Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Jiaozuo and Melbourne

For one person, living is cheaper in Jiaozuo: $674 a month against $2,853 in Melbourne, rent and utilities included – about $26,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

32

Cost of Living Index in Jiaozuo
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Jiaozuo Living Index
138

Cost of Living Index in Melbourne
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Melbourne Living Index

Jump to prices

Jiaozuo

🇨🇳 China

$674

/mo nomad

Melbourne

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,853

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $674 in Jiaozuo versus $2,853 in Melbourne.

Jiaozuo $674
Melbourne $2,853

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,059 in Jiaozuo versus $4,275 in Melbourne.

Jiaozuo $1,059
Melbourne $4,275

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,445 in Jiaozuo versus $5,697 in Melbourne.

Jiaozuo $1,445
Melbourne $5,697

Living in Jiaozuo costs roughly 76% less than in Melbourne, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Jiaozuo is 50% below, Melbourne is 111% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$1.82 ¥12.16

$17.20 A$24.75

-89.42%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$16.41 ¥110

$83.1 A$120

-80.26%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.59 ¥30.70

$12.43 A$17.88

-63.07%

Cappuccino

$2.48 ¥16.57

$4.05 A$5.82

-38.77%

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

$0.42 ¥2.78

$3.12 A$4.50

-86.54%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.26 ¥1.72

$2.46 A$3.54

-89.43%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$0.85 ¥5.71

$9.52 A$13.71

-91.07%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.68 ¥11.22

$8.16 A$11.74

-79.41%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.68 ¥11.26

$1.56 A$2.25

7.69%

White Bread (500g)

$1.58 ¥10.60

$2.90 A$4.18

-45.52%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.69 ¥4.60

$2.66 A$3.82

-74.06%

Eggs

$0.96 ¥6.40

$5.37 A$7.72

-82.12%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.43 ¥56.4

$10.67 A$15.36

-20.99%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.41 ¥16.11

$9.85 A$14.17

-75.53%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$8.26 ¥55.2

$15.36 A$22.11

-46.22%

Apples (1kg)

$1.18 ¥7.87

$4.17 A$6.00

-71.70%

Banana (1kg)

$0.98 ¥6.59

$3.15 A$4.53

-68.89%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.63 ¥4.20

$3.26 A$4.69

-80.67%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.57 ¥3.83

$4.76 A$6.85

-88.03%

Potato (1kg)

$0.53 ¥3.55

$3.06 A$4.41

-82.68%

Onion (1kg)

$0.47 ¥3.14

$2.47 A$3.55

-80.97%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.40 ¥2.66

$2.45 A$3.52

-83.67%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.73 ¥4.86

$1.63 A$2.34

-55.21%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.54 ¥17.00

$45.17 A$65.0

-94.38%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.79 ¥65.5

$12.68 A$18.25

-22.79%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.68 ¥4.58

$5.69 A$8.18

-88.05%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.02 ¥13.50

$5.23 A$7.53

-61.38%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 ¥2.08

$3.87 A$5.57

-91.99%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$17.86 ¥119

$142 A$204

-87.42%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.53 ¥10.25

$4.54 A$6.53

-66.30%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.31 ¥2.10

$1.42 A$2.04

-78.17%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.66 ¥24.48

$30.59 A$44.01

-88.04%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.98 ¥6.53

$1.47 A$2.11

-33.33%

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

$19.2K ¥128.3K

$28.9K A$41.5K

-33.50%

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

$17.6K ¥117.4K

$25.9K A$37.3K

-32.27%

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

$60.1 ¥402

$235 A$338

-74.45%

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

$7.17 ¥47.97

$27.45 A$39.51

-73.88%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$9.16 ¥61.3

$56.1 A$80.8

-83.68%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.7 ¥386

$50.1 A$72.1

15.17%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.04 ¥101

$21.49 A$30.93

-30.01%

Cinema Ticket

$3.94 ¥26.37

$17.76 A$25.56

-77.82%

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

$177 ¥1,182

$2,385 A$3,432

-92.59%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$21.6K ¥144.2K

$29.7K A$42.7K

-27.31%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.93 ¥294

$79.2 A$114

-44.50%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$34.16 ¥228

$49.49 A$71.2

-30.98%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$73.3 ¥490

$118 A$170

-38.14%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$65.3 ¥437

$132 A$190

-50.60%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$296 ¥1,982

$1,763 A$2,537

-83.19%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$185 ¥1,238

$1,411 A$2,031

-86.88%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$622 ¥4,158

$3,522 A$5,069

-82.34%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$380 ¥2,541

$2,525 A$3,634

-84.95%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,585 ¥17.3K

$7,136 A$10.3K

-63.77%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,965 ¥13.1K

$6,355 A$9,144

-69.08%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$566 ¥3,786

$4,258 A$6,128

-86.70%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.29

5.9

-44.24%

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

Last update for Jiaozuo: October 18, 2026

Last update for Melbourne: October 17, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Jiaozuo

$185 27.5%

Melbourne

$1.4K 49.5% 662% $1.2K

Groceries & Markets

Jiaozuo

$158 23.5%

Melbourne

$388 13.6% 145% $230

Clothing & Footwear

Jiaozuo

$97 14.5%

Melbourne

$171 6% 75.1% $73

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Jiaozuo

$76 11.3%

Melbourne

$319 11.2% 317% $242

Eating Out

Jiaozuo

$68 10.2%

Melbourne

$310 10.9% 353% $241

Sport & Entertainment

Jiaozuo

$66 9.7%

Melbourne

$86 3% 30.6% $20

Getting Around

Jiaozuo

$22 3.3%

Melbourne

$169 5.9% 661% $147

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $296 in Jiaozuo and $1,763 in Melbourne. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Melbourne pays 652% 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: $16.00 in Jiaozuo vs $83.0 in Melbourne for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $158 vs $388 per month, with Jiaozuo cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇳 Jiaozuo

🇦🇺 Melbourne

🕒 Local time

04:18 4:18 AM

07:18 7:18 AM

3 h ahead of Jiaozuo

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,539,860

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 →

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Between locations

Jiaozuo Melbourne 8,750 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Jiaozuo
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

Jiaozuo vs Melbourne: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Jiaozuo is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and eating out. The 324% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 652% 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: $296 in Jiaozuo versus $1,763 in Melbourne. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $177 in Jiaozuo versus $2,385 in Melbourne. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 145% higher in Melbourne. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $674 in Jiaozuo versus $2,853 in Melbourne, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Jiaozuo but tight or insufficient in Melbourne. The gap between the two cities makes Jiaozuo 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, Jiaozuo 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 Jiaozuo gentler on the wallet – expenses run 324% less than in Melbourne. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.