Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Melbourne and Luoyang

For one person, living is cheaper in Luoyang: $659 a month against $2,853 in Melbourne, rent and utilities included – about $26,300 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
32

Cost of Living Index in Luoyang
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Luoyang Living Index

Jump to prices

Melbourne

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,853

/mo nomad

Luoyang

🇨🇳 China

$659

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Melbourne and in Luoyang

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,821 in Melbourne versus $659 in Luoyang.

Melbourne $2,821
Luoyang $659

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,235 in Melbourne versus $1,067 in Luoyang.

Melbourne $4,235
Luoyang $1,067

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,650 in Melbourne versus $1,475 in Luoyang.

Melbourne $5,650
Luoyang $1,475

Living in Melbourne is roughly 328% more expensive than in Luoyang, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Melbourne is 109% above, Luoyang is 51% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.20 A$24.75

$3.69 ¥24.67

366.12%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$83.1 A$120

$29.56 ¥198

181.16%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.43 A$17.88

$5.74 ¥38.40

116.55%

Cappuccino

$4.05 A$5.82

$3.69 ¥24.68

9.76%

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

$3.12 A$4.50

$0.46 ¥3.11

578.26%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.46 A$3.54

$0.27 ¥1.82

811.11%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.52 A$13.71

$1.26 ¥8.41

655.56%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.16 A$11.74

$3.04 ¥20.35

168.42%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.56 A$2.25

$1.93 ¥12.89

-19.17%

White Bread (500g)

$2.90 A$4.18

$2.26 ¥15.08

28.32%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.66 A$3.82

$1.04 ¥6.94

155.77%

Eggs

$5.37 A$7.72

$1.42 ¥9.53

278.17%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.67 A$15.36

$13.38 ¥89.5

-20.25%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.85 A$14.17

$3.43 ¥22.95

187.17%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.36 A$22.11

$9.18 ¥61.4

67.32%

Apples (1kg)

$4.17 A$6.00

$0.96 ¥6.41

334.38%

Banana (1kg)

$3.15 A$4.53

$1.31 ¥8.79

140.46%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.26 A$4.69

$1.50 ¥10.02

117.33%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.76 A$6.85

$1.26 ¥8.44

277.78%

Potato (1kg)

$3.06 A$4.41

$0.73 ¥4.90

319.18%

Onion (1kg)

$2.47 A$3.55

$0.87 ¥5.85

183.91%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.45 A$3.52

$0.43 ¥2.90

469.77%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.63 A$2.34

$0.83 ¥5.56

96.39%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$45.17 A$65.0

$1.68 ¥11.20

2588.69%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.68 A$18.25

$13.35 ¥89.3

-5.02%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$5.69 A$8.18

$0.44 ¥2.92

1193.18%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.23 A$7.53

$2.13 ¥14.23

145.54%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.87 A$5.57

$0.29 ¥1.93

1234.48%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$142 A$204

$17.84 ¥119

695.74%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.54 A$6.53

$1.23 ¥8.22

269.11%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.42 A$2.04

$0.36 ¥2.38

294.44%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$30.59 A$44.01

$7.04 ¥47.06

334.52%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 A$2.11

$1.29 ¥8.60

13.95%

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

$28.9K A$41.5K

$19.6K ¥131.0K

47.33%

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

$25.9K A$37.3K

$17.5K ¥117.0K

48.15%

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

$235 A$338

$43.38 ¥290

441.98%

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

$27.45 A$39.51

$5.90 ¥39.43

365.25%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$56.1 A$80.8

$10.57 ¥70.7

431.03%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$50.1 A$72.1

$22.85 ¥153

119.26%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.49 A$30.93

$11.74 ¥78.5

83.05%

Cinema Ticket

$17.76 A$25.56

$5.53 ¥36.96

221.16%

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

$2,385 A$3,432

$197 ¥1,315

1112.99%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$29.7K A$42.7K

$17.6K ¥117.7K

68.45%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$79.2 A$114

$49.15 ¥329

61.06%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$49.49 A$71.2

$30.13 ¥201

64.25%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$118 A$170

$66.0 ¥441

79.45%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$132 A$190

$78.9 ¥527

67.59%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,763 A$2,537

$188 ¥1,258

837.18%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,411 A$2,031

$126 ¥840

1023.31%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,522 A$5,069

$439 ¥2,936

702.05%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,525 A$3,634

$225 ¥1,507

1020.83%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,136 A$10.3K

$2,154 ¥14.4K

231.28%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,355 A$9,144

$1,409 ¥9,422

350.96%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,258 A$6,128

$637 ¥4,259

568.45%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.9

4.45

32.58%

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

Last update for Melbourne: October 17, 2026

Last update for Luoyang: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Melbourne

$1.4K 49.5%

Luoyang

$126 19.1% 91.1% $1.3K

Groceries & Markets

Melbourne

$388 13.6%

Luoyang

$210 31.9% 45.9% $178

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Melbourne

$319 11.2%

Luoyang

$60 9.1% 81.2% $259

Eating Out

Melbourne

$310 10.9%

Luoyang

$106 16.1% 65.7% $203

Clothing & Footwear

Melbourne

$171 6%

Luoyang

$101 15.3% 40.9% $70

Getting Around

Melbourne

$169 5.9%

Luoyang

$22 3.3% 87% $147

Sport & Entertainment

Melbourne

$86 3%

Luoyang

$34 5.2% 60.4% $52

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,759 in Melbourne and $188 in Luoyang. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Melbourne pays 588% 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 $30.00 in Luoyang for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $384 vs $210 per month, with Luoyang cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Melbourne

🇨🇳 Luoyang

🕒 Local time

20:52 8:52 PM

17:52 5:52 PM

3 h behind Melbourne

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

5,031,195

1,926,000

💱 Currency

Australian Dollar AUD $

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

1 AUD = 0.695 USD

1 AUD = 0.618 EUR

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.133 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CNY, 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).

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 6.69 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.52 CNY (1 CNY = 0.133 EUR).

USD to AUD in detail →

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Melbourne Luoyang 8,730 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

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Luoyang

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 Luoyang: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Luoyang wins on cost – living expenses run 328% lower than in Melbourne. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Luoyang the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 588% 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 $188 in Luoyang. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $2,371 in Melbourne versus $197 in Luoyang. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 83% higher in Melbourne. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $659 in Luoyang versus $2,821 in Melbourne, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Luoyang but tight or insufficient in Melbourne. The gap between the two cities makes Luoyang 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 Luoyang 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 Luoyang gentler on the wallet – expenses run 328% less than in Melbourne. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.