Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Huzhou and Melbourne

For one person, living is cheaper in Huzhou: $804 a month against $2,821 in Melbourne, rent and utilities included – about $24,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

39

Cost of Living Index in Huzhou
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Huzhou Living Index
138

Cost of Living Index in Melbourne
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Melbourne Living Index

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Huzhou

🇨🇳 China

$804

/mo nomad

Melbourne

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,821

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Huzhou and in Melbourne

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $804 in Huzhou versus $2,821 in Melbourne.

Huzhou $804
Melbourne $2,821

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,330 in Huzhou versus $4,235 in Melbourne.

Huzhou $1,330
Melbourne $4,235

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,856 in Huzhou versus $5,650 in Melbourne.

Huzhou $1,856
Melbourne $5,650

Living in Huzhou costs roughly 71% less than in Melbourne, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Huzhou is 40% below, Melbourne is 109% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.37 ¥29.24

$17.43 A$25.08

-74.93%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$30.27 ¥202

$84.6 A$122

-64.20%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.38 ¥35.94

$12.46 A$17.92

-56.82%

Cappuccino

$3.28 ¥21.91

$4.11 A$5.91

-20.19%

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

$0.61 ¥4.10

$3.06 A$4.40

-80.07%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.38 ¥2.54

$2.52 A$3.62

-84.92%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.23 ¥8.24

$9.80 A$14.10

-87.45%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.27 ¥15.15

$8.57 A$12.33

-73.51%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.78 ¥11.90

$1.48 A$2.14

20.27%

White Bread (500g)

$1.97 ¥13.16

$2.94 A$4.23

-32.99%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.04 ¥6.92

$2.66 A$3.82

-60.90%

Eggs

$1.72 ¥11.52

$5.54 A$7.97

-68.95%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.96 ¥113

$10.51 A$15.13

61.37%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.21 ¥21.48

$9.65 A$13.89

-66.74%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.93 ¥86.5

$15.22 A$21.91

-15.05%

Apples (1kg)

$2.21 ¥14.80

$3.99 A$5.75

-44.61%

Banana (1kg)

$1.65 ¥11.06

$3.02 A$4.34

-45.36%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.01 ¥13.46

$3.10 A$4.46

-35.16%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.67 ¥11.14

$4.82 A$6.93

-65.35%

Potato (1kg)

$0.77 ¥5.12

$3.03 A$4.36

-74.59%

Onion (1kg)

$0.94 ¥6.26

$2.44 A$3.52

-61.48%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.66 ¥4.43

$2.46 A$3.54

-73.17%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.59 ¥3.92

$1.63 A$2.34

-63.80%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.72 ¥24.88

$44.07 A$63.4

-91.56%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.80 ¥72.2

$12.70 A$18.28

-14.96%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.89 ¥5.93

$5.54 A$7.97

-83.94%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.62 ¥10.81

$5.23 A$7.52

-69.02%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.29 ¥1.91

$3.74 A$5.38

-92.25%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$16.29 ¥109

$138 A$198

-88.15%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.04 ¥13.64

$4.51 A$6.50

-54.77%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.47 ¥3.13

$1.36 A$1.96

-65.44%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.81 ¥58.9

$30.45 A$43.81

-71.07%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.28 ¥8.53

$1.47 A$2.12

-12.93%

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

$19.5K ¥130.3K

$29.0K A$41.7K

-32.79%

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

$18.5K ¥124.0K

$26.5K A$38.1K

-29.97%

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

$56.6 ¥379

$234 A$336

-75.77%

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

$7.85 ¥52.5

$27.93 A$40.19

-71.89%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$10.59 ¥70.8

$55.7 A$80.2

-81.00%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$46.67 ¥312

$49.40 A$71.1

-5.53%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$13.48 ¥90.1

$21.48 A$30.91

-37.24%

Cinema Ticket

$9.16 ¥61.3

$15.09 A$21.72

-39.30%

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

$425 ¥2,840

$2,371 A$3,412

-82.09%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$27.5K ¥183.9K

$30.2K A$43.5K

-8.92%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$54.9 ¥367

$80.0 A$115

-31.32%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$37.32 ¥250

$50.7 A$73.0

-26.39%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.4 ¥497

$121 A$174

-38.31%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$104 ¥695

$130 A$188

-20.25%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$300 ¥2,006

$1,759 A$2,531

-82.95%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$181 ¥1,210

$1,390 A$2,000

-86.98%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$617 ¥4,122

$3,494 A$5,027

-82.35%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$409 ¥2,735

$2,493 A$3,588

-83.59%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,531 ¥23.6K

$6,926 A$9,967

-49.02%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,935 ¥12.9K

$6,445 A$9,274

-69.98%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,179 ¥7,884

$4,383 A$6,307

-73.10%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.36

5.9

-43.05%

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

Last update for Huzhou: October 11, 2026

Last update for Melbourne: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Huzhou

$235 29.2%

Melbourne

$384 13.6% 63.6% $149

Accommodation & Living

Huzhou

$181 22.5%

Melbourne

$1.4K 49.3% 668% $1.2K

Clothing & Footwear

Huzhou

$122 15.1%

Melbourne

$172 6.1% 41% $50

Eating Out

Huzhou

$105 13.1%

Melbourne

$315 11.2% 199% $209

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Huzhou

$75 9.3%

Melbourne

$317 11.3% 323% $242

Sport & Entertainment

Huzhou

$65 8.1%

Melbourne

$80 2.8% 22.5% $15

Getting Around

Huzhou

$22 2.7%

Melbourne

$164 5.8% 651% $142

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $300 in Huzhou and $1,759 in Melbourne. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Melbourne pays 272% 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: $30.00 in Huzhou vs $85.0 in Melbourne for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $235 vs $384 per month, with Huzhou cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇳 Huzhou

🇦🇺 Melbourne

🕒 Local time

12:48 12:48 PM

15:48 3:48 PM

3 h ahead of Huzhou

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,893,542

5,031,195

💱 Currency

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

Australian Dollar AUD $

📈 Exchange rate

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.133 EUR

1 AUD = 0.695 USD

1 AUD = 0.618 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

AUD, USD, EUR to CNY – Chinese Yuan Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇳 Chinese Yuan (¥)

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 6.69 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.52 CNY (1 CNY = 0.133 EUR).

Australian Dollar exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 1.44 AUD (1 AUD = 0.695 USD). 1 EUR = 1.62 AUD (1 AUD = 0.618 EUR).

USD to CNY in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Huzhou Melbourne 8,060 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Huzhou
Melbourne

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

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Huzhou vs Melbourne: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Huzhou is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and eating out. The 251% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 272% lower in Melbourne. 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: $300 in Huzhou versus $1,759 in Melbourne. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 64% higher in Melbourne. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Huzhou – a meal for two runs $30.00 versus $85.0 in Melbourne. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $804 in Huzhou versus $2,821 in Melbourne, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Huzhou but tight or insufficient in Melbourne. The gap between the two cities makes Huzhou 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, Huzhou and Melbourne 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 Huzhou gentler on the wallet – expenses run 251% less than in Melbourne. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.