Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Jilin and Melbourne

For one person, living is cheaper in Jilin: $737 a month against $2,853 in Melbourne, rent and utilities included – about $25,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

36

Cost of Living Index in Jilin
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Jilin Living Index
138

Cost of Living Index in Melbourne
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Melbourne Living Index

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Jilin

🇨🇳 China

$737

/mo nomad

Melbourne

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,853

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $737 per month in Jilin vs $2,853 in Melbourne, rent included.

Jilin $737
Melbourne $2,853

A couple spends around $1,185 per month in Jilin vs $4,275 in Melbourne, rent included.

Jilin $1,185
Melbourne $4,275

A family of three spends $1,633 per month in Jilin vs $5,697 in Melbourne, rent included.

Jilin $1,633
Melbourne $5,697

Jilin is about 74% cheaper than Melbourne, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Jilin sits 46% below the global median, while Melbourne is 111% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.96 ¥19.79

$17.20 A$24.75

-82.79%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$22.66 ¥152

$83.1 A$120

-72.73%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.31 ¥35.51

$12.43 A$17.88

-57.28%

Cappuccino

$3.46 ¥23.12

$4.05 A$5.82

-14.57%

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

$0.45 ¥2.98

$3.12 A$4.50

-85.58%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.25 ¥1.65

$2.46 A$3.54

-89.84%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.15 ¥7.69

$9.52 A$13.71

-87.92%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.26 ¥15.12

$8.16 A$11.74

-72.30%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.75 ¥11.67

$1.56 A$2.25

12.18%

White Bread (500g)

$1.63 ¥10.92

$2.90 A$4.18

-43.79%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.93 ¥6.24

$2.66 A$3.82

-65.04%

Eggs

$1.68 ¥11.21

$5.37 A$7.72

-68.72%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.07 ¥87.4

$10.67 A$15.36

22.49%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.40 ¥22.75

$9.85 A$14.17

-65.48%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.15 ¥74.6

$15.36 A$22.11

-27.41%

Apples (1kg)

$1.80 ¥12.07

$4.17 A$6.00

-56.83%

Banana (1kg)

$1.28 ¥8.55

$3.15 A$4.53

-59.37%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.57 ¥10.48

$3.26 A$4.69

-51.84%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.26 ¥8.42

$4.76 A$6.85

-73.53%

Potato (1kg)

$0.70 ¥4.68

$3.06 A$4.41

-77.12%

Onion (1kg)

$0.96 ¥6.44

$2.47 A$3.55

-61.13%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.63 ¥4.21

$2.45 A$3.52

-74.29%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.54 ¥3.62

$1.63 A$2.34

-66.87%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.81 ¥25.49

$45.17 A$65.0

-91.57%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.76 ¥78.6

$12.68 A$18.25

-7.26%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.88 ¥5.92

$5.69 A$8.18

-84.53%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.62 ¥10.84

$5.23 A$7.53

-69.02%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.29 ¥1.91

$3.87 A$5.57

-92.51%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$18.27 ¥122

$142 A$204

-87.13%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.08 ¥7.21

$4.54 A$6.53

-76.21%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.24 ¥1.59

$1.42 A$2.04

-83.10%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.08 ¥47.35

$30.59 A$44.01

-76.86%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.25 ¥8.38

$1.47 A$2.11

-14.97%

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

$19.7K ¥131.7K

$28.9K A$41.5K

-31.76%

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

$17.2K ¥114.9K

$25.9K A$37.3K

-33.68%

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

$56.7 ¥379

$235 A$338

-75.90%

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

$8.74 ¥58.4

$27.45 A$39.51

-68.16%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$11.28 ¥75.4

$56.1 A$80.8

-79.90%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$42.47 ¥284

$50.1 A$72.1

-15.23%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.22 ¥102

$21.49 A$30.93

-29.18%

Cinema Ticket

$6.30 ¥42.12

$17.76 A$25.56

-64.53%

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

$415 ¥2,774

$2,385 A$3,432

-82.61%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.4K ¥116.6K

$29.7K A$42.7K

-41.18%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.23 ¥289

$79.2 A$114

-45.39%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$34.09 ¥228

$49.49 A$71.2

-31.12%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$73.9 ¥494

$118 A$170

-37.57%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$74.2 ¥496

$132 A$190

-43.83%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$297 ¥1,989

$1,763 A$2,537

-83.13%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$181 ¥1,208

$1,411 A$2,031

-87.20%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$635 ¥4,248

$3,522 A$5,069

-81.96%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$377 ¥2,517

$2,525 A$3,634

-85.09%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,419 ¥22.9K

$7,136 A$10.3K

-52.08%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,956 ¥13.1K

$6,355 A$9,144

-69.21%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$451 ¥3,018

$4,258 A$6,128

-89.40%

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 Jilin: October 19, 2026

Last update for Melbourne: October 17, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Jilin

$207 28.2%

Melbourne

$388 13.6% 87.3% $181

Accommodation & Living

Jilin

$181 24.5%

Melbourne

$1.4K 49.5% 681% $1.2K

Clothing & Footwear

Jilin

$101 13.8%

Melbourne

$171 6% 68.2% $69

Eating Out

Jilin

$94 12.8%

Melbourne

$310 10.9% 229% $216

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Jilin

$77 10.4%

Melbourne

$319 11.2% 316% $242

Sport & Entertainment

Jilin

$55 7.5%

Melbourne

$86 3% 55.5% $31

Getting Around

Jilin

$22 2.9%

Melbourne

$169 5.9% 680% $147

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $297 in Jilin versus $1,763 in Melbourne. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 843% higher in Melbourne, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $23.00 in Jilin versus $83.0 in Melbourne. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $207 vs $388 – making Jilin the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇨🇳 Jilin

🇦🇺 Melbourne

🕒 Local time

04:22 4:22 AM

07:22 7:22 AM

3 h ahead of Jilin

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,623,713

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

Jilin Melbourne 9,270 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Jilin
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

Jilin vs Melbourne: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Melbourne costs about 287% more than Jilin, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from eating out. That's enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,106 per month in Jilin and $4,280 in Melbourne. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Jilin, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Kindergarten costs $415 per month in Jilin and $2,385 in Melbourne. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 87% more in Melbourne, though it depends on what you buy. Local produce may be comparable; imported and premium items show the biggest price gap.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Jilin, where all-in costs run around $737, than in Melbourne at $2,853. In Jilin it covers expenses comfortably, while in Melbourne it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Jilin – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

If budget matters most, go with Jilin. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Melbourne makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.