Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Melbourne and Santa Rosa

For one person, living is cheaper in Santa Rosa: $625 a month against $2,821 in Melbourne, rent and utilities included – about $26,400 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
30

Cost of Living Index in Santa Rosa
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Santa Rosa Living Index

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Melbourne

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,821

/mo nomad

Santa Rosa

🇵🇭 Philippines

$625

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Melbourne and in Santa Rosa

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,821 in Melbourne versus $625 in Santa Rosa.

Melbourne $2,821
Santa Rosa $625

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,235 in Melbourne versus $887 in Santa Rosa.

Melbourne $4,235
Santa Rosa $887

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,650 in Melbourne versus $1,149 in Santa Rosa.

Melbourne $5,650
Santa Rosa $1,149

Living in Melbourne is roughly 352% more expensive than in Santa Rosa, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Melbourne is 109% above, Santa Rosa is 54% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.43 A$25.08

$2.54 ₱160

586.22%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$84.6 A$122

$16.82 ₱1,059

402.68%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.46 A$17.92

$2.82 ₱177

341.84%

Cappuccino

$4.11 A$5.91

$1.13 ₱71.3

263.72%

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

$3.06 A$4.40

$0.37 ₱23.13

727.03%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.52 A$3.62

$0.23 ₱14.46

995.65%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.80 A$14.10

$0.99 ₱62.1

889.90%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.57 A$12.33

$1.23 ₱77.6

596.75%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.48 A$2.14

$1.67 ₱105

-11.38%

White Bread (500g)

$2.94 A$4.23

$1.12 ₱70.8

162.50%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.66 A$3.82

$0.94 ₱59.3

182.98%

Eggs

$5.54 A$7.97

$1.64 ₱103

237.80%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.51 A$15.13

$5.20 ₱327

102.12%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.65 A$13.89

$3.45 ₱217

179.71%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.22 A$21.91

$8.08 ₱509

88.37%

Apples (1kg)

$3.99 A$5.75

$2.23 ₱140

78.92%

Banana (1kg)

$3.02 A$4.34

$0.77 ₱48.43

292.21%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.10 A$4.46

$2.36 ₱149

31.36%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.82 A$6.93

$1.03 ₱64.6

367.96%

Potato (1kg)

$3.03 A$4.36

$1.67 ₱105

81.44%

Onion (1kg)

$2.44 A$3.52

$1.71 ₱108

42.69%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.46 A$3.54

$0.63 ₱39.36

290.48%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.63 A$2.34

$0.49 ₱31.09

232.65%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$44.07 A$63.4

$2.88 ₱181

1430.21%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.70 A$18.28

$8.70 ₱548

45.98%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$5.54 A$7.97

$0.96 ₱60.2

477.08%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.23 A$7.52

$2.02 ₱127

158.91%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.74 A$5.38

$0.25 ₱15.53

1396.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$138 A$198

$12.68 ₱798

984.54%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.51 A$6.50

$0.81 ₱51.2

456.79%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.36 A$1.96

$0.25 ₱15.86

444.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$30.45 A$43.81

$1.88 ₱119

1519.68%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 A$2.12

$0.99 ₱62.6

48.48%

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

$29.0K A$41.7K

$21.2K ₱1.3M

36.74%

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

$26.5K A$38.1K

$19.5K ₱1.2M

35.67%

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

$234 A$336

$64.7 ₱4,071

261.40%

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

$27.93 A$40.19

$6.25 ₱394

346.88%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$55.7 A$80.2

$23.10 ₱1,454

141.30%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.40 A$71.1

$32.29 ₱2,033

52.99%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.48 A$30.91

$4.27 ₱269

403.04%

Cinema Ticket

$15.09 A$21.72

$5.33 ₱336

183.11%

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

$2,371 A$3,412

$130 ₱8,197

1721.38%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$30.2K A$43.5K

$5,510 ₱346.9K

448.05%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$80.0 A$115

$28.54 ₱1,797

180.20%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$50.7 A$73.0

$19.66 ₱1,238

157.88%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 A$174

$71.6 ₱4,510

68.38%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$130 A$188

$56.2 ₱3,536

132.19%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,759 A$2,531

$271 ₱17.1K

549.33%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,390 A$2,000

$172 ₱10.8K

708.79%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,494 A$5,027

$526 ₱33.1K

563.93%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,493 A$3,588

$172 ₱10.9K

1345.75%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,926 A$9,967

$2,054 ₱129.3K

237.28%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,445 A$9,274

$1,115 ₱70.2K

478.12%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,383 A$6,307

$144 ₱9,088

2936.19%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.9

6.75

-12.59%

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

Last update for Melbourne: October 10, 2026

Last update for Santa Rosa: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Melbourne

$1.4K 49.3%

Santa Rosa

$172 27.5% 87.6% $1.2K

Groceries & Markets

Melbourne

$384 13.6%

Santa Rosa

$169 27% 56.1% $215

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Melbourne

$317 11.3%

Santa Rosa

$94 15.1% 70.4% $223

Eating Out

Melbourne

$315 11.2%

Santa Rosa

$52 8.4% 83.4% $262

Clothing & Footwear

Melbourne

$172 6.1%

Santa Rosa

$79 12.7% 53.9% $93

Getting Around

Melbourne

$164 5.8%

Santa Rosa

$16 2.5% 90.4% $148

Sport & Entertainment

Melbourne

$80 2.8%

Santa Rosa

$43 6.9% 46% $37

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,759 in Melbourne and $271 in Santa Rosa. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Melbourne pays 2936% 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 $17.00 in Santa Rosa for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $384 vs $169 per month, with Santa Rosa cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Melbourne

🇵🇭 Santa Rosa

🕒 Local time

10:24 10:24 AM

07:24 7:24 AM

3 h behind Melbourne

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

5,031,195

414,812

💱 Currency

Australian Dollar AUD $

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

📈 Exchange rate

1 AUD = 0.695 USD

1 AUD = 0.618 EUR

100 PHP = 1.59 USD

100 PHP = 1.41 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

PHP, USD, EUR to AUD – Australian Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇦🇺 Australian Dollar ($)

Australian Dollar exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 1.44 AUD (1 AUD = 0.695 USD). 1 EUR = 1.62 AUD (1 AUD = 0.618 EUR).

Philippine Peso exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 62.96 PHP (100 PHP = 1.59 USD). 1 EUR = 70.78 PHP (100 PHP = 1.41 EUR).

USD to AUD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Melbourne Santa Rosa 6,310 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Melbourne
Santa Rosa

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 Santa Rosa: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Melbourne and Santa Rosa differ by about 352% in total monthly costs ($2,821 vs $625 including rent). Santa Rosa is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 2936% 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 $271 in Santa Rosa. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $2,371 in Melbourne versus $130 in Santa Rosa. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 128% higher in Melbourne. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $625 in Santa Rosa versus $2,821 in Melbourne, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Santa Rosa but tight or insufficient in Melbourne. The gap between the two cities makes Santa Rosa 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 Santa Rosa 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 Santa Rosa gentler on the wallet – expenses run 352% less than in Melbourne. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.