Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Melbourne and Yancheng

For one person, living is cheaper in Yancheng: $668 a month against $2,821 in Melbourne, rent and utilities included – about $25,800 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
34

Cost of Living Index in Yancheng
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Yancheng Living Index

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Melbourne

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,821

/mo nomad

Yancheng

🇨🇳 China

$668

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Melbourne and in Yancheng

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,821 in Melbourne versus $668 in Yancheng.

Melbourne $2,821
Yancheng $668

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,235 in Melbourne versus $1,126 in Yancheng.

Melbourne $4,235
Yancheng $1,126

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,650 in Melbourne versus $1,584 in Yancheng.

Melbourne $5,650
Yancheng $1,584

Living in Melbourne is roughly 322% more expensive than in Yancheng, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Melbourne is 109% above, Yancheng is 51% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.43 A$25.08

$1.98 ¥13.25

780.30%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$84.6 A$122

$23.75 ¥159

256.00%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.46 A$17.92

$2.99 ¥19.98

316.72%

Cappuccino

$4.11 A$5.91

$3.14 ¥21.01

30.89%

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

$3.06 A$4.40

$0.39 ¥2.59

684.62%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.52 A$3.62

$0.21 ¥1.40

1100.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.80 A$14.10

$1.47 ¥9.82

566.67%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.57 A$12.33

$3.04 ¥20.31

181.91%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.48 A$2.14

$1.81 ¥12.12

-18.23%

White Bread (500g)

$2.94 A$4.23

$2.15 ¥14.36

36.74%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.66 A$3.82

$1.11 ¥7.42

139.64%

Eggs

$5.54 A$7.97

$1.86 ¥12.41

197.85%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.51 A$15.13

$13.40 ¥89.6

-21.57%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.65 A$13.89

$3.45 ¥23.06

179.71%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.22 A$21.91

$11.07 ¥74.0

37.49%

Apples (1kg)

$3.99 A$5.75

$2.65 ¥17.72

50.57%

Banana (1kg)

$3.02 A$4.34

$1.33 ¥8.86

127.07%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.10 A$4.46

$1.61 ¥10.76

92.55%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.82 A$6.93

$1.17 ¥7.82

311.97%

Potato (1kg)

$3.03 A$4.36

$0.64 ¥4.31

373.44%

Onion (1kg)

$2.44 A$3.52

$0.80 ¥5.35

205.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.46 A$3.54

$0.64 ¥4.28

284.37%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.63 A$2.34

$0.59 ¥3.93

176.27%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$44.07 A$63.4

$5.37 ¥35.87

720.67%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.70 A$18.28

$11.89 ¥79.5

6.81%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$5.54 A$7.97

$0.93 ¥6.21

495.70%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.23 A$7.52

$2.23 ¥14.88

134.53%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.74 A$5.38

$0.26 ¥1.74

1338.46%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$138 A$198

$15.56 ¥104

783.80%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.51 A$6.50

$1.52 ¥10.16

196.71%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.36 A$1.96

$0.42 ¥2.83

223.81%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$30.45 A$43.81

$9.11 ¥60.9

234.25%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 A$2.12

$1.30 ¥8.72

13.08%

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

$29.0K A$41.7K

$19.4K ¥129.9K

49.23%

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

$26.5K A$38.1K

$19.2K ¥128.7K

37.53%

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

$234 A$336

$37.24 ¥249

527.50%

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

$27.93 A$40.19

$11.70 ¥78.2

138.72%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$55.7 A$80.2

$11.30 ¥75.5

393.27%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.40 A$71.1

$39.38 ¥263

25.44%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.48 A$30.91

$14.34 ¥95.9

49.79%

Cinema Ticket

$15.09 A$21.72

$6.07 ¥40.60

148.60%

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

$2,371 A$3,412

$445 ¥2,978

432.41%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$30.2K A$43.5K

$16.1K ¥107.9K

87.20%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$80.0 A$115

$34.66 ¥232

130.73%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$50.7 A$73.0

$21.51 ¥144

135.70%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 A$174

$63.3 ¥423

90.54%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$130 A$188

$44.95 ¥301

190.14%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,759 A$2,531

$294 ¥1,968

497.58%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,390 A$2,000

$162 ¥1,084

756.92%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,494 A$5,027

$680 ¥4,548

413.58%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,493 A$3,588

$407 ¥2,724

511.99%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,926 A$9,967

$3,545 ¥23.7K

95.39%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,445 A$9,274

$1,962 ¥13.1K

228.43%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,383 A$6,307

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.9

3.13

88.50%

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

Last update for Melbourne: October 10, 2026

Last update for Yancheng: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Melbourne

$1.4K 49.3%

Yancheng

$162 24.3% 88.3% $1.2K

Groceries & Markets

Melbourne

$384 13.6%

Yancheng

$222 33.2% 42.3% $162

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Melbourne

$317 11.3%

Yancheng

$60 9% 81% $257

Eating Out

Melbourne

$315 11.2%

Yancheng

$78 11.7% 75.1% $236

Clothing & Footwear

Melbourne

$172 6.1%

Yancheng

$74 11.1% 56.9% $98

Getting Around

Melbourne

$164 5.8%

Yancheng

$20 3% 87.6% $144

Sport & Entertainment

Melbourne

$80 2.8%

Yancheng

$52 7.7% 35.3% $28

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,759 in Melbourne and $294 in Yancheng. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $85.0 in Melbourne vs $24.00 in Yancheng for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $384 vs $222 per month, with Yancheng cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Melbourne

🇨🇳 Yancheng

🕒 Local time

11:39 11:39 AM

08:39 8:39 AM

3 h behind Melbourne

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

5,031,195

7,260,240

💱 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 Yancheng 8,320 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Melbourne
Yancheng

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 Yancheng: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Melbourne and Yancheng differ by about 322% in total monthly costs ($2,821 vs $668 including rent). Yancheng 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 $1,002 in Yancheng 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 $294 in Yancheng. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $2,371 in Melbourne versus $445 in Yancheng. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 73% higher in Melbourne. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $668 in Yancheng versus $2,821 in Melbourne, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Yancheng but tight or insufficient in Melbourne. The gap between the two cities makes Yancheng 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 Yancheng 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 Yancheng gentler on the wallet – expenses run 322% less than in Melbourne. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.