Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ballarat and Singapore

For one person, living is cheaper in Ballarat: $1,902 a month against $3,500 in Singapore, rent and utilities included – about $19,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

93

Cost of Living Index in Ballarat
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Ballarat Living Index
169

Cost of Living Index in Singapore
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Singapore Living Index

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Ballarat

🇦🇺 Australia

$1,902

/mo nomad

Singapore

🇸🇬 Singapore

$3,500

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Ballarat and in Singapore

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Ballarat and in Singapore actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,902 in Ballarat versus $3,500 in Singapore.

Ballarat $1,902
Singapore $3,500

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,035 in Ballarat versus $5,265 in Singapore.

Ballarat $3,035
Singapore $5,265

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,168 in Ballarat versus $7,030 in Singapore.

Ballarat $4,168
Singapore $7,030

Living in Ballarat costs roughly 46% less than in Singapore, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Ballarat 41% above, Singapore 159% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.70 A$25.47

$11.76 SGD 15.05

50.51%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$69.9 A$101

$70.6 SGD 90.4

-1.02%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.27 A$14.78

$8.55 SGD 10.94

20.12%

Cappuccino

$3.79 A$5.45

$5.20 SGD 6.66

-27.12%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.95 A$4.24

$1.77 SGD 2.27

66.67%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 A$2.72

$1.23 SGD 1.58

53.66%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.06 A$8.72

$8.26 SGD 10.58

-26.63%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.09 A$8.77

$10.17 SGD 13.01

-40.12%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.57 A$2.27

$3.04 SGD 3.89

-48.36%

White Bread (500g)

$2.65 A$3.82

$2.55 SGD 3.26

3.92%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.32 A$3.35

$2.86 SGD 3.66

-18.88%

Eggs

$4.09 A$5.88

$3.53 SGD 4.51

15.86%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.56 A$15.20

$21.12 SGD 27.02

-50.00%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.96 A$14.33

$9.90 SGD 12.67

0.61%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.97 A$21.55

$25.42 SGD 32.53

-41.11%

Apples (1kg)

$3.51 A$5.04

$4.57 SGD 5.85

-23.19%

Banana (1kg)

$3.02 A$4.34

$3.13 SGD 4.00

-3.51%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.11 A$4.48

$4.72 SGD 6.04

-34.11%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.68 A$6.73

$2.23 SGD 2.85

109.87%

Potato (1kg)

$3.07 A$4.42

$2.57 SGD 3.29

19.46%

Onion (1kg)

$2.55 A$3.67

$2.29 SGD 2.93

11.35%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.35 A$3.38

$1.87 SGD 2.39

25.67%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.48 A$2.14

$1.44 SGD 1.84

2.78%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$34.39 A$49.49

$13.97 SGD 17.88

146.17%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.66 A$18.21

$23.48 SGD 30.05

-46.08%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.31 A$3.33

$4.54 SGD 5.80

-49.12%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.11 A$4.48

$4.44 SGD 5.68

-29.95%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.76 A$3.97

$1.57 SGD 2.01

75.80%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$69.9 A$101

$93.8 SGD 120

-25.50%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.53 A$3.65

$3.64 SGD 4.66

-30.49%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.34 A$1.93

$0.76 SGD 0.97

76.32%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$26.64 A$38.33

$16.14 SGD 20.66

65.06%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.18 A$1.70

$2.45 SGD 3.14

-51.84%

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$28.4K A$40.9K

$155.2K SGD 198.5K

-81.67%

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$26.0K A$37.4K

$148.5K SGD 190.0K

-82.50%

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$206 A$296

$172 SGD 220

19.83%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$27.76 A$39.95

$12.39 SGD 15.86

124.05%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$57.4 A$82.6

$26.21 SGD 33.54

119.00%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$31.36 A$45.13

$108 SGD 138

-70.97%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.18 A$16.09

$12.31 SGD 15.75

-9.18%

Cinema Ticket

$15.38 A$22.14

$11.64 SGD 14.90

32.13%

Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)

$2,144 A$3,085

$1,481 SGD 1,895

44.78%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$30.2K A$43.4K

$28.3K SGD 36.3K

6.52%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.7 A$98.8

$80.6 SGD 103

-14.77%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$50.1 A$72.2

$50.1 SGD 64.1

0.06%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$99.6 A$143

$112 SGD 143

-10.94%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$134 A$193

$129 SGD 165

3.82%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$923 A$1,329

$3,015 SGD 3,858

-69.37%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$671 A$965

$2,171 SGD 2,778

-69.10%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,288 A$1,854

$5,842 SGD 7,475

-77.95%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,454 A$2,092

$4,044 SGD 5,174

-64.05%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,622 A$6,651

$23.8K SGD 30.4K

-80.57%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,449 A$4,963

$16.8K SGD 21.4K

-79.41%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,136 A$4,512

$4,385 SGD 5,611

-28.49%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.55

2.44

127.46%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Ballarat: October 11, 2026

Last update for Singapore: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Accommodation & Living

Ballarat

$671 35.3%

Singapore

$2.2K 62% 224% $1.5K

Groceries & Markets

Ballarat

$350 18.4%

Singapore

$458 13.1% 30.6% $107

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ballarat

$291 15.3%

Singapore

$210 6% 27.7% $81

Eating Out

Ballarat

$280 14.7%

Singapore

$256 7.3% 8.5% $24

Clothing & Footwear

Ballarat

$158 8.3%

Singapore

$167 4.8% 5.4% $8.6

Getting Around

Ballarat

$90 4.7%

Singapore

$107 3.1% 19.2% $17

Sport & Entertainment

Ballarat

$62 3.3%

Singapore

$131 3.8% 111% $69

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $923 in Ballarat and $3,015 in Singapore. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Singapore pays 40% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $70.0 in Ballarat vs $71.0 in Singapore for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $350 vs $458 per month, with Ballarat cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Ballarat

🇸🇬 Singapore

🕒 Local time

03:49 3:49 AM

00:49 12:49 AM

3 h behind Ballarat

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

105,348

5,535,002 Capital

💱 Currency

Australian Dollar AUD $

Singapore Dollar SGD $

📈 Exchange rate

1 AUD = 0.695 USD

1 AUD = 0.618 EUR

1 SGD = 0.781 USD

1 SGD = 0.695 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

SGD, USD, EUR to AUD – Australian Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇦🇺 Australian Dollar ($)

Australian Dollar exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 1.44 AUD (1 AUD = 0.695 USD). 1 EUR = 1.62 AUD (1 AUD = 0.618 EUR).

Singapore Dollar exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 1.28 SGD (1 SGD = 0.781 USD). 1 EUR = 1.44 SGD (1 SGD = 0.695 EUR).

USD to AUD in detail →

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Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

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Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Ballarat vs Singapore: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Ballarat wins on cost – living expenses run 84% lower than in Singapore. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Ballarat the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 40% lower in Singapore. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $923 in Ballarat versus $3,015 in Singapore. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $2,144 in Ballarat versus $1,481 in Singapore. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 31% higher in Singapore. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,902 in Ballarat versus $3,500 in Singapore, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Ballarat but tight or insufficient in Singapore. The gap between the two cities makes Ballarat the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

Safety-wise, Ballarat and Singapore are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Ballarat gentler on the wallet – expenses run 84% less than in Singapore. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.