Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Melbourne and Toyama

For one person, living is cheaper in Toyama: $1,156 a month against $2,821 in Melbourne, rent and utilities included – about $20,000 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
57

Cost of Living Index in Toyama
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Toyama Living Index

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Melbourne

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,821

/mo nomad

Toyama

🇯🇵 Japan

$1,156

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Melbourne and in Toyama

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,821 in Melbourne versus $1,156 in Toyama.

Melbourne $2,821
Toyama $1,156

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,235 in Melbourne versus $1,838 in Toyama.

Melbourne $4,235
Toyama $1,838

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,650 in Melbourne versus $2,519 in Toyama.

Melbourne $5,650
Toyama $2,519

Living in Melbourne is roughly 144% more expensive than in Toyama, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Melbourne is 109% above, Toyama is 14% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.43 A$25.08

$3.93 ¥621

343.51%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$84.6 A$122

$41.37 ¥6,536

104.38%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.46 A$17.92

$5.18 ¥819

140.54%

Cappuccino

$4.11 A$5.91

$3.51 ¥555

17.09%

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

$3.06 A$4.40

$1.04 ¥164

194.23%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.52 A$3.62

$0.74 ¥117

240.54%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.80 A$14.10

$2.59 ¥410

278.38%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.57 A$12.33

$3.19 ¥504

168.65%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.48 A$2.14

$1.07 ¥169

38.32%

White Bread (500g)

$2.94 A$4.23

$0.77 ¥122

281.82%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.66 A$3.82

$3.66 ¥579

-27.32%

Eggs

$5.54 A$7.97

$1.98 ¥313

179.80%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.51 A$15.13

$10.52 ¥1,662

-0.10%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.65 A$13.89

$5.98 ¥945

61.37%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.22 A$21.91

$14.45 ¥2,283

5.33%

Apples (1kg)

$3.99 A$5.75

$5.75 ¥909

-30.61%

Banana (1kg)

$3.02 A$4.34

$2.70 ¥426

11.85%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.10 A$4.46

$2.95 ¥467

5.08%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.82 A$6.93

$4.20 ¥663

14.76%

Potato (1kg)

$3.03 A$4.36

$2.52 ¥398

20.24%

Onion (1kg)

$2.44 A$3.52

$2.53 ¥400

-3.56%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.46 A$3.54

$1.23 ¥195

100.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.63 A$2.34

$0.64 ¥102

154.69%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$44.07 A$63.4

$3.80 ¥600

1059.74%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.70 A$18.28

$6.25 ¥988

103.20%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$5.54 A$7.97

$1.82 ¥287

204.40%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.23 A$7.52

$2.00 ¥315

161.50%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.74 A$5.38

$1.52 ¥240

146.05%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$138 A$198

$58.7 ¥9,270

134.36%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.51 A$6.50

$3.19 ¥503

41.38%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.36 A$1.96

$2.71 ¥428

-49.82%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$30.45 A$43.81

$20.33 ¥3,211

49.78%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 A$2.12

$1.11 ¥176

32.43%

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

$29.0K A$41.7K

$21.7K ¥3.4M

33.38%

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

$26.5K A$38.1K

$18.2K ¥2.9M

45.71%

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

$234 A$336

$133 ¥21.0K

75.75%

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

$27.93 A$40.19

$23.98 ¥3,788

16.47%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$55.7 A$80.2

$32.22 ¥5,091

73.00%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.40 A$71.1

$52.9 ¥8,351

-6.55%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.48 A$30.91

Cinema Ticket

$15.09 A$21.72

$11.50 ¥1,817

31.22%

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

$2,371 A$3,412

$634 ¥100.2K

273.88%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$30.2K A$43.5K

$14.6K ¥2.3M

107.23%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$80.0 A$115

$61.6 ¥9,735

29.78%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$50.7 A$73.0

$37.28 ¥5,889

36.00%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 A$174

$60.7 ¥9,583

98.86%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$130 A$188

$100 ¥15.8K

30.20%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,759 A$2,531

$233 ¥36.8K

655.80%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,390 A$2,000

$303 ¥47.8K

358.83%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,494 A$5,027

$1,105 ¥174.6K

216.17%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,493 A$3,588

$648 ¥102.4K

284.50%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,926 A$9,967

$3,962 ¥625.9K

74.83%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,445 A$9,274

$1,608 ¥254.1K

300.78%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,383 A$6,307

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.9

2.64

123.48%

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

Last update for Melbourne: October 10, 2026

Last update for Toyama: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Melbourne

$1.4K 49.3%

Toyama

$303 26.2% 78.2% $1.1K

Groceries & Markets

Melbourne

$384 13.6%

Toyama

$274 23.7% 28.5% $110

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Melbourne

$317 11.3%

Toyama

$189 16.4% 40.4% $128

Eating Out

Melbourne

$315 11.2%

Toyama

$116 10% 63.2% $199

Clothing & Footwear

Melbourne

$172 6.1%

Toyama

$117 10.1% 32% $55

Getting Around

Melbourne

$164 5.8%

Toyama

$81 7.1% 50.2% $82

Sport & Entertainment

Melbourne

$80 2.8%

Toyama

$76 6.6% 4.7% $3.7

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,759 in Melbourne and $233 in Toyama. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $85.0 in Melbourne vs $41.00 in Toyama for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $384 vs $274 per month, with Toyama cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Melbourne

🇯🇵 Toyama

🕒 Local time

02:55 2:55 AM

00:55 12:55 AM

2 h behind Melbourne

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

5,031,195

421,259

💱 Currency

Australian Dollar AUD $

Japanese Yen JPY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

1 AUD = 0.695 USD

1 AUD = 0.618 EUR

1,000 JPY = 6.33 USD

1,000 JPY = 5.63 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

JPY, 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).

Japanese Yen exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 158 JPY (1,000 JPY = 6.33 USD). 1 EUR = 178 JPY (1,000 JPY = 5.63 EUR).

USD to AUD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Melbourne Toyama 8,320 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 Toyama: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Melbourne and Toyama differ by about 144% in total monthly costs ($2,821 vs $1,156 including rent). Toyama is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $4,231 in Melbourne and $1,735 in Toyama to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,759 in Melbourne versus $233 in Toyama. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $2,371 in Melbourne versus $634 in Toyama. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 40% higher in Melbourne. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,156 in Toyama versus $2,821 in Melbourne, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Toyama but tight or insufficient in Melbourne. The gap between the two cities makes Toyama 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 Toyama 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 Toyama gentler on the wallet – expenses run 144% less than in Melbourne. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.