Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Melbourne and Mianyang, Sichuan

For one person, living is cheaper in Mianyang, Sichuan: $646 a month against $2,821 in Melbourne, rent and utilities included – about $26,100 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
31

Cost of Living Index in Mianyang, Sichuan
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Mianyang, Sichuan Living Index

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Melbourne

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,821

/mo nomad

Mianyang, Sichuan

🇨🇳 China

$646

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Melbourne and in Mianyang, Sichuan

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,821 in Melbourne versus $646 in Mianyang, Sichuan.

Melbourne $2,821
Mianyang, Sichuan $646

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,235 in Melbourne versus $998 in Mianyang, Sichuan.

Melbourne $4,235
Mianyang, Sichuan $998

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,650 in Melbourne versus $1,350 in Mianyang, Sichuan.

Melbourne $5,650
Mianyang, Sichuan $1,350

Living in Melbourne is roughly 336% more expensive than in Mianyang, Sichuan, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Melbourne is 109% above, Mianyang, Sichuan is 52% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.43 A$25.18

$2.92 ¥19.51

496.92%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$84.6 A$122

$17.81 ¥119

374.73%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.46 A$18.00

$4.89 ¥32.70

154.81%

Cappuccino

$4.11 A$5.94

$2.97 ¥19.86

38.38%

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

$3.06 A$4.42

$0.43 ¥2.89

611.63%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.52 A$3.64

$0.28 ¥1.89

800.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.80 A$14.16

$1.46 ¥9.74

571.23%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.57 A$12.38

$2.26 ¥15.09

279.20%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.48 A$2.15

$1.52 ¥10.13

-2.63%

White Bread (500g)

$2.94 A$4.25

$1.55 ¥10.33

89.68%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.66 A$3.84

$0.99 ¥6.63

168.69%

Eggs

$5.54 A$8.01

$1.62 ¥10.83

241.98%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.51 A$15.19

$14.56 ¥97.3

-27.82%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.65 A$13.94

$3.66 ¥24.42

163.66%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.22 A$22.00

$10.95 ¥73.2

39.00%

Apples (1kg)

$3.99 A$5.77

$1.79 ¥11.93

122.91%

Banana (1kg)

$3.02 A$4.36

$1.31 ¥8.77

130.53%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.10 A$4.48

$1.06 ¥7.07

192.45%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.82 A$6.96

$1.15 ¥7.66

319.13%

Potato (1kg)

$3.03 A$4.38

$0.71 ¥4.73

326.76%

Onion (1kg)

$2.44 A$3.53

$0.72 ¥4.83

238.89%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.46 A$3.56

$0.58 ¥3.88

324.14%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.63 A$2.35

$0.58 ¥3.88

181.03%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$44.07 A$63.7

$3.71 ¥24.76

1087.87%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.70 A$18.36

$4.56 ¥30.46

178.51%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$5.54 A$8.00

$0.83 ¥5.57

567.47%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.23 A$7.55

$1.30 ¥8.68

302.31%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.74 A$5.40

$0.29 ¥1.91

1189.66%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$138 A$199

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.51 A$6.52

$1.07 ¥7.14

321.50%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.36 A$1.96

$0.26 ¥1.74

423.08%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$30.45 A$44.00

$4.58 ¥30.57

564.85%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 A$2.13

$1.25 ¥8.38

17.60%

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

$29.0K A$41.9K

$19.6K ¥131.2K

47.71%

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

$26.5K A$38.3K

$17.4K ¥116.3K

52.10%

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

$234 A$338

$47.71 ¥319

389.79%

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

$27.93 A$40.35

$6.41 ¥42.80

335.73%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$55.7 A$80.6

$12.51 ¥83.6

345.56%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.40 A$71.4

$17.89 ¥120

176.13%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.48 A$31.04

Cinema Ticket

$15.09 A$21.81

$5.82 ¥38.89

159.28%

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

$2,371 A$3,426

$366 ¥2,446

547.69%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$30.2K A$43.6K

$14.8K ¥98.9K

103.92%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$80.0 A$116

$24.80 ¥166

222.46%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$50.7 A$73.3

$27.86 ¥186

81.98%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 A$174

$58.0 ¥388

107.95%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$130 A$188

$53.2 ¥356

145.01%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,759 A$2,542

$226 ¥1,508

679.10%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,390 A$2,008

$193 ¥1,291

619.36%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,494 A$5,048

$411 ¥2,747

749.70%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,493 A$3,603

$333 ¥2,226

648.28%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,926 A$10.0K

$2,710 ¥18.1K

155.54%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,445 A$9,313

$1,816 ¥12.1K

254.92%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,383 A$6,333

$732 ¥4,890

498.86%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.9

3.1

90.32%

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

Last update for Melbourne: October 10, 2026

Last update for Mianyang, Sichuan: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Melbourne

$1.4K 49.3%

Mianyang, Sichuan

$193 29.9% 86.1% $1.2K

Groceries & Markets

Melbourne

$384 13.6%

Mianyang, Sichuan

$191 29.6% 50.1% $193

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Melbourne

$317 11.3%

Mianyang, Sichuan

$67 10.3% 79% $251

Eating Out

Melbourne

$315 11.2%

Mianyang, Sichuan

$88 13.7% 71.9% $226

Clothing & Footwear

Melbourne

$172 6.1%

Mianyang, Sichuan

$74 11.4% 57.1% $98

Getting Around

Melbourne

$164 5.8%

Mianyang, Sichuan

$3.5 * 0.5% 97.9% $160

Sport & Entertainment

Melbourne

$80 2.8%

Mianyang, Sichuan

$30 4.6% 62.9% $50

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,759 in Melbourne and $226 in Mianyang, Sichuan. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Melbourne pays 499% 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 $18.00 in Mianyang, Sichuan for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $384 vs $191 per month, with Mianyang, Sichuan cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Melbourne

🇨🇳 Mianyang, Sichuan

🕒 Local time

23:20 11:20 PM

20:20 8:20 PM

3 h behind Melbourne

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

5,031,195

4,868,243

💱 Currency

Australian Dollar AUD $

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

1 AUD = 0.692 USD

1 AUD = 0.617 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 16, 2026: 1 USD = 1.44 AUD (1 AUD = 0.692 USD). 1 EUR = 1.62 AUD (1 AUD = 0.617 EUR).

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of October 16, 2026: 1 USD = 6.68 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.49 CNY (1 CNY = 0.133 EUR).

USD to AUD in detail →

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Between locations

Melbourne Mianyang, Sichuan 8,760 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 Mianyang, Sichuan: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Melbourne and Mianyang, Sichuan differ by about 336% in total monthly costs ($2,821 vs $646 including rent). Mianyang, Sichuan is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 499% 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 $226 in Mianyang, Sichuan. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 101% higher in Melbourne. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $2,821 per month in Melbourne versus $646 in Mianyang, Sichuan – a 336% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $646 in Mianyang, Sichuan versus $2,821 in Melbourne, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Mianyang, Sichuan but tight or insufficient in Melbourne. The gap between the two cities makes Mianyang, Sichuan 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 Mianyang, Sichuan 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 Mianyang, Sichuan gentler on the wallet – expenses run 336% less than in Melbourne. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.