Cost of Living in Melbourne
Summary of cost of living in Melbourne, Australia:
- The estimated monthly costs for a family of four are 3,899.8$ (6,008.2A$), excluding rent (using our estimator).
- The estimated monthly costs for a single person are 1,088.3$ (1,676.7A$), excluding rent.
- Melbourne is 33.5% less expensive than New York (excluding rent, see our cost of living index).
- Rent in Melbourne is, on average, 61.8% lower than in New York.
Restaurants |  Edit |
Range |
|---|---|---|
| Meal, Inexpensive Restaurant | 30.00 A$ | |
| Meal for 2 People, Mid-range Restaurant, Three-course | 120.00 A$ | |
| McMeal at McDonalds (or Equivalent Combo Meal) | 15.00 A$ | |
| Domestic Beer (1 pint draught) | 11.75 A$ | |
| Imported Beer (12 oz small bottle) | 11.50 A$ | |
| Cappuccino (regular) | 5.56 A$ | |
| Coke/Pepsi (12 oz small bottle) | 3.98 A$ | |
| Water (12 oz small bottle) | 3.61 A$ | |
Markets | Edit |
|
| Milk (regular), (1 gallon) | 8.95 A$ | |
| Loaf of Fresh White Bread (1 lb) | 3.64 A$ | |
| Rice (white), (1 lb) | 1.60 A$ | |
| Eggs (regular) (12) | 7.58 A$ | |
| Local Cheese (1 lb) | 6.92 A$ | |
| Chicken Fillets (1 lb) | 6.50 A$ | |
| Beef Round (1 lb) (or Equivalent Back Leg Red Meat) | 9.62 A$ | |
| Apples (1 lb) | 2.25 A$ | |
| Banana (1 lb) | 2.02 A$ | |
| Oranges (1 lb) | 2.09 A$ | |
| Tomato (1 lb) | 2.77 A$ | |
| Potato (1 lb) | 1.91 A$ | |
| Onion (1 lb) | 1.64 A$ | |
| Lettuce (1 head) | 3.36 A$ | |
| Water (1.5 liter bottle) | 2.43 A$ | |
| Bottle of Wine (Mid-Range) | 20.00 A$ | |
| Domestic Beer (0.5 liter bottle) | 7.18 A$ | |
| Imported Beer (12 oz small bottle) | 8.02 A$ | |
| Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro) | 50.00 A$ | |
Transportation | Edit |
|
| One-way Ticket (Local Transport) | 5.50 A$ | |
| Monthly Pass (Regular Price) | 190.00 A$ | |
| Taxi Start (Normal Tariff) | 5.50 A$ | |
| Taxi 1 mile (Normal Tariff) | 3.22 A$ | |
| Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff) | 43.32 A$ | |
| Gasoline (1 gallon) | 6.80 A$ | |
| Volkswagen Golf 1.4 90 KW Trendline (Or Equivalent New Car) | 43,356.50 A$ | |
| Toyota Corolla Sedan 1.6l 97kW Comfort (Or Equivalent New Car) | 35,091.32 A$ | |
Utilities (Monthly) | Edit |
|
| Basic (Electricity, Heating, Cooling, Water, Garbage) for 915 sq ft Apartment | 247.80 A$ | |
| Mobile Phone Monthly Plan with Calls and 10GB+ Data | 33.26 A$ | |
| Internet (60 Mbps or More, Unlimited Data, Cable/ADSL) | 77.40 A$ | |
Sports And Leisure | Edit |
|
| Fitness Club, Monthly Fee for 1 Adult | 74.94 A$ | |
| Tennis Court Rent (1 Hour on Weekend) | 23.41 A$ | |
| Cinema, International Release, 1 Seat | 24.00 A$ | |
Childcare | Edit |
|
| Preschool (or Kindergarten), Full Day, Private, Monthly for 1 Child | 2,799.61 A$ | |
| International Primary School, Yearly for 1 Child | 31,880.88 A$ | |
Clothing And Shoes | Edit |
|
| 1 Pair of Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar) | 99.41 A$ | |
| 1 Summer Dress in a Chain Store (Zara, H&M, ...) | 82.35 A$ | |
| 1 Pair of Nike Running Shoes (Mid-Range) | 156.82 A$ | |
| 1 Pair of Men Leather Business Shoes | 158.33 A$ | |
Rent Per Month | Edit |
|
| Apartment (1 bedroom) in City Centre | 2,424.71 A$ | |
| Apartment (1 bedroom) Outside of Centre | 1,827.55 A$ | |
| Apartment (3 bedrooms) in City Centre | 4,551.30 A$ | |
| Apartment (3 bedrooms) Outside of Centre | 3,009.90 A$ | |
Buy Apartment Price | Edit |
|
| Price per Square Feet to Buy Apartment in City Centre | 1,021.99 A$ | |
| Price per Square Feet to Buy Apartment Outside of Centre | 854.03 A$ | |
Salaries And Financing | Edit |
|
| Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax) | 6,215.02 A$ | |
| Mortgage Interest Rate in Percentages (%), Yearly, for 20 Years Fixed-Rate | 6.13 |
Prices in Melbourne
This city had 2554 entries in the past 12 months by 354 different contributors.
Last update: 5 July 2025
Last update: 5 July 2025
Sources and References
Moving to Melbourne? Explore:
Distribution of Expenses Using Our Statistical Model:
Nearby Cities:| Cost of Living in Pakenham | 40.22 miles |
| Cost of Living in Ballarat | 71.73 miles |
| Cost of Living in Wangaratta | 149.91 miles |
| Cost of Living in Albury | 195.47 miles |
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Who are the new Property Developers of the CBD in the last 19 years? The young guns of South East Asia and the Subcontinent. These Young Guns, male and female, are pretty much the curators of their own upbringing - Dense Asian Cities. And no doubt they tell themselves after having worked a typical 13 hour day, and then stepping into their $480K Mercedes Benz, and driving thru the quieter CBD, that the Homeless Population is just the after effect of the Pandemic Era, and that the City STILL has Old World Charm and Grace... which has NOTHING to do with... RACE!!! They tell themselves as they are planning ANOTHER glass High Rise for, yep, you guessed it, Asian Wealth Investors, they tell themselves that something "good will come of this all": I will make money, the city will prosper, the clients will all be happy and the greater populace will benefit.
Not so. What has been allowed to happen to the CBD, is now irreversible.
Like an ancient site, once blasted by a Mining Co. for resources, then it's... gone forever. Transient, wealthy, White Collar Workers are all either deluded or wilfully ignorant about the fact that Melbourne's CBD is no longer Australian. It is NOT a shithole, nor an "Asian MegaCity", just an area so well homogenised, to the point of being... not much different to other cities around Asia.
Why did I mention the detail about the developers? To highlight that they are in no way connected to the reality of what they themselves have co-created with the Government.
When you think about it, something of that size and scale, which is now irreversible, was caused by greed-blinded people that don't even want to be in the country, individuals who'd rather be "with their own people" in the Subcontinent or Asia at large.
It's all a bit... disconnected. Distance between one another, exacerbated by the LONGEST LOCKDOWN IN THE WORLD, and a mentally ill Collective, strained from the Lockdowns. Amplified by the proliferation of Technology. There is a machine-like feel to it now, the CBD. The soft, gentle romance and ease of the pre-pandemic time is all, gone. Not even pockets of the aforementioned:
"Just put up with this, as it's better than other harsher parts of the world".
Food for family of 5 is around $400 a week, unless you grow your own food, which I recommend in 2024 as supermarket food is stale and old by time it hits the shelves, not fresh.
We made the costly mistake to come over here to find out, so now you know.
If you want a general good well-being you need to be on about 150k roughly to be comfortable for a single person.
Look at the food prices, utilities, wages going down and the toxic social atmosphere.
I am looking into relocating to the north of UK. Different weather, but so affordable with nice folks around.
If you’re happy to live in the outer suburbs be sure to do your research first. Go into each council website which will give you the population of that suburb and all the information you’ll need including property rates, rules and regulations for that area.
Melbourne is culturally and socioeconomic diverse. For example the cost of living in the outer western or northern suburbs is much cheaper than the inner northern and inner western suburbs. The eastern & Bayside suburbs is very expensive in all areas. If you want to live near a beach or lake you’ll need to be earning over $100,000 and living in a very small house or apartment building. Depending on your personal needs you may want to consider renting with another couple if you want to live in the CBD.
I needed a room for rent with less rent. Can anyone suggest me?
Rent including utilities $700
Internet $35
Food $500
Total to survive = $1235
If you order take away, drink at clubs, go on holidays the. your money is going to mean anything.
Two people earning $50k each can make a life in Melbourne for themselves and their families.
Also, most Melbournians won’t work beyond 38 hrs a week so you people from the developing world can get ahead by working a couple extra shifts a week elsewhere.
Regards
Ducera
So, If you want to know about rent: domain.com.au and realestate.com.au are where most things are listed and at the very least are indicative of the property market for both buying and renting.
You can also look at our larger grocery chains such as Coles or Woolworths websites for indicative prices of groceries because you can search for individual items. Presumably you have an idea of your own groceries wherever you are currently in terms of prices and volume.
Public transport ticket costs and network maps can be found on the websites of Metro(trains) and Yarra Trams (trams)
Utilities such as gas/water/electric are going to be widely different on your usage and how many people you are living with if you share accomodations.
I hope this answers most budgeting concerns. Don't waste you time with follow up questions, I don't think I'll check back here ever again, but i hope if you've read this far you have at least been given the bare minimum of how to start budgeting and costs that will apply to you. This is in addition to the numbers above, which is probably the info you wanted to end up here in the first place- just read it and do your own math. To finish up, the borders are still pretty much closed, so it's not looking good for anyone trying to enter at the moment.
But that one guy who is a physician and is looking for a phd position with a 30,000 AUD scholarship for wife and 3 kids- Man.... if you're a physician you should be intelligent enough to do a cursory search and basic budgeting. No. It's not possible.
For that other guy who asks if ''Hi every one please suggest me 10500 AUD is sufficient for me or not with wife and 2 children'' Please, if you are going to ask questions of this nature with: Zero context, incomplete information and on a page designed to answer you exact field of questions... Don't come here. Just don't. We have enough stupid lazy people making stupid lazy choices already.
On the other hand, If you are someone who thinks first, considers the questions and makes considered and responsible choices based on reasonably anticipated outcomes... welcome home.
- Recession
- Over 200+ days in lockdown after a second wave and still going (many businesses shut, can't leave your home beyond 5km etc)
- High unemployment (job losses across Victoria (mostly Melbourne) have already far eclipsed the height of the 1990s recession)
- Job market has been decimated obviously with many applicants applying for those jobs that are actually still being advertised
- High population (all those previous years of jamming in immigration)
- High property prices (by all measures, DYOR)
Good luck!
What would be the ideal monthly cost of living for a family of 3 (Including 10 year old children) in Melbourne?
Regards
Prasoon