Cost of Living Comparison Between Lake Macquarie and Melbourne Cost of Living Comparison Between Lake Macquarie and Melbourne

🙂 Solo nomad: Lake Macquarie is 18.2% cheaper than Melbourne without rent, and 17.1% cheaper with rent.

🙂 Family of 3: Lake Macquarie is 4% cheaper than Melbourne without rent, and 5.5% cheaper with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.91 A$19.78

$19.2 A$29.41

-32.76%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$77.1 A$118

$78.6 A$120

-1.88%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.66 A$14.79

$10.02 A$15.35

-3.59%

Cappuccino

$3.34 A$5.12

$3.67 A$5.62

-8.99%

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

$2.38 A$3.65

$2.54 A$3.89

-6.30%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2 A$3.07

$2.28 A$3.49

-12.28%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.35 A$9.72

$7.28 A$11.15

-12.77%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.96 A$10.66

$7.3 A$11.18

-4.66%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.37 A$2.1

$1.44 A$2.2

-4.86%

White Bread (500g)

$1.44 A$2.2

$2.63 A$4.02

-45.25%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.19 A$1.82

$2.27 A$3.48

-47.58%

Eggs

$3.14 A$4.81

$4.86 A$7.45

-35.39%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.51 A$11.5

$8.74 A$13.39

-14.07%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.07 A$9.3

$9.19 A$14.07

-33.95%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.78 A$18.05

$14.95 A$22.9

-21.20%

Apples (1kg)

$3.11 A$4.76

$3.33 A$5.1

-6.61%

Banana (1kg)

$2.7 A$4.13

$2.84 A$4.35

-4.93%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.16 A$4.84

$3 A$4.6

5.33%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.33 A$6.64

$3.95 A$6.05

9.62%

Potato (1kg)

$1.95 A$2.98

$2.67 A$4.09

-26.97%

Onion (1kg)

$1.74 A$2.66

$2.34 A$3.58

-25.64%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.35 A$2.07

$2.15 A$3.3

-37.21%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.13 A$1.73

$1.64 A$2.5

-31.10%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$27.52 A$42.16

$32.11 A$49.19

-14.29%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.24 A$11.09

$13.13 A$20.11

-44.86%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.62 A$4.02

$4.54 A$6.96

-42.29%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.15 A$3.3

$5.05 A$7.74

-57.43%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.07 A$3.17

$3.67 A$5.62

-43.60%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$88.9 A$136

$118 A$180

-24.55%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.87 A$2.86

$3.65 A$5.6

-48.77%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.55 A$2.37

$1.34 A$2.05

15.67%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$46.5 A$71.2

$27.26 A$41.77

70.58%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.19 A$1.82

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

$24.9K A$38.2K

$28.6K A$43.9K

-12.92%

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

$20.2K A$30.9K

$23.5K A$36K

-14.20%

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

$204 A$313

$150 A$230

35.94%

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

$10.26 A$15.72

$20.8 A$31.86

-50.67%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$42.08 A$64.5

$51 A$78.2

-17.55%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.44 A$75.7

$48.23 A$73.9

2.51%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.88 A$24.33

$15.91 A$24.38

-0.19%

Cinema Ticket

$9.2 A$14.1

$16.53 A$25.32

-44.34%

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

$1,446 A$2,215

$1,730 A$2,651

-16.45%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,951 A$15.2K

$19.1K A$29.3K

-48.00%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$73.4 A$112

$67.8 A$104

8.26%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$33.88 A$51.9

$53.7 A$82.2

-36.87%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$76.6 A$117

$108 A$165

-28.80%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$132 A$202

$106 A$162

24.66%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,240 A$1,900

$1,548 A$2,371

-19.89%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$976 A$1,495

$1,228 A$1,881

-20.52%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,007 A$3,074

$2,973 A$4,555

-32.51%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,055 A$3,148

$1,956 A$2,997

5.06%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,582 A$8,552

$7,110 A$10.9K

-21.48%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,951 A$7,584

$5,790 A$8,871

-14.50%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,783 A$7,327

$4,045 A$6,198

18.22%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.35

6.19

-29.73%

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

Last update for Lake Macquarie: October 29, 2025

Last update for Melbourne: October 28, 2025

Similar cities

Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

Nosara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

Buenos Aires

🇦🇷 Argentina

Taipei

🇹🇼 Taiwan

Riga

🇱🇻 Latvia

Thessaloniki

🇬🇷 Greece

Ljubljana

🇸🇮 Slovenia

Split

🇭🇷 Croatia