Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Melbourne and Ibaraki

For one person, living is cheaper in Ibaraki: $1,130 a month against $2,853 in Melbourne, rent and utilities included – about $20,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

138

Cost of Living Index in Melbourne
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Melbourne Living Index
55

Cost of Living Index in Ibaraki
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Ibaraki Living Index

Jump to prices

Melbourne

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,853

/mo nomad

Ibaraki

🇯🇵 Japan

$1,130

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Melbourne and in Ibaraki

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Melbourne and in Ibaraki actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,853 in Melbourne versus $1,130 in Ibaraki.

Melbourne $2,853
Ibaraki $1,130

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,275 in Melbourne versus $1,756 in Ibaraki.

Melbourne $4,275
Ibaraki $1,756

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,697 in Melbourne versus $2,383 in Ibaraki.

Melbourne $5,697
Ibaraki $2,383

Living in Melbourne is roughly 153% more expensive than in Ibaraki, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Melbourne is 111% above, Ibaraki is 17% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.20 A$24.75

$6.43 ¥1,016

167.50%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$83.1 A$120

$30.94 ¥4,888

168.62%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.43 A$17.88

$4.95 ¥781

151.11%

Cappuccino

$4.05 A$5.82

$3.04 ¥480

33.22%

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

$3.12 A$4.50

$1.15 ¥182

171.30%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.46 A$3.54

$0.75 ¥119

228.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.52 A$13.71

$2.66 ¥421

257.89%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.16 A$11.74

$3.16 ¥499

158.23%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.56 A$2.25

$2.70 ¥427

-42.22%

White Bread (500g)

$2.90 A$4.18

$1.54 ¥244

88.31%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.66 A$3.82

$4.04 ¥638

-34.16%

Eggs

$5.37 A$7.72

$2.12 ¥334

153.30%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.67 A$15.36

$10.53 ¥1,663

1.33%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.85 A$14.17

$6.66 ¥1,053

47.90%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.36 A$22.11

$16.42 ¥2,594

-6.46%

Apples (1kg)

$4.17 A$6.00

$3.79 ¥599

10.03%

Banana (1kg)

$3.15 A$4.53

$2.26 ¥357

39.38%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.26 A$4.69

$2.81 ¥443

16.01%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.76 A$6.85

$4.08 ¥645

16.67%

Potato (1kg)

$3.06 A$4.41

$2.43 ¥384

25.93%

Onion (1kg)

$2.47 A$3.55

$2.56 ¥404

-3.52%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.45 A$3.52

$1.24 ¥196

97.58%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.63 A$2.34

$0.85 ¥134

91.76%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$45.17 A$65.0

$3.33 ¥526

1256.46%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.68 A$18.25

$6.66 ¥1,052

90.39%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$5.69 A$8.18

$1.78 ¥282

219.66%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.23 A$7.53

$2.15 ¥340

143.26%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.87 A$5.57

$1.68 ¥266

130.36%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$142 A$204

$54.3 ¥8,582

161.34%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.54 A$6.53

$4.65 ¥735

-2.37%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.42 A$2.04

$2.81 ¥444

-49.47%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$30.59 A$44.01

$18.30 ¥2,890

67.16%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 A$2.11

$1.13 ¥178

30.09%

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

$28.9K A$41.5K

$21.4K ¥3.4M

35.13%

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

$25.9K A$37.3K

$15.1K ¥2.4M

71.16%

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

$235 A$338

$136 ¥21.5K

72.95%

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

$27.45 A$39.51

$23.88 ¥3,773

14.95%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$56.1 A$80.8

$31.10 ¥4,913

80.48%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$50.1 A$72.1

$51.5 ¥8,140

-2.76%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.49 A$30.93

Cinema Ticket

$17.76 A$25.56

$12.95 ¥2,046

37.14%

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

$2,385 A$3,432

$464 ¥73.3K

413.91%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$29.7K A$42.7K

$13.6K ¥2.1M

118.72%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$79.2 A$114

$26.48 ¥4,184

198.94%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$49.49 A$71.2

$31.63 ¥4,997

56.47%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$118 A$170

$67.2 ¥10.6K

76.33%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$132 A$190

$79.9 ¥12.6K

65.51%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,763 A$2,537

$401 ¥63.4K

339.20%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,411 A$2,031

$260 ¥41.1K

442.42%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,522 A$5,069

$1,102 ¥174.2K

219.53%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,525 A$3,634

$528 ¥83.3K

378.72%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,136 A$10.3K

$3,937 ¥622.0K

81.24%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,355 A$9,144

$1,554 ¥245.6K

308.82%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,258 A$6,128

$2,553 ¥403.3K

66.79%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.9

2.21

166.97%

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

Last update for Melbourne: October 17, 2026

Last update for Ibaraki: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Melbourne

$1.4K 49.5%

Ibaraki

$260 23% 81.6% $1.2K

Groceries & Markets

Melbourne

$388 13.6%

Ibaraki

$300 26.5% 22.9% $89

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Melbourne

$319 11.2%

Ibaraki

$191 16.9% 40.1% $128

Eating Out

Melbourne

$310 10.9%

Ibaraki

$130 11.5% 58% $180

Clothing & Footwear

Melbourne

$171 6%

Ibaraki

$92 8.2% 45.9% $78

Getting Around

Melbourne

$169 5.9%

Ibaraki

$80 7.1% 52.8% $89

Sport & Entertainment

Melbourne

$86 3%

Ibaraki

$77 6.9% 9.6% $8.2

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,763 in Melbourne and $401 in Ibaraki. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Melbourne pays 67% 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: $83.0 in Melbourne vs $31.00 in Ibaraki for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $388 vs $300 per month, with Ibaraki cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Melbourne

🇯🇵 Ibaraki

🕒 Local time

10:46 10:46 AM

08:46 8:46 AM

2 h behind Melbourne

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

5,031,195

287,730

💱 Currency

Australian Dollar AUD $

Japanese Yen JPY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

1 AUD = 0.695 USD

1 AUD = 0.618 EUR

1,000 JPY = 6.33 USD

1,000 JPY = 5.63 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

JPY, USD, EUR to AUD – Australian Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇦🇺 Australian Dollar ($)

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).

Japanese Yen exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 158 JPY (1,000 JPY = 6.33 USD). 1 EUR = 178 JPY (1,000 JPY = 5.63 EUR).

USD to AUD in detail →

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Melbourne Ibaraki 8,130 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Melbourne
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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

Melbourne vs Ibaraki: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Melbourne and Ibaraki differ by about 153% in total monthly costs ($2,853 vs $1,130 including rent). Ibaraki is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 67% higher in Melbourne, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,763 in Melbourne versus $401 in Ibaraki. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 30% higher in Melbourne. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Ibaraki – a meal for two runs $31.00 versus $83.0 in Melbourne. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,130 in Ibaraki versus $2,853 in Melbourne, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Ibaraki but tight or insufficient in Melbourne. The gap between the two cities makes Ibaraki 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, Melbourne and Ibaraki 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 Ibaraki gentler on the wallet – expenses run 153% less than in Melbourne. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.