Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Melbourne and Toyota

For one person, living is cheaper in Toyota: $1,185 a month against $2,821 in Melbourne, rent and utilities included – about $19,600 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 Toyota
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Toyota Living Index

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Melbourne

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,821

/mo nomad

Toyota

🇯🇵 Japan

$1,185

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Melbourne and in Toyota

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,821 in Melbourne versus $1,185 in Toyota.

Melbourne $2,821
Toyota $1,185

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,235 in Melbourne versus $1,873 in Toyota.

Melbourne $4,235
Toyota $1,873

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,650 in Melbourne versus $2,561 in Toyota.

Melbourne $5,650
Toyota $2,561

Living in Melbourne is roughly 138% more expensive than in Toyota, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Melbourne is 109% above, Toyota is 12% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.43 A$25.08

$6.42 ¥1,014

171.50%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$84.6 A$122

$40.50 ¥6,399

108.77%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.46 A$17.92

$5.15 ¥814

141.94%

Cappuccino

$4.11 A$5.91

$3.52 ¥556

16.76%

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

$3.06 A$4.40

$1.18 ¥187

159.32%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.52 A$3.62

$0.75 ¥118

236.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.80 A$14.10

$2.59 ¥409

278.38%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.57 A$12.33

$3.10 ¥489

176.45%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.48 A$2.14

$1.21 ¥191

22.31%

White Bread (500g)

$2.94 A$4.23

$0.90 ¥143

226.67%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.66 A$3.82

$1.92 ¥303

38.54%

Eggs

$5.54 A$7.97

$1.91 ¥301

190.05%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.51 A$15.13

$10.28 ¥1,624

2.24%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.65 A$13.89

$6.00 ¥948

60.83%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.22 A$21.91

$14.10 ¥2,228

7.94%

Apples (1kg)

$3.99 A$5.75

$5.74 ¥906

-30.49%

Banana (1kg)

$3.02 A$4.34

$2.79 ¥440

8.24%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.10 A$4.46

$2.79 ¥440

11.11%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.82 A$6.93

$4.06 ¥642

18.72%

Potato (1kg)

$3.03 A$4.36

$2.51 ¥397

20.72%

Onion (1kg)

$2.44 A$3.52

$2.58 ¥407

-5.43%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.46 A$3.54

$1.24 ¥196

98.39%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.63 A$2.34

$0.72 ¥113

126.39%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$44.07 A$63.4

$3.73 ¥589

1081.50%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.70 A$18.28

$6.19 ¥979

105.17%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$5.54 A$7.97

$1.81 ¥286

206.08%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.23 A$7.52

$2.11 ¥333

147.87%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.74 A$5.38

$1.22 ¥193

206.56%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$138 A$198

$50.9 ¥8,036

170.39%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.51 A$6.50

$3.18 ¥502

41.82%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.36 A$1.96

$2.69 ¥425

-49.44%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$30.45 A$43.81

$20.22 ¥3,195

50.59%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 A$2.12

$1.06 ¥168

38.68%

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

$29.0K A$41.7K

$21.1K ¥3.3M

37.44%

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

$26.5K A$38.1K

$18.1K ¥2.9M

46.39%

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

$234 A$336

$131 ¥20.7K

78.53%

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

$27.93 A$40.19

$18.93 ¥2,991

47.54%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$55.7 A$80.2

$22.21 ¥3,509

150.97%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.40 A$71.1

$54.4 ¥8,586

-9.11%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.48 A$30.91

Cinema Ticket

$15.09 A$21.72

$12.50 ¥1,975

20.72%

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

$2,371 A$3,412

$628 ¥99.2K

277.60%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$30.2K A$43.5K

$14.7K ¥2.3M

104.87%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$80.0 A$115

$63.3 ¥10.0K

26.30%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$50.7 A$73.0

$37.12 ¥5,864

36.58%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 A$174

$62.0 ¥9,794

94.56%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$130 A$188

$103 ¥16.2K

27.21%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,759 A$2,531

$473 ¥74.7K

271.95%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,390 A$2,000

$337 ¥53.3K

312.00%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,494 A$5,027

$1,040 ¥164.3K

235.99%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,493 A$3,588

$690 ¥109.0K

261.48%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,926 A$9,967

$4,570 ¥722.1K

51.54%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,445 A$9,274

$1,648 ¥260.4K

291.06%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,383 A$6,307

$1,053 ¥166.4K

316.23%

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 Toyota: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Melbourne

$1.4K 49.3%

Toyota

$337 28.5% 75.7% $1.1K

Groceries & Markets

Melbourne

$384 13.6%

Toyota

$268 22.7% 30.1% $116

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Melbourne

$317 11.3%

Toyota

$172 14.5% 45.8% $145

Eating Out

Melbourne

$315 11.2%

Toyota

$136 11.5% 56.8% $179

Clothing & Footwear

Melbourne

$172 6.1%

Toyota

$119 10.1% 30.6% $53

Getting Around

Melbourne

$164 5.8%

Toyota

$72 6.1% 55.8% $91

Sport & Entertainment

Melbourne

$80 2.8%

Toyota

$79 6.7% 0.3% $0.2

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,759 in Melbourne and $473 in Toyota. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Melbourne pays 316% 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 $41.00 in Toyota for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $384 vs $268 per month, with Toyota cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Melbourne

🇯🇵 Toyota

🕒 Local time

19:36 7:36 PM

17:36 5:36 PM

2 h behind Melbourne

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

5,031,195

424,956

💱 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 19, 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 19, 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 →

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Melbourne Toyota 8,150 km ≈ 11 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 Toyota: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Melbourne and Toyota differ by about 138% in total monthly costs ($2,821 vs $1,185 including rent). Toyota is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 316% 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 $473 in Toyota. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $2,371 in Melbourne versus $628 in Toyota. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 43% higher in Melbourne. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,185 in Toyota versus $2,821 in Melbourne, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Toyota but tight or insufficient in Melbourne. The gap between the two cities makes Toyota 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 Toyota 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 Toyota gentler on the wallet – expenses run 138% less than in Melbourne. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.