Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Jining and Melbourne

For one person, living is cheaper in Jining: $675 a month against $2,821 in Melbourne, rent and utilities included – about $25,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

33

Cost of Living Index in Jining
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Jining Living Index
138

Cost of Living Index in Melbourne
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Melbourne Living Index

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Jining

🇨🇳 China

$675

/mo nomad

Melbourne

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,821

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $675 in Jining versus $2,821 in Melbourne.

Jining $675
Melbourne $2,821

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,012 in Jining versus $4,235 in Melbourne.

Jining $1,012
Melbourne $4,235

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,349 in Jining versus $5,650 in Melbourne.

Jining $1,349
Melbourne $5,650

Living in Jining 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: Jining is 50% below, Melbourne is 109% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.19 ¥14.62

$17.43 A$25.08

-87.44%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$16.48 ¥110

$84.6 A$122

-80.51%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.37 ¥29.21

$12.46 A$17.92

-64.93%

Cappuccino

$2.51 ¥16.75

$4.11 A$5.91

-38.93%

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

$0.51 ¥3.41

$3.06 A$4.40

-83.33%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.31 ¥2.08

$2.52 A$3.62

-87.70%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$0.93 ¥6.21

$9.80 A$14.10

-90.51%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.61 ¥10.80

$8.57 A$12.33

-81.21%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.70 ¥11.35

$1.48 A$2.14

14.86%

White Bread (500g)

$1.18 ¥7.89

$2.94 A$4.23

-59.86%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.94 ¥6.27

$2.66 A$3.82

-64.66%

Eggs

$0.96 ¥6.43

$5.54 A$7.97

-82.67%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.16 ¥54.5

$10.51 A$15.13

-22.36%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.87 ¥19.17

$9.65 A$13.89

-70.26%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.26 ¥68.6

$15.22 A$21.91

-32.59%

Apples (1kg)

$1.45 ¥9.68

$3.99 A$5.75

-63.66%

Banana (1kg)

$0.99 ¥6.61

$3.02 A$4.34

-67.22%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.06 ¥7.06

$3.10 A$4.46

-65.81%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.17 ¥7.84

$4.82 A$6.93

-75.73%

Potato (1kg)

$0.61 ¥4.09

$3.03 A$4.36

-79.87%

Onion (1kg)

$0.73 ¥4.89

$2.44 A$3.52

-70.08%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.66 ¥4.42

$2.46 A$3.54

-73.17%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.76 ¥5.08

$1.63 A$2.34

-53.37%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.31 ¥35.50

$44.07 A$63.4

-87.95%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.86 ¥65.9

$12.70 A$18.28

-22.36%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.95 ¥6.32

$5.54 A$7.97

-82.85%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.61 ¥10.74

$5.23 A$7.52

-69.22%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 ¥2.08

$3.74 A$5.38

-91.71%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$18.21 ¥122

$138 A$198

-86.76%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.04 ¥6.94

$4.51 A$6.50

-76.94%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.29 ¥1.93

$1.36 A$1.96

-78.68%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.60 ¥24.10

$30.45 A$43.81

-88.18%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.31 ¥8.77

$1.47 A$2.12

-10.88%

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

$19.3K ¥129.0K

$29.0K A$41.7K

-33.46%

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

$17.6K ¥117.7K

$26.5K A$38.1K

-33.53%

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

$60.8 ¥407

$234 A$336

-73.97%

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

$6.92 ¥46.30

$27.93 A$40.19

-75.22%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$10.47 ¥70.0

$55.7 A$80.2

-81.22%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$42.31 ¥283

$49.40 A$71.1

-14.35%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.20 ¥102

$21.48 A$30.91

-29.24%

Cinema Ticket

$4.43 ¥29.64

$15.09 A$21.72

-70.64%

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

$386 ¥2,578

$2,371 A$3,412

-83.74%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,427 ¥49.7K

$30.2K A$43.5K

-75.40%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.12 ¥288

$80.0 A$115

-46.08%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$33.56 ¥224

$50.7 A$73.0

-33.81%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.6 ¥485

$121 A$174

-39.83%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$69.8 ¥466

$130 A$188

-46.51%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$281 ¥1,880

$1,759 A$2,531

-84.01%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$182 ¥1,214

$1,390 A$2,000

-86.93%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$391 ¥2,615

$3,494 A$5,027

-88.81%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$269 ¥1,796

$2,493 A$3,588

-89.23%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,524 ¥23.6K

$6,926 A$9,967

-49.11%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,958 ¥13.1K

$6,445 A$9,274

-69.61%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$592 ¥3,957

$4,383 A$6,307

-86.50%

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 Jining: October 12, 2026

Last update for Melbourne: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Jining

$182 26.9%

Melbourne

$1.4K 49.3% 665% $1.2K

Groceries & Markets

Jining

$172 25.5%

Melbourne

$384 13.6% 123% $212

Clothing & Footwear

Jining

$99 14.6%

Melbourne

$172 6.1% 74.3% $73

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Jining

$78 11.6%

Melbourne

$317 11.3% 306% $239

Eating Out

Jining

$72 10.6%

Melbourne

$315 11.2% 338% $243

Sport & Entertainment

Jining

$51 7.6%

Melbourne

$80 2.8% 55.5% $28

Getting Around

Jining

$22 3.3%

Melbourne

$164 5.8% 647% $142

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $281 in Jining and $1,759 in Melbourne. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

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: $16.00 in Jining vs $85.0 in Melbourne for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $172 vs $384 per month, with Jining cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇳 Jining

🇦🇺 Melbourne

🕒 Local time

12:54 12:54 PM

15:54 3:54 PM

3 h ahead of Jining

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

8,357,897

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

Jining Melbourne 8,650 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Jining
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

Jining vs Melbourne: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Jining is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and eating out. The 318% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

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.

Rent for a central apartment: $281 in Jining versus $1,759 in Melbourne. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Jining runs roughly 655% less than in Melbourne. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $386 in Jining versus $2,371 in Melbourne. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $675 in Jining versus $2,821 in Melbourne, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Jining but tight or insufficient in Melbourne. The gap between the two cities makes Jining 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, Jining 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 Jining gentler on the wallet – expenses run 318% less than in Melbourne. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.