Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Melbourne and Utsunomiya

For one person, living is cheaper in Utsunomiya: $1,212 a month against $2,821 in Melbourne, rent and utilities included – about $19,300 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
60

Cost of Living Index in Utsunomiya
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Utsunomiya Living Index

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Melbourne

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,821

/mo nomad

Utsunomiya

🇯🇵 Japan

$1,212

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Melbourne and in Utsunomiya

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,821 in Melbourne versus $1,212 in Utsunomiya.

Melbourne $2,821
Utsunomiya $1,212

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,235 in Melbourne versus $1,948 in Utsunomiya.

Melbourne $4,235
Utsunomiya $1,948

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,650 in Melbourne versus $2,685 in Utsunomiya.

Melbourne $5,650
Utsunomiya $2,685

Living in Melbourne is roughly 133% more expensive than in Utsunomiya, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Melbourne is 109% above, Utsunomiya is 10% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.43 A$25.08

$6.11 ¥965

185.27%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$84.6 A$122

$17.09 ¥2,701

394.73%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.46 A$17.92

$4.72 ¥745

163.98%

Cappuccino

$4.11 A$5.91

$3.52 ¥556

16.76%

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

$3.06 A$4.40

$1.06 ¥167

188.68%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.52 A$3.62

$0.81 ¥128

211.11%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.80 A$14.10

$3.09 ¥488

217.15%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.57 A$12.33

$1.93 ¥305

344.04%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.48 A$2.14

$1.38 ¥218

7.25%

White Bread (500g)

$2.94 A$4.23

$1.72 ¥271

70.93%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.66 A$3.82

$5.59 ¥883

-52.42%

Eggs

$5.54 A$7.97

$2.22 ¥350

149.55%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.51 A$15.13

$11.27 ¥1,780

-6.74%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.65 A$13.89

$6.80 ¥1,075

41.91%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.22 A$21.91

$16.84 ¥2,660

-9.62%

Apples (1kg)

$3.99 A$5.75

$4.61 ¥728

-13.45%

Banana (1kg)

$3.02 A$4.34

$2.35 ¥372

28.51%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.10 A$4.46

$4.38 ¥693

-29.22%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.82 A$6.93

$5.36 ¥848

-10.07%

Potato (1kg)

$3.03 A$4.36

$3.41 ¥539

-11.14%

Onion (1kg)

$2.44 A$3.52

$2.97 ¥470

-17.85%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.46 A$3.54

$1.20 ¥190

105.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.63 A$2.34

$0.76 ¥120

114.47%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$44.07 A$63.4

$3.95 ¥623

1015.70%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.70 A$18.28

$9.52 ¥1,504

33.40%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$5.54 A$7.97

$1.71 ¥270

223.98%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.23 A$7.52

$2.64 ¥417

98.11%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.74 A$5.38

$1.58 ¥249

136.71%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$138 A$198

$54.9 ¥8,670

150.58%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.51 A$6.50

$3.07 ¥484

46.91%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.36 A$1.96

$3.16 ¥500

-56.96%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$30.45 A$43.81

$18.83 ¥2,975

61.71%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 A$2.12

$1.06 ¥167

38.68%

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

$29.0K A$41.7K

$21.7K ¥3.4M

33.86%

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

$26.5K A$38.1K

$15.3K ¥2.4M

72.49%

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

$234 A$336

$146 ¥23.0K

60.56%

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

$27.93 A$40.19

$21.91 ¥3,461

27.48%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$55.7 A$80.2

$30.44 ¥4,808

83.11%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.40 A$71.1

$52.1 ¥8,234

-5.22%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.48 A$30.91

$12.79 ¥2,020

67.94%

Cinema Ticket

$15.09 A$21.72

$12.84 ¥2,029

17.52%

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

$2,371 A$3,412

$524 ¥82.8K

352.44%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$30.2K A$43.5K

$18.2K ¥2.9M

66.12%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$80.0 A$115

$55.1 ¥8,712

45.03%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$50.7 A$73.0

$32.36 ¥5,113

56.67%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 A$174

$65.7 ¥10.4K

83.72%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$130 A$188

$71.3 ¥11.3K

82.94%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,759 A$2,531

$509 ¥80.4K

245.59%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,390 A$2,000

$298 ¥47.1K

366.53%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,494 A$5,027

$939 ¥148.4K

271.89%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,493 A$3,588

$803 ¥126.9K

210.34%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,926 A$9,967

$3,897 ¥615.7K

77.73%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,445 A$9,274

$1,781 ¥281.4K

261.81%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,383 A$6,307

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.9

2.25

162.22%

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

Last update for Melbourne: October 10, 2026

Last update for Utsunomiya: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Melbourne

$1.4K 49.3%

Utsunomiya

$298 24.6% 78.6% $1.1K

Groceries & Markets

Melbourne

$384 13.6%

Utsunomiya

$325 26.8% 15.4% $59

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Melbourne

$317 11.3%

Utsunomiya

$198 16.3% 37.6% $119

Eating Out

Melbourne

$315 11.2%

Utsunomiya

$132 10.9% 58% $182

Clothing & Footwear

Melbourne

$172 6.1%

Utsunomiya

$101 8.3% 41.2% $71

Getting Around

Melbourne

$164 5.8%

Utsunomiya

$80 6.6% 51.1% $84

Sport & Entertainment

Melbourne

$80 2.8%

Utsunomiya

$78 6.4% 2.2% $1.8

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,759 in Melbourne and $509 in Utsunomiya. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $85.0 in Melbourne vs $17.00 in Utsunomiya for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $384 vs $325 per month, with Utsunomiya cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Melbourne

🇯🇵 Utsunomiya

🕒 Local time

20:23 8:23 PM

18:23 6:23 PM

2 h behind Melbourne

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

5,031,195

519,217

💱 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 Utsunomiya 8,290 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

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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 Utsunomiya: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Melbourne and Utsunomiya differ by about 133% in total monthly costs ($2,821 vs $1,212 including rent). Utsunomiya 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 $1,818 in Utsunomiya 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 $509 in Utsunomiya. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $2,371 in Melbourne versus $524 in Utsunomiya. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 18% higher in Melbourne. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,212 in Utsunomiya versus $2,821 in Melbourne, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Utsunomiya but tight or insufficient in Melbourne. The gap between the two cities makes Utsunomiya 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 Utsunomiya 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 Utsunomiya gentler on the wallet – expenses run 133% less than in Melbourne. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.