Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Melbourne and Tonghua

For one person, living is cheaper in Tonghua: $632 a month against $2,853 in Melbourne, rent and utilities included – about $26,700 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 Tonghua
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Tonghua Living Index

Jump to prices

Melbourne

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,853

/mo nomad

Tonghua

🇨🇳 China

$632

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Melbourne and in Tonghua

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,853 in Melbourne versus $632 in Tonghua.

Melbourne $2,853
Tonghua $632

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,275 in Melbourne versus $1,034 in Tonghua.

Melbourne $4,275
Tonghua $1,034

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,697 in Melbourne versus $1,436 in Tonghua.

Melbourne $5,697
Tonghua $1,436

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

The two cities straddle the global median: Melbourne is 111% above, Tonghua is 53% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.20 A$24.75

$2.20 ¥14.74

681.82%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$83.1 A$120

$22.19 ¥148

274.54%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.43 A$17.88

$5.09 ¥34.01

144.20%

Cappuccino

$4.05 A$5.82

$2.25 ¥15.07

80.00%

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

$3.12 A$4.50

$0.47 ¥3.15

563.83%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.46 A$3.54

$0.35 ¥2.35

602.86%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.52 A$13.71

$0.79 ¥5.25

1105.06%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.16 A$11.74

$1.85 ¥12.38

341.08%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.56 A$2.25

$1.68 ¥11.23

-7.14%

White Bread (500g)

$2.90 A$4.18

$2.14 ¥14.32

35.51%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.66 A$3.82

$1.07 ¥7.16

148.60%

Eggs

$5.37 A$7.72

$1.06 ¥7.09

406.60%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.67 A$15.36

$13.11 ¥87.6

-18.61%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.85 A$14.17

$2.94 ¥19.66

235.03%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.36 A$22.11

$6.54 ¥43.73

134.86%

Apples (1kg)

$4.17 A$6.00

$0.99 ¥6.60

321.21%

Banana (1kg)

$3.15 A$4.53

$1.08 ¥7.21

191.67%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.26 A$4.69

$0.81 ¥5.41

302.47%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.76 A$6.85

$1.08 ¥7.23

340.74%

Potato (1kg)

$3.06 A$4.41

$0.92 ¥6.17

232.61%

Onion (1kg)

$2.47 A$3.55

$1.02 ¥6.85

142.16%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.45 A$3.52

$0.59 ¥3.94

315.25%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.63 A$2.34

$0.69 ¥4.60

136.23%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$45.17 A$65.0

$3.64 ¥24.33

1140.93%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.68 A$18.25

$11.75 ¥78.5

7.91%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$5.69 A$8.18

$0.65 ¥4.33

775.38%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.23 A$7.53

$1.10 ¥7.38

375.45%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.87 A$5.57

$0.31 ¥2.07

1148.39%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$142 A$204

$17.92 ¥120

692.19%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.54 A$6.53

$0.92 ¥6.14

393.48%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.42 A$2.04

$0.38 ¥2.56

273.68%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$30.59 A$44.01

$3.07 ¥20.51

896.42%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 A$2.11

$1.31 ¥8.74

12.21%

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

$28.9K A$41.5K

$19.3K ¥129.1K

49.51%

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

$25.9K A$37.3K

$17.0K ¥114.0K

52.03%

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

$235 A$338

$23.25 ¥155

911.23%

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

$27.45 A$39.51

$5.85 ¥39.12

369.23%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$56.1 A$80.8

$8.98 ¥60.1

525.06%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$50.1 A$72.1

$41.90 ¥280

19.57%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.49 A$30.93

$15.09 ¥101

42.41%

Cinema Ticket

$17.76 A$25.56

$5.89 ¥39.36

201.53%

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

$2,385 A$3,432

$294 ¥1,969

710.08%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$29.7K A$42.7K

$15.0K ¥100.6K

97.17%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$79.2 A$114

$22.05 ¥147

259.00%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$49.49 A$71.2

$34.01 ¥227

45.52%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$118 A$170

$58.8 ¥393

101.43%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$132 A$190

$69.4 ¥464

90.54%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,763 A$2,537

$294 ¥1,965

500.01%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,411 A$2,031

$179 ¥1,199

687.02%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,522 A$5,069

$639 ¥4,273

451.11%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,525 A$3,634

$375 ¥2,509

572.92%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,136 A$10.3K

$3,528 ¥23.6K

102.28%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,355 A$9,144

$1,980 ¥13.2K

220.93%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,258 A$6,128

$501 ¥3,350

749.88%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.9

47.50%

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

Last update for Melbourne: October 17, 2026

Last update for Tonghua: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Melbourne

$1.4K 49.5%

Tonghua

$179 28.4% 87.3% $1.2K

Groceries & Markets

Melbourne

$388 13.6%

Tonghua

$185 29.3% 52.4% $204

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Melbourne

$319 11.2%

Tonghua

$38 6% 88.1% $281

Eating Out

Melbourne

$310 10.9%

Tonghua

$71 11.2% 77.1% $239

Clothing & Footwear

Melbourne

$171 6%

Tonghua

$83 13.1% 51.4% $88

Getting Around

Melbourne

$169 5.9%

Tonghua

$22 3.5% 87% $147

Sport & Entertainment

Melbourne

$86 3%

Tonghua

$54 8.5% 37.3% $32

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,763 in Melbourne and $294 in Tonghua. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Melbourne pays 750% 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: $83.0 in Melbourne vs $22.00 in Tonghua for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $388 vs $185 per month, with Tonghua cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Melbourne

🇨🇳 Tonghua

🕒 Local time

02:10 2:10 AM

23:10 11:10 PM

3 h behind Melbourne

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

5,031,195

446,917

💱 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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Between locations

Melbourne Tonghua 9,050 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 Tonghua: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Melbourne and Tonghua differ by about 352% in total monthly costs ($2,853 vs $632 including rent). Tonghua is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 750% 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: $1,763 in Melbourne versus $294 in Tonghua. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $2,385 in Melbourne versus $294 in Tonghua. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 110% higher in Melbourne. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $632 in Tonghua versus $2,853 in Melbourne, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Tonghua but tight or insufficient in Melbourne. The gap between the two cities makes Tonghua 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 Tonghua 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 Tonghua 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.