Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Melbourne and Shenyang

For one person, living is cheaper in Shenyang: $718 a month against $2,821 in Melbourne, rent and utilities included – about $25,200 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
35

Cost of Living Index in Shenyang
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Shenyang Living Index

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Melbourne

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,821

/mo nomad

Shenyang

🇨🇳 China

$718

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Melbourne and in Shenyang

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,821 in Melbourne versus $718 in Shenyang.

Melbourne $2,821
Shenyang $718

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,235 in Melbourne versus $1,071 in Shenyang.

Melbourne $4,235
Shenyang $1,071

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,650 in Melbourne versus $1,424 in Shenyang.

Melbourne $5,650
Shenyang $1,424

Living in Melbourne is roughly 293% more expensive than in Shenyang, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Melbourne is 109% above, Shenyang is 47% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.43 A$25.08

$3.00 ¥20.07

481.00%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$84.6 A$122

$22.24 ¥149

280.17%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.46 A$17.92

$5.08 ¥33.98

145.28%

Cappuccino

$4.11 A$5.91

$2.46 ¥16.45

67.07%

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

$3.06 A$4.40

$0.47 ¥3.17

551.06%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.52 A$3.62

$0.38 ¥2.54

563.16%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.80 A$14.10

$0.87 ¥5.79

1026.44%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.57 A$12.33

$1.82 ¥12.16

370.88%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.48 A$2.14

$1.89 ¥12.67

-21.69%

White Bread (500g)

$2.94 A$4.23

$2.46 ¥16.46

19.51%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.66 A$3.82

$1.08 ¥7.19

146.30%

Eggs

$5.54 A$7.97

$1.03 ¥6.88

437.86%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.51 A$15.13

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.65 A$13.89

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.22 A$21.91

$11.99 ¥80.2

26.94%

Apples (1kg)

$3.99 A$5.75

$1.78 ¥11.91

124.16%

Banana (1kg)

$3.02 A$4.34

$1.19 ¥7.94

153.78%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.10 A$4.46

Tomato (1kg)

$4.82 A$6.93

$1.53 ¥10.23

215.03%

Potato (1kg)

$3.03 A$4.36

Onion (1kg)

$2.44 A$3.52

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.46 A$3.54

$0.61 ¥4.08

303.28%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.63 A$2.34

$0.64 ¥4.27

154.69%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$44.07 A$63.4

$3.77 ¥25.17

1068.97%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.70 A$18.28

$16.53 ¥111

-23.17%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$5.54 A$7.97

$0.66 ¥4.40

739.39%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.23 A$7.52

$1.09 ¥7.27

379.82%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.74 A$5.38

$0.38 ¥2.57

884.21%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$138 A$198

$12.91 ¥86.3

965.22%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.51 A$6.50

$1.35 ¥9.04

234.07%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.36 A$1.96

$0.31 ¥2.10

338.71%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$30.45 A$43.81

$2.96 ¥19.78

928.72%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 A$2.12

$1.29 ¥8.65

13.95%

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

$29.0K A$41.7K

$19.1K ¥127.7K

51.90%

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

$26.5K A$38.1K

$18.3K ¥122.5K

44.54%

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

$234 A$336

$75.4 ¥504

210.00%

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

$27.93 A$40.19

$15.87 ¥106

75.99%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$55.7 A$80.2

$14.87 ¥99.4

274.85%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.40 A$71.1

$22.27 ¥149

121.82%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.48 A$30.91

$10.79 ¥72.1

99.07%

Cinema Ticket

$15.09 A$21.72

$6.09 ¥40.75

147.78%

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

$2,371 A$3,412

$539 ¥3,606

339.62%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$30.2K A$43.5K

$21.3K ¥142.1K

42.08%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$80.0 A$115

$42.49 ¥284

88.21%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$50.7 A$73.0

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 A$174

$59.5 ¥398

102.64%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$130 A$188

$69.5 ¥465

87.57%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,759 A$2,531

$277 ¥1,850

535.90%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,390 A$2,000

$242 ¥1,619

473.98%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,494 A$5,027

$558 ¥3,734

525.62%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,493 A$3,588

$393 ¥2,625

535.18%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,926 A$9,967

$2,272 ¥15.2K

204.90%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,445 A$9,274

$1,308 ¥8,745

392.77%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,383 A$6,307

$1,115 ¥7,454

293.13%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.9

4.37

35.01%

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

Last update for Melbourne: October 10, 2026

Last update for Shenyang: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Melbourne

$1.4K 49.3%

Shenyang

$242 33.7% 82.6% $1.1K

Groceries & Markets

Melbourne

$384 13.6%

Shenyang

$160 * 22.3% 58.3% $224

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Melbourne

$317 11.3%

Shenyang

$106 14.8% 66.6% $211

Eating Out

Melbourne

$315 11.2%

Shenyang

$80 11.2% 74.5% $234

Clothing & Footwear

Melbourne

$172 6.1%

Shenyang

$77 * 10.8% 55.1% $95

Getting Around

Melbourne

$164 5.8%

Shenyang

$17 2.4% 89.4% $146

Sport & Entertainment

Melbourne

$80 2.8%

Shenyang

$34 4.8% 56.7% $45

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 $277 in Shenyang. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Melbourne pays 293% 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 $22.00 in Shenyang for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $384 vs $160 per month, with Shenyang cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Melbourne

🇨🇳 Shenyang

🕒 Local time

03:41 3:41 AM

00:41 12:41 AM

3 h behind Melbourne

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

5,031,195

9,199,601

💱 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 18, 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 18, 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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Between locations

Melbourne Shenyang 9,120 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

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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 Shenyang: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Melbourne and Shenyang differ by about 293% in total monthly costs ($2,821 vs $718 including rent). Shenyang is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 293% 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 $277 in Shenyang. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $2,371 in Melbourne versus $539 in Shenyang. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 140% higher in Melbourne. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $718 in Shenyang versus $2,821 in Melbourne, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Shenyang but tight or insufficient in Melbourne. The gap between the two cities makes Shenyang 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 Shenyang 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 Shenyang gentler on the wallet – expenses run 293% less than in Melbourne. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.