Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Melbourne and Yamaguchi

For one person, living is cheaper in Yamaguchi: $1,200 a month against $2,821 in Melbourne, rent and utilities included – about $19,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

138

Cost of Living Index in Melbourne
Learn more

Melbourne Living Index
58

Cost of Living Index in Yamaguchi
Learn more

Yamaguchi Living Index

Jump to prices

Melbourne

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,821

/mo nomad

Yamaguchi

🇯🇵 Japan

$1,200

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Melbourne and in Yamaguchi

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,821 in Melbourne versus $1,200 in Yamaguchi.

Melbourne $2,821
Yamaguchi $1,200

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,235 in Melbourne versus $1,848 in Yamaguchi.

Melbourne $4,235
Yamaguchi $1,848

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,650 in Melbourne versus $2,496 in Yamaguchi.

Melbourne $5,650
Yamaguchi $2,496

Living in Melbourne is roughly 135% more expensive than in Yamaguchi, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Melbourne is 109% above, Yamaguchi is 11% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.43 A$25.08

$3.75 ¥593

364.80%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$84.6 A$122

$32.14 ¥5,077

163.07%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.46 A$17.92

$4.91 ¥776

153.77%

Cappuccino

$4.11 A$5.91

$3.75 ¥593

9.60%

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

$0.71 ¥111

254.93%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.80 A$14.10

$3.86 ¥609

153.89%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.57 A$12.33

$2.17 ¥342

294.93%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.48 A$2.14

$1.54 ¥244

-3.90%

White Bread (500g)

$2.94 A$4.23

$1.82 ¥288

61.54%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.66 A$3.82

$6.56 ¥1,037

-59.45%

Eggs

$5.54 A$7.97

$2.25 ¥356

146.22%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.51 A$15.13

$17.95 ¥2,836

-41.45%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.65 A$13.89

$5.31 ¥840

81.73%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.22 A$21.91

$18.56 ¥2,932

-18.00%

Apples (1kg)

$3.99 A$5.75

$3.64 ¥575

9.62%

Banana (1kg)

$3.02 A$4.34

$1.82 ¥287

65.93%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.10 A$4.46

$2.88 ¥455

7.64%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.82 A$6.93

$3.39 ¥535

42.18%

Potato (1kg)

$3.03 A$4.36

$2.16 ¥341

40.28%

Onion (1kg)

$2.44 A$3.52

$2.62 ¥414

-6.87%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.46 A$3.54

$1.02 ¥161

141.18%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.63 A$2.34

$0.98 ¥155

66.33%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$44.07 A$63.4

$4.00 ¥633

1001.75%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.70 A$18.28

$6.26 ¥989

102.88%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$5.54 A$7.97

$1.65 ¥261

235.76%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.23 A$7.52

$1.83 ¥289

185.79%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.74 A$5.38

$1.50 ¥237

149.33%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$138 A$198

$56.6 ¥8,945

142.88%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.51 A$6.50

$3.83 ¥605

17.75%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.36 A$1.96

$2.07 ¥327

-34.30%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$30.45 A$43.81

$18.10 ¥2,860

68.23%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 A$2.12

$1.10 ¥174

33.64%

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

$29.0K A$41.7K

$21.5K ¥3.4M

34.61%

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

$26.5K A$38.1K

$17.1K ¥2.7M

54.37%

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

$234 A$336

$215 ¥33.9K

8.78%

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

$27.93 A$40.19

$24.86 ¥3,928

12.35%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$55.7 A$80.2

$33.35 ¥5,269

67.14%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.40 A$71.1

$58.0 ¥9,155

-14.75%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.48 A$30.91

Cinema Ticket

$15.09 A$21.72

$10.81 ¥1,709

39.59%

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

$2,371 A$3,412

$124 ¥19.6K

1812.92%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$30.2K A$43.5K

$12.1K ¥1.9M

150.15%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$80.0 A$115

$48.93 ¥7,731

63.44%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$50.7 A$73.0

$26.28 ¥4,151

92.92%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 A$174

$66.7 ¥10.5K

80.77%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$130 A$188

$47.51 ¥7,506

174.51%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,759 A$2,531

$404 ¥63.8K

335.41%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,390 A$2,000

$250 ¥39.5K

455.69%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,494 A$5,027

$790 ¥124.8K

342.41%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,493 A$3,588

$566 ¥89.5K

340.32%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,926 A$9,967

$4,432 ¥700.2K

56.27%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,445 A$9,274

$1,970 ¥311.3K

227.09%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,383 A$6,307

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.9

1.97

199.49%

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

Last update for Melbourne: October 10, 2026

Last update for Yamaguchi: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Melbourne

$1.4K 49.3%

Yamaguchi

$250 20.8% 82% $1.1K

Groceries & Markets

Melbourne

$384 13.6%

Yamaguchi

$315 26.2% 18.1% $69

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Melbourne

$317 11.3%

Yamaguchi

$273 22.8% 14% $44

Eating Out

Melbourne

$315 11.2%

Yamaguchi

$120 10% 61.7% $194

Clothing & Footwear

Melbourne

$172 6.1%

Yamaguchi

$85 7.1% 50.4% $87

Getting Around

Melbourne

$164 5.8%

Yamaguchi

$77 6.4% 53.1% $87

Sport & Entertainment

Melbourne

$80 2.8%

Yamaguchi

$80 6.6% 0% $0

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,759 in Melbourne and $404 in Yamaguchi. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $85.0 in Melbourne vs $32.00 in Yamaguchi for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $384 vs $315 per month, with Yamaguchi cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Melbourne

🇯🇵 Yamaguchi

🕒 Local time

22:50 10:50 PM

20:50 8:50 PM

2 h behind Melbourne

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

5,031,195

193,966

💱 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 →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Melbourne Yamaguchi 8,130 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Melbourne
Yamaguchi

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 Yamaguchi: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Melbourne and Yamaguchi differ by about 135% in total monthly costs ($2,821 vs $1,200 including rent). Yamaguchi 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 $1,800 in Yamaguchi 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 $404 in Yamaguchi. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $2,371 in Melbourne versus $124 in Yamaguchi. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 22% higher in Melbourne. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,200 in Yamaguchi versus $2,821 in Melbourne, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Yamaguchi but tight or insufficient in Melbourne. The gap between the two cities makes Yamaguchi 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 Yamaguchi 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 Yamaguchi gentler on the wallet – expenses run 135% less than in Melbourne. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.