Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Melbourne and Kurume

For one person, living is cheaper in Kurume: $965 a month against $2,821 in Melbourne, rent and utilities included – about $22,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

138

Cost of Living Index in Melbourne
Learn more

Melbourne Living Index
47

Cost of Living Index in Kurume
Learn more

Kurume Living Index

Jump to prices

Melbourne

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,821

/mo nomad

Kurume

🇯🇵 Japan

$965

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Melbourne and in Kurume

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,821 in Melbourne versus $965 in Kurume.

Melbourne $2,821
Kurume $965

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,235 in Melbourne versus $1,529 in Kurume.

Melbourne $4,235
Kurume $1,529

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,650 in Melbourne versus $2,092 in Kurume.

Melbourne $5,650
Kurume $2,092

Living in Melbourne is roughly 192% more expensive than in Kurume, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Melbourne is 109% above, Kurume is 29% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.43 A$25.08

$4.43 ¥700

293.45%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$84.6 A$122

$43.67 ¥6,900

93.61%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.46 A$17.92

$3.81 ¥601

227.03%

Cappuccino

$4.11 A$5.91

$1.91 ¥302

115.18%

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

$3.06 A$4.40

$0.66 ¥104

363.64%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.52 A$3.62

$0.55 ¥86.2

358.18%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.80 A$14.10

$3.20 ¥505

206.25%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.57 A$12.33

$1.60 ¥252

435.63%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.48 A$2.14

$1.25 ¥197

18.40%

White Bread (500g)

$2.94 A$4.23

$1.25 ¥197

135.20%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.66 A$3.82

$5.13 ¥810

-48.15%

Eggs

$5.54 A$7.97

$1.88 ¥296

194.68%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.51 A$15.13

$17.85 ¥2,821

-41.12%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.65 A$13.89

$5.33 ¥841

81.05%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.22 A$21.91

$19.13 ¥3,022

-20.44%

Apples (1kg)

$3.99 A$5.75

$3.70 ¥584

7.84%

Banana (1kg)

$3.02 A$4.34

$1.87 ¥296

61.50%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.10 A$4.46

$2.89 ¥456

7.27%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.82 A$6.93

$3.26 ¥515

47.85%

Potato (1kg)

$3.03 A$4.36

$2.13 ¥336

42.25%

Onion (1kg)

$2.44 A$3.52

$2.63 ¥416

-7.22%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.46 A$3.54

$1.06 ¥168

132.08%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.63 A$2.34

$0.98 ¥154

66.33%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$44.07 A$63.4

$3.64 ¥575

1110.71%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.70 A$18.28

$6.21 ¥981

104.51%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$5.54 A$7.97

$1.64 ¥260

237.80%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.23 A$7.52

$1.15 ¥181

354.78%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.74 A$5.38

$1.51 ¥238

147.68%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$138 A$198

$46.98 ¥7,423

192.72%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.51 A$6.50

$3.96 ¥626

13.89%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.36 A$1.96

$2.11 ¥333

-35.55%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$30.45 A$43.81

$17.62 ¥2,784

72.81%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 A$2.12

$0.60 ¥94.5

145.00%

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

$29.0K A$41.7K

$21.5K ¥3.4M

35.03%

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

$26.5K A$38.1K

$17.8K ¥2.8M

49.08%

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

$234 A$336

$210 ¥33.1K

11.47%

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

$27.93 A$40.19

$24.97 ¥3,944

11.85%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$55.7 A$80.2

$22.59 ¥3,570

146.75%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.40 A$71.1

$55.2 ¥8,724

-10.54%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.48 A$30.91

Cinema Ticket

$15.09 A$21.72

$6.82 ¥1,078

121.26%

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

$2,371 A$3,412

$127 ¥20.1K

1762.29%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$30.2K A$43.5K

$12.5K ¥2.0M

142.46%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$80.0 A$115

$48.62 ¥7,682

64.48%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$50.7 A$73.0

$12.36 ¥1,953

310.19%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 A$174

$24.78 ¥3,915

386.72%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$130 A$188

$31.02 ¥4,901

320.44%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,759 A$2,531

$531 ¥83.9K

231.33%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,390 A$2,000

$126 ¥20.0K

998.63%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,494 A$5,027

$468 ¥73.9K

647.00%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,493 A$3,588

$315 ¥49.8K

691.72%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,926 A$9,967

$4,267 ¥674.1K

62.31%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,445 A$9,274

$1,883 ¥297.4K

242.32%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,383 A$6,307

$1,537 ¥242.8K

185.14%

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 Kurume: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Melbourne

$1.4K 49.3%

Kurume

$126 13.1% 90.9% $1.3K

Groceries & Markets

Melbourne

$384 13.6%

Kurume

$299 30.9% 22.2% $85

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Melbourne

$317 11.3%

Kurume

$257 26.7% 19% $60

Eating Out

Melbourne

$315 11.2%

Kurume

$94 9.7% 70.2% $221

Clothing & Footwear

Melbourne

$172 6.1%

Kurume

$53 5.5% 69.4% $119

Getting Around

Melbourne

$164 5.8%

Kurume

$68 7% 58.8% $96

Sport & Entertainment

Melbourne

$80 2.8%

Kurume

$69 7.1% 13.5% $11

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,759 in Melbourne and $531 in Kurume. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Melbourne pays 185% 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: $85.0 in Melbourne vs $44.00 in Kurume for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $384 vs $299 per month, with Kurume cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Melbourne

🇯🇵 Kurume

🕒 Local time

18:04 6:04 PM

16:04 4:04 PM

2 h behind Melbourne

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

5,031,195

303,316

💱 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 19, 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 19, 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 →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Melbourne Kurume 8,050 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Melbourne
Kurume

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 Kurume: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Melbourne and Kurume differ by about 192% in total monthly costs ($2,821 vs $965 including rent). Kurume is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 185% 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: $1,759 in Melbourne versus $531 in Kurume. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 29% higher in Melbourne. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Kurume – a meal for two runs $44.00 versus $85.0 in Melbourne. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $965 in Kurume versus $2,821 in Melbourne, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Kurume but tight or insufficient in Melbourne. The gap between the two cities makes Kurume 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 Kurume 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 Kurume gentler on the wallet – expenses run 192% less than in Melbourne. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.