Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Jiangmen and Melbourne

For one person, living is cheaper in Jiangmen: $513 a month against $2,821 in Melbourne, rent and utilities included – about $27,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

25

Cost of Living Index in Jiangmen
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Jiangmen Living Index
138

Cost of Living Index in Melbourne
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Melbourne Living Index

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Jiangmen

🇨🇳 China

$513

/mo nomad

Melbourne

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,821

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Jiangmen 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 Jiangmen and in Melbourne actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $513 in Jiangmen versus $2,821 in Melbourne.

Jiangmen $513
Melbourne $2,821

Estimated couple costs with rent: $998 in Jiangmen versus $4,235 in Melbourne.

Jiangmen $998
Melbourne $4,235

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,483 in Jiangmen versus $5,650 in Melbourne.

Jiangmen $1,483
Melbourne $5,650

Living in Jiangmen costs roughly 82% less than in Melbourne, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Jiangmen is 62% below, Melbourne is 109% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.29 ¥21.97

$17.43 A$25.08

-81.12%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$30.07 ¥201

$84.6 A$122

-64.44%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.31 ¥35.49

$12.46 A$17.92

-57.38%

Cappuccino

$2.30 ¥15.38

$4.11 A$5.91

-44.04%

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

$0.43 ¥2.87

$3.06 A$4.40

-85.95%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.31 ¥2.08

$2.52 A$3.62

-87.70%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$0.91 ¥6.09

$9.80 A$14.10

-90.71%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.46 ¥9.79

$8.57 A$12.33

-82.96%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.60 ¥10.71

$1.48 A$2.14

8.11%

White Bread (500g)

$1.63 ¥10.89

$2.94 A$4.23

-44.56%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.07 ¥7.12

$2.66 A$3.82

-59.77%

Eggs

$1.77 ¥11.86

$5.54 A$7.97

-68.05%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$21.48 ¥144

$10.51 A$15.13

104.38%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.28 ¥15.27

$9.65 A$13.89

-76.37%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.38 ¥89.5

$15.22 A$21.91

-12.09%

Apples (1kg)

$2.16 ¥14.47

$3.99 A$5.75

-45.86%

Banana (1kg)

$0.89 ¥5.94

$3.02 A$4.34

-70.53%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.17 ¥7.80

$3.10 A$4.46

-62.26%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.43 ¥9.57

$4.82 A$6.93

-70.33%

Potato (1kg)

$0.64 ¥4.28

$3.03 A$4.36

-78.88%

Onion (1kg)

$0.93 ¥6.25

$2.44 A$3.52

-61.89%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.29 ¥1.93

$2.46 A$3.54

-88.21%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.55 ¥3.65

$1.63 A$2.34

-66.26%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.06 ¥20.45

$44.07 A$63.4

-93.06%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.19 ¥81.5

$12.70 A$18.28

-4.02%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.69 ¥4.63

$5.54 A$7.97

-87.55%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.76 ¥11.74

$5.23 A$7.52

-66.35%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.44 ¥2.93

$3.74 A$5.38

-88.24%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$138 A$198

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.41 ¥9.41

$4.51 A$6.50

-68.74%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.39 ¥2.60

$1.36 A$1.96

-71.32%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.09 ¥47.43

$30.45 A$43.81

-76.72%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.34 ¥8.97

$1.47 A$2.12

-8.84%

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

$19.8K ¥132.2K

$29.0K A$41.7K

-31.81%

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

$16.5K ¥110.5K

$26.5K A$38.1K

-37.57%

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

$49.45 ¥331

$234 A$336

-78.84%

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

$8.60 ¥57.5

$27.93 A$40.19

-69.21%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$12.27 ¥82.1

$55.7 A$80.2

-77.99%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$30.28 ¥202

$49.40 A$71.1

-38.70%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$4.51 ¥30.19

$21.48 A$30.91

-79.00%

Cinema Ticket

$6.49 ¥43.40

$15.09 A$21.72

-56.99%

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

$251 ¥1,676

$2,371 A$3,412

-89.43%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,533 ¥50.4K

$30.2K A$43.5K

-75.05%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$30.21 ¥202

$80.0 A$115

-62.22%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.86 ¥266

$50.7 A$73.0

-21.38%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.5 ¥485

$121 A$174

-39.91%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$44.20 ¥296

$130 A$188

-66.11%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,759 A$2,531

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,390 A$2,000

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$444 ¥2,968

$3,494 A$5,027

-87.29%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$273 ¥1,826

$2,493 A$3,588

-89.05%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,098 ¥40.8K

$6,926 A$9,967

-11.96%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,223 ¥8,178

$6,445 A$9,274

-81.02%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$592 ¥3,957

$4,383 A$6,307

-86.50%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.35

5.9

-43.22%

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

Last update for Jiangmen: October 12, 2026

Last update for Melbourne: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Jiangmen

$230 44.9%

Melbourne

$384 13.6% 66.6% $153

Clothing & Footwear

Jiangmen

$84 16.4%

Melbourne

$172 6.1% 104% $88

Eating Out

Jiangmen

$80 15.6%

Melbourne

$315 11.2% 292% $234

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Jiangmen

$70 13.7%

Melbourne

$317 11.3% 351% $247

Sport & Entertainment

Jiangmen

$43 8.4%

Melbourne

$80 2.8% 83.9% $36

Getting Around

Jiangmen

$5.1 * 1%

Melbourne

$164 5.8% 3111% $159

Accommodation & Living

Jiangmen

- * 0%

Melbourne

$1.4K 49.3%

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

Melbourne pays 641% 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 Jiangmen vs $85.0 in Melbourne for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $230 vs $384 per month, with Jiangmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇳 Jiangmen

🇦🇺 Melbourne

🕒 Local time

16:28 4:28 PM

19:28 7:28 PM

3 h ahead of Jiangmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

4,448,871

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 20, 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 20, 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

Jiangmen Melbourne 7,500 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Jiangmen
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

Jiangmen vs Melbourne: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Jiangmen and Melbourne differ by about 449% in total monthly costs ($513 vs $2,821 including rent). Jiangmen is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 641% 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.

Childcare runs $251 in Jiangmen versus $2,371 in Melbourne. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Jiangmen – 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 $513 in Jiangmen versus $2,821 in Melbourne, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Jiangmen but tight or insufficient in Melbourne. The gap between the two cities makes Jiangmen 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, Jiangmen 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 Jiangmen gentler on the wallet – expenses run 449% less than in Melbourne. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.