Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Melbourne and Koriyama

For one person, living is cheaper in Koriyama: $1,187 a month against $2,853 in Melbourne, rent and utilities included – about $20,000 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
58

Cost of Living Index in Koriyama
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Koriyama Living Index

Jump to prices

Melbourne

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,853

/mo nomad

Koriyama

🇯🇵 Japan

$1,187

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Melbourne and in Koriyama

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,853 in Melbourne versus $1,187 in Koriyama.

Melbourne $2,853
Koriyama $1,187

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,275 in Melbourne versus $1,881 in Koriyama.

Melbourne $4,275
Koriyama $1,881

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,697 in Melbourne versus $2,575 in Koriyama.

Melbourne $5,697
Koriyama $2,575

Living in Melbourne is roughly 140% more expensive than in Koriyama, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Melbourne is 111% above, Koriyama is 12% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.20 A$24.75

$6.12 ¥967

181.05%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$83.1 A$120

$31.16 ¥4,923

166.72%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.43 A$17.88

$5.13 ¥810

142.30%

Cappuccino

$4.05 A$5.82

$2.96 ¥468

36.82%

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

$3.12 A$4.50

$1.24 ¥195

151.61%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.46 A$3.54

$0.78 ¥124

215.38%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.52 A$13.71

$2.70 ¥426

252.59%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.16 A$11.74

$3.17 ¥501

157.41%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.56 A$2.25

$1.46 ¥230

6.85%

White Bread (500g)

$2.90 A$4.18

$1.56 ¥246

85.90%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.66 A$3.82

$4.20 ¥664

-36.67%

Eggs

$5.37 A$7.72

$2.01 ¥317

167.16%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.67 A$15.36

$10.18 ¥1,609

4.81%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.85 A$14.17

$6.65 ¥1,051

48.12%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.36 A$22.11

$16.68 ¥2,635

-7.91%

Apples (1kg)

$4.17 A$6.00

$3.65 ¥576

14.25%

Banana (1kg)

$3.15 A$4.53

$2.27 ¥358

38.77%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.26 A$4.69

$2.89 ¥457

12.80%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.76 A$6.85

$4.07 ¥643

16.95%

Potato (1kg)

$3.06 A$4.41

$2.47 ¥390

23.89%

Onion (1kg)

$2.47 A$3.55

$2.55 ¥402

-3.14%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.45 A$3.52

$1.29 ¥204

89.92%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.63 A$2.34

$0.84 ¥133

94.05%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$45.17 A$65.0

$3.85 ¥608

1073.25%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.68 A$18.25

$6.80 ¥1,074

86.47%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$5.69 A$8.18

$1.85 ¥293

207.57%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.23 A$7.53

$2.11 ¥333

147.87%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.87 A$5.57

$1.52 ¥241

154.61%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$142 A$204

$53.0 ¥8,380

167.65%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.54 A$6.53

$3.22 ¥508

40.99%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.42 A$2.04

$2.87 ¥453

-50.52%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$30.59 A$44.01

$18.64 ¥2,945

64.11%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 A$2.11

$1.10 ¥174

33.64%

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

$28.9K A$41.5K

$20.9K ¥3.3M

37.83%

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

$25.9K A$37.3K

$15.2K ¥2.4M

70.12%

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

$235 A$338

$134 ¥21.2K

74.85%

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

$27.45 A$39.51

$24.63 ¥3,890

11.45%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$56.1 A$80.8

$31.55 ¥4,984

77.91%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$50.1 A$72.1

$52.2 ¥8,243

-3.97%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.49 A$30.93

Cinema Ticket

$17.76 A$25.56

$12.02 ¥1,899

47.75%

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

$2,385 A$3,432

$523 ¥82.7K

355.82%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$29.7K A$42.7K

$12.6K ¥2.0M

134.86%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$79.2 A$114

$49.37 ¥7,799

60.34%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$49.49 A$71.2

$31.64 ¥4,999

56.42%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$118 A$170

$61.0 ¥9,639

94.10%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$132 A$190

$87.4 ¥13.8K

51.20%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,763 A$2,537

$542 ¥85.6K

225.42%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,411 A$2,031

$325 ¥51.4K

334.11%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,522 A$5,069

$1,102 ¥174.1K

219.63%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,525 A$3,634

$739 ¥116.8K

241.55%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,136 A$10.3K

$4,230 ¥668.2K

68.71%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,355 A$9,144

$1,778 ¥280.8K

257.47%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,258 A$6,128

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 Koriyama: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Melbourne

$1.4K 49.5%

Koriyama

$325 27.4% 77% $1.1K

Groceries & Markets

Melbourne

$388 13.6%

Koriyama

$287 24.2% 26% $101

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Melbourne

$319 11.2%

Koriyama

$191 16.1% 40.2% $128

Eating Out

Melbourne

$310 10.9%

Koriyama

$128 10.8% 58.7% $182

Clothing & Footwear

Melbourne

$171 6%

Koriyama

$103 8.7% 39.5% $67

Getting Around

Melbourne

$169 5.9%

Koriyama

$77 6.5% 54.6% $92

Sport & Entertainment

Melbourne

$86 3%

Koriyama

$76 6.4% 11% $9.4

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,763 in Melbourne and $542 in Koriyama. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $83.0 in Melbourne vs $31.00 in Koriyama for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $388 vs $287 per month, with Koriyama cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Melbourne

🇯🇵 Koriyama

🕒 Local time

23:26 11:26 PM

21:26 9:26 PM

2 h behind Melbourne

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

5,031,195

327,692

💱 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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Between locations

Melbourne Koriyama 8,380 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 Koriyama: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Melbourne and Koriyama differ by about 140% in total monthly costs ($2,853 vs $1,187 including rent). Koriyama is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $4,280 in Melbourne and $1,781 in Koriyama 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: $1,763 in Melbourne versus $542 in Koriyama. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Koriyama runs roughly 168% less than in Melbourne. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $2,385 in Melbourne versus $523 in Koriyama. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $1,187 in Koriyama versus $2,853 in Melbourne, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Koriyama but tight or insufficient in Melbourne. The gap between the two cities makes Koriyama 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 Koriyama 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 Koriyama gentler on the wallet – expenses run 140% less than in Melbourne. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.