Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Melbourne and Kagoshima

For one person, living is cheaper in Kagoshima: $1,133 a month against $2,821 in Melbourne, rent and utilities included – about $20,300 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 Kagoshima
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Kagoshima Living Index

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Melbourne

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,821

/mo nomad

Kagoshima

🇯🇵 Japan

$1,133

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Melbourne and in Kagoshima

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

A single person spends $2,821 per month in Melbourne vs $1,133 in Kagoshima, rent included.

Melbourne $2,821
Kagoshima $1,133

A couple spends around $4,235 per month in Melbourne vs $1,887 in Kagoshima, rent included.

Melbourne $4,235
Kagoshima $1,887

A family of three spends $5,650 per month in Melbourne vs $2,641 in Kagoshima, rent included.

Melbourne $5,650
Kagoshima $2,641

Melbourne costs about 149% more than Kagoshima, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Melbourne sits 109% above the global median, while Kagoshima is 16% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.43 A$25.08

$6.46 ¥1,020

169.81%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$84.6 A$122

$32.45 ¥5,127

160.55%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.46 A$17.92

$5.42 ¥856

129.89%

Cappuccino

$4.11 A$5.91

$2.91 ¥459

41.24%

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

$3.06 A$4.40

$1.01 ¥159

202.97%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.52 A$3.62

$0.75 ¥118

236.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.80 A$14.10

$2.51 ¥396

290.44%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.57 A$12.33

$2.18 ¥344

293.12%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.48 A$2.14

$1.36 ¥216

8.82%

White Bread (500g)

$2.94 A$4.23

$1.14 ¥180

157.89%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.66 A$3.82

$5.13 ¥811

-48.15%

Eggs

$5.54 A$7.97

$2.06 ¥325

168.93%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.51 A$15.13

$18.48 ¥2,919

-43.13%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.65 A$13.89

$5.47 ¥863

76.42%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.22 A$21.91

$18.94 ¥2,993

-19.64%

Apples (1kg)

$3.99 A$5.75

$3.67 ¥580

8.72%

Banana (1kg)

$3.02 A$4.34

$1.85 ¥293

63.24%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.10 A$4.46

$2.78 ¥439

11.51%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.82 A$6.93

$3.31 ¥523

45.62%

Potato (1kg)

$3.03 A$4.36

$2.05 ¥324

47.80%

Onion (1kg)

$2.44 A$3.52

$1.83 ¥290

33.33%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.46 A$3.54

$1.06 ¥168

132.08%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.63 A$2.34

$0.80 ¥126

103.75%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$44.07 A$63.4

$3.88 ¥613

1035.82%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.70 A$18.28

$5.90 ¥932

115.25%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$5.54 A$7.97

$1.14 ¥180

385.96%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.23 A$7.52

$1.89 ¥298

176.72%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.74 A$5.38

$1.27 ¥201

194.49%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$138 A$198

$53.8 ¥8,497

155.71%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.51 A$6.50

$4.00 ¥631

12.75%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.36 A$1.96

$2.03 ¥321

-33.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$30.45 A$43.81

$11.27 ¥1,780

170.19%

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

$21.8K ¥3.4M

32.93%

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

$26.5K A$38.1K

$17.5K ¥2.8M

51.16%

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

$234 A$336

$189 ¥29.8K

23.79%

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

$27.93 A$40.19

$24.87 ¥3,928

12.30%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$55.7 A$80.2

$30.44 ¥4,809

83.11%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.40 A$71.1

$51.3 ¥8,107

-3.72%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.48 A$30.91

Cinema Ticket

$15.09 A$21.72

$11.81 ¥1,865

27.77%

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

$2,371 A$3,412

$124 ¥19.5K

1816.32%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$30.2K A$43.5K

$12.3K ¥1.9M

144.92%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$80.0 A$115

$49.61 ¥7,838

61.20%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$50.7 A$73.0

$25.70 ¥4,060

97.28%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 A$174

$63.6 ¥10.0K

89.76%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$130 A$188

$75.9 ¥12.0K

71.74%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,759 A$2,531

$541 ¥85.5K

224.93%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,390 A$2,000

$222 ¥35.1K

525.30%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,494 A$5,027

$1,015 ¥160.3K

244.36%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,493 A$3,588

$748 ¥118.2K

233.23%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,926 A$9,967

$3,824 ¥604.2K

81.11%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,445 A$9,274

$1,821 ¥287.8K

253.82%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,383 A$6,307

$1,831 ¥289.3K

139.36%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.9

1.97

199.49%

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

Last update for Melbourne: October 10, 2026

Last update for Kagoshima: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Melbourne

$1.4K 49.3%

Kagoshima

$222 19.6% 84% $1.2K

Groceries & Markets

Melbourne

$384 13.6%

Kagoshima

$295 26.1% 23% $88

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Melbourne

$317 11.3%

Kagoshima

$244 21.5% 23.1% $73

Eating Out

Melbourne

$315 11.2%

Kagoshima

$127 11.2% 59.7% $188

Clothing & Footwear

Melbourne

$172 6.1%

Kagoshima

$97 8.5% 43.7% $75

Getting Around

Melbourne

$164 5.8%

Kagoshima

$73 6.5% 55.4% $91

Sport & Entertainment

Melbourne

$80 2.8%

Kagoshima

$75 6.6% 5.9% $4.7

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,759 in Melbourne versus $541 in Kagoshima. 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 139% 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 $85.0 in Melbourne versus $32.00 in Kagoshima. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $384 vs $295 – making Kagoshima the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Melbourne

🇯🇵 Kagoshima

🕒 Local time

16:47 4:47 PM

14:47 2:47 PM

2 h behind Melbourne

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

5,031,195

593,128

💱 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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Melbourne Kagoshima 7,860 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

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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 Kagoshima: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Melbourne costs about 149% more than Kagoshima, 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 $4,231 per month in Melbourne and $1,700 in Kagoshima. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

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

Public transport costs about 156% less in Kagoshima. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

Kindergarten costs $2,371 per month in Melbourne and $124 in Kagoshima. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Kagoshima, where all-in costs run around $1,133, than in Melbourne at $2,821. In Kagoshima it covers expenses comfortably, while in Melbourne it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Kagoshima – 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 Kagoshima. 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.