Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Melbourne and Taiyuan

For one person, living is cheaper in Taiyuan: $589 a month against $2,821 in Melbourne, rent and utilities included – about $26,800 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
28

Cost of Living Index in Taiyuan
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Taiyuan Living Index

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Melbourne

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,821

/mo nomad

Taiyuan

🇨🇳 China

$589

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Melbourne and in Taiyuan

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,821 in Melbourne versus $589 in Taiyuan.

Melbourne $2,821
Taiyuan $589

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,235 in Melbourne versus $913 in Taiyuan.

Melbourne $4,235
Taiyuan $913

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,650 in Melbourne versus $1,238 in Taiyuan.

Melbourne $5,650
Taiyuan $1,238

Living in Melbourne is roughly 379% more expensive than in Taiyuan, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Melbourne is 109% above, Taiyuan is 56% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.43 A$25.08

$2.28 ¥15.21

664.47%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$84.6 A$122

$14.73 ¥98.4

474.00%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.46 A$17.92

$4.40 ¥29.37

183.18%

Cappuccino

$4.11 A$5.91

$2.64 ¥17.60

55.68%

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

$3.06 A$4.40

$0.47 ¥3.11

551.06%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.52 A$3.62

$0.29 ¥1.92

768.97%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.80 A$14.10

$1.22 ¥8.12

703.28%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.57 A$12.33

$2.15 ¥14.36

298.60%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.48 A$2.14

White Bread (500g)

$2.94 A$4.23

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.66 A$3.82

$0.83 ¥5.51

220.48%

Eggs

$5.54 A$7.97

$1.01 ¥6.75

448.51%

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

$13.02 ¥86.9

16.90%

Apples (1kg)

$3.99 A$5.75

$1.87 ¥12.50

113.37%

Banana (1kg)

$3.02 A$4.34

$1.38 ¥9.20

118.84%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.10 A$4.46

$0.81 ¥5.40

282.72%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.82 A$6.93

$1.16 ¥7.76

315.52%

Potato (1kg)

$3.03 A$4.36

$0.48 ¥3.20

531.25%

Onion (1kg)

$2.44 A$3.52

$0.29 ¥1.91

741.38%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.46 A$3.54

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.63 A$2.34

$0.46 ¥3.07

254.35%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$44.07 A$63.4

$2.95 ¥19.72

1393.90%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.70 A$18.28

$7.56 ¥50.5

67.99%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$5.54 A$7.97

$0.87 ¥5.80

536.78%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.23 A$7.52

$1.45 ¥9.71

260.69%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.74 A$5.38

$0.31 ¥2.08

1106.45%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$138 A$198

$13.65 ¥91.1

907.47%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.51 A$6.50

$1.18 ¥7.89

282.20%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.36 A$1.96

$0.23 ¥1.53

491.30%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$30.45 A$43.81

$3.73 ¥24.88

716.35%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 A$2.12

$1.25 ¥8.32

17.60%

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

$29.0K A$41.7K

$20.0K ¥133.4K

45.15%

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

$26.5K A$38.1K

$17.5K ¥117.1K

50.97%

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

$234 A$336

$94.3 ¥630

147.75%

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

$27.93 A$40.19

$10.27 ¥68.6

171.96%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$55.7 A$80.2

$12.74 ¥85.1

337.52%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.40 A$71.1

$45.17 ¥302

9.36%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.48 A$30.91

$8.76 ¥58.5

145.21%

Cinema Ticket

$15.09 A$21.72

$6.64 ¥44.31

127.26%

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

$2,371 A$3,412

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$30.2K A$43.5K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$80.0 A$115

$27.60 ¥184

189.75%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$50.7 A$73.0

$67.2 ¥449

-24.53%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 A$174

$74.0 ¥494

62.99%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$130 A$188

$59.4 ¥397

119.60%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,759 A$2,531

$223 ¥1,488

689.02%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,390 A$2,000

$114 ¥759

1122.22%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,494 A$5,027

$556 ¥3,714

528.08%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,493 A$3,588

$259 ¥1,730

861.96%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,926 A$9,967

$2,629 ¥17.6K

163.48%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,445 A$9,274

$1,252 ¥8,356

414.95%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,383 A$6,307

$928 ¥6,194

372.47%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.9

3.83

54.05%

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

Last update for Melbourne: October 10, 2026

Last update for Taiyuan: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Melbourne

$1.4K 49.3%

Taiyuan

$114 19.3% 91.8% $1.3K

Groceries & Markets

Melbourne

$384 13.6%

Taiyuan

$103 * 17.5% 73.2% $281

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Melbourne

$317 11.3%

Taiyuan

$117 19.9% 63% $200

Eating Out

Melbourne

$315 11.2%

Taiyuan

$76 13% 75.7% $238

Clothing & Footwear

Melbourne

$172 6.1%

Taiyuan

$103 17.4% 40.2% $69

Getting Around

Melbourne

$164 5.8%

Taiyuan

$17 2.9% 89.5% $147

Sport & Entertainment

Melbourne

$80 2.8%

Taiyuan

$58 9.9% 26.6% $21

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 $223 in Taiyuan. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Melbourne pays 372% 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 $15.00 in Taiyuan for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $384 vs $103 per month, with Taiyuan cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Melbourne

🇨🇳 Taiyuan

🕒 Local time

23:33 11:33 PM

20:33 8:33 PM

3 h behind Melbourne

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

5,031,195

3,525,300

💱 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 = 6.68 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.51 CNY (1 CNY = 0.133 EUR).

USD to AUD in detail →

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Melbourne Taiyuan 9,050 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

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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 Taiyuan: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Melbourne and Taiyuan differ by about 379% in total monthly costs ($2,821 vs $589 including rent). Taiyuan is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 372% 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 $223 in Taiyuan. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 273% 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 $589 in Taiyuan – a 379% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $589 in Taiyuan versus $2,821 in Melbourne, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Taiyuan but tight or insufficient in Melbourne. The gap between the two cities makes Taiyuan 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 Taiyuan 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 Taiyuan gentler on the wallet – expenses run 379% less than in Melbourne. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.