Lifestyle
Australia — Living: Cost of Living
Sydney and Melbourne are the two most common relocation destinations for newcomers to Australia, and both are among the country's most expensive cities, with rent the dominant cost driver. Third-party cost-of-living trackers give a wide range of monthly estimates for a single person, so figures here should be treated as indicative rather than precise, and cross-checked against a live calculator for current numbers.
VerifiedAggregated third-party cost-of-living estimates (Numbeo, Wise, Expatistan, local relocation guides) — figures vary significantly by source and are not government-published statisticsLast reviewed: 2026-08-31
Key facts
- Sydney: third-party estimates (Numbeo, Aug 2026) for a single person's total monthly costs range roughly from AUD 3,700 to 5,400 including rent, with a 1-bedroom city-centre apartment alone estimated around AUD 2,600-3,200/month.
- Melbourne: third-party estimates for a single person's total monthly costs (including rent) range roughly from AUD 3,800 to 4,800, generally somewhat cheaper than Sydney, with living costs excluding rent estimated around AUD 1,700/month.
- Rent is consistently cited as the largest and most variable cost driver in both cities; choice of suburb has a large effect on total spend.
- Sydney and Melbourne are the two largest and most common relocation destinations for skilled migrants and expatriates in Australia.
- Family budgets scale up substantially from single-person figures mainly due to larger housing and, where applicable, private schooling or childcare costs — no single authoritative family-budget figure was found; treat any family total as a rough estimate pending better sourcing.