really is there ?
or,was it correct ?
Denver on Dec 03, 2021:
Man this is the most depressing city, and it’s coming from an Eastern European.
Brisbane Resident on Sep 13, 2020:
I have to agree, Tanja's rates below are highly accurate, more so during this time (2020). The above-mentioned are out of date. Tanja's pricing below is the norm here in Brisbane if you live in the city centre, or live even a couple of suburbs away from the city centre. For those who would like to move to Brisbane, better to overprice than under right? But I assure you, as another resident of Brisbane, Tanja's rates are the closest value to the current costs of living here in BNE.
Anonymous on Jun 24, 2020:
There are other places called Denver in this world.
Elizabeth Kriesch on Dec 13, 2019:
Denver is not 18km from Brisbane Australia. It is is the US
Anonymous on Jul 16, 2019:
I totally agree with Tanja with regards to current prices ongoing costs and salaries.
Tanja on Jun 09, 2019:
Sorry to say but the figures above are out of date. It depicts a much more affordable cost of living than it actually is.

Firstly, the average net salary is not $55000 net .. that would mean the gross salary is $70,000.
I have worked and lived in Brisbane all my life, have 2 university degrees, have worked in management and senior admin roles and have not yet reached $70,000 gross salary. Most people in 'normal' jobs are grossing between $40,000 and $65,000. If you are an Engineer, Doctor, Lawyer or some specialist roles so it is certainly NOT an average presumed salary.

Also the figures for groceries:
Not sure where these guys go shopping but major supermarkets and butchers sell Chicken for approx. $12-$15/kg and beef steaks range from $20-$30/kg depending on the cut. Certainly not in the range of $4-$6 .. that was maybe the price in 1980.

Bread is between $3.65 for cheapest chinese baker to sour dough and artesian bread costing up to $8 a loaf.

Cheese - 750g block ranges from $6-$7.5
Tomatoes even at the markets cost between $3 and $7/kg depending on season and natural disasters that have occurred.
Potatoes .. 1 kg either at market or in supermarket is $5

And then there is the cost of utilities quoted above is again something from the mid 80's
Electricity for a standard 4 bedroom house = $100-$150 per month .. slightly reduced if you have solar panels on your roof
Rates for a house/unit = $100 per month
Water and Sewerage costs for 4 person household = $125-$150 a month (more if you have a pool)
Internet - broadband = $100 a month
Mobile phone plans = $49-$99 per month depending on usage required.

So really, it is much less affordable than what is listed above. Numbeo, you need to update your information.