Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Melbourne and Ichikawa

For one person, living is cheaper in Ichikawa: $1,167 a month against $2,821 in Melbourne, rent and utilities included – about $19,800 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
57

Cost of Living Index in Ichikawa
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Ichikawa Living Index

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Melbourne

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,821

/mo nomad

Ichikawa

🇯🇵 Japan

$1,167

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Melbourne and in Ichikawa

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 Ichikawa actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,821 in Melbourne versus $1,167 in Ichikawa.

Melbourne $2,821
Ichikawa $1,167

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,235 in Melbourne versus $1,876 in Ichikawa.

Melbourne $4,235
Ichikawa $1,876

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,650 in Melbourne versus $2,585 in Ichikawa.

Melbourne $5,650
Ichikawa $2,585

Living in Melbourne is roughly 142% more expensive than in Ichikawa, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Melbourne is 109% above, Ichikawa is 14% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.43 A$25.08

$5.13 ¥811

239.77%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$84.6 A$122

$31.09 ¥4,912

171.95%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.46 A$17.92

$4.30 ¥680

189.77%

Cappuccino

$4.11 A$5.91

$2.23 ¥352

84.30%

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

$3.06 A$4.40

$0.72 ¥113

325.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.52 A$3.62

$0.35 ¥55.7

620.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.80 A$14.10

$2.50 ¥395

292.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.57 A$12.33

$3.18 ¥502

169.50%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.48 A$2.14

$1.38 ¥218

7.25%

White Bread (500g)

$2.94 A$4.23

$1.65 ¥261

78.18%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.66 A$3.82

$3.66 ¥578

-27.32%

Eggs

$5.54 A$7.97

$1.97 ¥311

181.22%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.51 A$15.13

$10.53 ¥1,663

-0.19%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.65 A$13.89

$5.86 ¥926

64.68%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.22 A$21.91

$14.38 ¥2,272

5.84%

Apples (1kg)

$3.99 A$5.75

$5.53 ¥874

-27.85%

Banana (1kg)

$3.02 A$4.34

$2.80 ¥442

7.86%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.10 A$4.46

$2.81 ¥444

10.32%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.82 A$6.93

$4.26 ¥673

13.15%

Potato (1kg)

$3.03 A$4.36

$2.61 ¥413

16.09%

Onion (1kg)

$2.44 A$3.52

$2.56 ¥404

-4.69%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.46 A$3.54

$1.28 ¥202

92.19%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.63 A$2.34

$0.75 ¥118

117.33%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$44.07 A$63.4

$3.73 ¥590

1081.50%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.70 A$18.28

$6.38 ¥1,007

99.06%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$5.54 A$7.97

$1.78 ¥281

211.24%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.23 A$7.52

$2.02 ¥320

158.91%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.74 A$5.38

$1.35 ¥213

177.04%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$138 A$198

$59.9 ¥9,457

129.74%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.51 A$6.50

$3.13 ¥494

44.09%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.36 A$1.96

$2.73 ¥432

-50.18%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$30.45 A$43.81

$20.59 ¥3,253

47.89%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 A$2.12

$1.05 ¥166

40.00%

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

$29.0K A$41.7K

$21.2K ¥3.4M

36.75%

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

$26.5K A$38.1K

$18.5K ¥2.9M

42.89%

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

$234 A$336

$132 ¥20.8K

77.25%

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

$27.93 A$40.19

$23.97 ¥3,788

16.52%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$55.7 A$80.2

$31.98 ¥5,052

74.30%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.40 A$71.1

$47.04 ¥7,431

5.02%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.48 A$30.91

Cinema Ticket

$15.09 A$21.72

$12.80 ¥2,022

17.89%

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

$2,371 A$3,412

$642 ¥101.4K

269.32%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$30.2K A$43.5K

$14.6K ¥2.3M

107.51%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$80.0 A$115

$62.0 ¥9,801

28.90%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$50.7 A$73.0

$37.27 ¥5,889

36.03%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 A$174

$60.5 ¥9,559

99.36%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$130 A$188

$102 ¥16.1K

28.14%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,759 A$2,531

$495 ¥78.3K

255.04%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,390 A$2,000

$317 ¥50.1K

338.63%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,494 A$5,027

$1,186 ¥187.3K

194.64%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,493 A$3,588

$763 ¥120.5K

226.84%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,926 A$9,967

$4,455 ¥703.9K

55.46%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,445 A$9,274

$1,881 ¥297.2K

242.65%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,383 A$6,307

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.9

2.64

123.48%

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

Last update for Melbourne: October 10, 2026

Last update for Ichikawa: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Melbourne

$1.4K 49.3%

Ichikawa

$317 27.1% 77.2% $1.1K

Groceries & Markets

Melbourne

$384 13.6%

Ichikawa

$287 24.6% 25.4% $97

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Melbourne

$317 11.3%

Ichikawa

$188 16.1% 40.8% $130

Eating Out

Melbourne

$315 11.2%

Ichikawa

$104 8.9% 67% $211

Clothing & Footwear

Melbourne

$172 6.1%

Ichikawa

$118 10.1% 31.5% $54

Getting Around

Melbourne

$164 5.8%

Ichikawa

$82 7% 49.9% $82

Sport & Entertainment

Melbourne

$80 2.8%

Ichikawa

$73 6.2% 8.7% $7

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,759 in Melbourne and $495 in Ichikawa. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $85.0 in Melbourne vs $31.00 in Ichikawa for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $384 vs $287 per month, with Ichikawa cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Melbourne

🇯🇵 Ichikawa

🕒 Local time

07:19 7:19 AM

05:19 5:19 AM

2 h behind Melbourne

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

5,031,195

496,676

💱 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 18, 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 18, 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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Between locations

Melbourne Ichikawa 8,190 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Melbourne
Ichikawa

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 Ichikawa: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Melbourne and Ichikawa differ by about 142% in total monthly costs ($2,821 vs $1,167 including rent). Ichikawa is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $4,231 in Melbourne and $1,751 in Ichikawa to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,759 in Melbourne versus $495 in Ichikawa. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 34% higher in Melbourne. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Ichikawa – a meal for two runs $31.00 versus $85.0 in Melbourne. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,167 in Ichikawa versus $2,821 in Melbourne, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Ichikawa but tight or insufficient in Melbourne. The gap between the two cities makes Ichikawa 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 Ichikawa 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 Ichikawa gentler on the wallet – expenses run 142% less than in Melbourne. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.