Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Nanchong and Melbourne

For one person, living is cheaper in Nanchong: $682 a month against $2,821 in Melbourne, rent and utilities included – about $25,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

33

Cost of Living Index in Nanchong
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Nanchong Living Index
138

Cost of Living Index in Melbourne
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Melbourne Living Index

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Nanchong

🇨🇳 China

$682

/mo nomad

Melbourne

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,821

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Nanchong and in Melbourne

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Nanchong and in Melbourne actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $682 in Nanchong versus $2,821 in Melbourne.

Nanchong $682
Melbourne $2,821

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,112 in Nanchong versus $4,235 in Melbourne.

Nanchong $1,112
Melbourne $4,235

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,543 in Nanchong versus $5,650 in Melbourne.

Nanchong $1,543
Melbourne $5,650

Living in Nanchong costs roughly 76% less than in Melbourne, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Nanchong is 50% below, Melbourne is 109% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$1.75 ¥11.70

$17.43 A$25.08

-89.96%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$22.63 ¥151

$84.6 A$122

-73.23%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$3.02 ¥20.17

$12.46 A$17.92

-75.76%

Cappuccino

$2.02 ¥13.49

$4.11 A$5.91

-50.85%

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

$0.43 ¥2.90

$3.06 A$4.40

-85.95%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.31 ¥2.09

$2.52 A$3.62

-87.70%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.22 ¥8.14

$9.80 A$14.10

-87.55%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.75 ¥11.72

$8.57 A$12.33

-79.58%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.93 ¥12.90

$1.48 A$2.14

30.41%

White Bread (500g)

$1.60 ¥10.68

$2.94 A$4.23

-45.58%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.63 ¥4.23

$2.66 A$3.82

-76.32%

Eggs

$2.16 ¥14.41

$5.54 A$7.97

-61.01%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$18.25 ¥122

$10.51 A$15.13

73.64%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.43 ¥22.95

$9.65 A$13.89

-64.46%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.97 ¥66.7

$15.22 A$21.91

-34.49%

Apples (1kg)

$1.53 ¥10.24

$3.99 A$5.75

-61.65%

Banana (1kg)

$1.30 ¥8.67

$3.02 A$4.34

-56.95%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.25 ¥8.33

$3.10 A$4.46

-59.68%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.20 ¥8.04

$4.82 A$6.93

-75.10%

Potato (1kg)

$0.67 ¥4.45

$3.03 A$4.36

-77.89%

Onion (1kg)

$0.93 ¥6.23

$2.44 A$3.52

-61.89%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.84 ¥5.60

$2.46 A$3.54

-65.85%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.61 ¥4.09

$1.63 A$2.34

-62.58%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.96 ¥19.82

$44.07 A$63.4

-93.28%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.74 ¥58.4

$12.70 A$18.28

-31.18%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.81 ¥5.43

$5.54 A$7.97

-85.38%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.69 ¥11.33

$5.23 A$7.52

-67.69%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.34 ¥2.25

$3.74 A$5.38

-90.91%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$18.28 ¥122

$138 A$198

-86.71%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.52 ¥10.17

$4.51 A$6.50

-66.30%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.31 ¥2.10

$1.36 A$1.96

-77.21%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.08 ¥20.58

$30.45 A$43.81

-89.89%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.31 ¥8.77

$1.47 A$2.12

-10.88%

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

$19.5K ¥130.2K

$29.0K A$41.7K

-32.87%

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

$16.9K ¥112.7K

$26.5K A$38.1K

-36.33%

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

$44.74 ¥299

$234 A$336

-80.85%

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

$7.19 ¥48.08

$27.93 A$40.19

-74.26%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$6.88 ¥46.01

$55.7 A$80.2

-87.66%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$41.93 ¥280

$49.40 A$71.1

-15.12%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$14.50 ¥97.0

$21.48 A$30.91

-32.50%

Cinema Ticket

$6.16 ¥41.16

$15.09 A$21.72

-59.18%

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

$292 ¥1,955

$2,371 A$3,412

-87.67%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$25.5K ¥170.8K

$30.2K A$43.5K

-15.41%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$39.45 ¥264

$80.0 A$115

-50.67%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$30.06 ¥201

$50.7 A$73.0

-40.71%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$64.4 ¥431

$121 A$174

-46.61%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$63.9 ¥427

$130 A$188

-50.98%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$298 ¥1,991

$1,759 A$2,531

-83.07%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$183 ¥1,222

$1,390 A$2,000

-86.84%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$624 ¥4,169

$3,494 A$5,027

-82.15%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$382 ¥2,557

$2,493 A$3,588

-84.66%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,201 ¥21.4K

$6,926 A$9,967

-53.79%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,973 ¥13.2K

$6,445 A$9,274

-69.38%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,383 A$6,307

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.34

5.9

-43.39%

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

Last update for Nanchong: October 11, 2026

Last update for Melbourne: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Nanchong

$214 31.4%

Melbourne

$384 13.6% 79.3% $170

Accommodation & Living

Nanchong

$183 26.8%

Melbourne

$1.4K 49.3% 660% $1.2K

Clothing & Footwear

Nanchong

$89 13.1%

Melbourne

$172 6.1% 92.9% $83

Eating Out

Nanchong

$60 8.8%

Melbourne

$315 11.2% 426% $255

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Nanchong

$59 8.6%

Melbourne

$317 11.3% 440% $259

Sport & Entertainment

Nanchong

$54 8%

Melbourne

$80 2.8% 46.7% $25

Getting Around

Nanchong

$23 3.3%

Melbourne

$164 5.8% 621% $141

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $298 in Nanchong and $1,759 in Melbourne. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $23.00 in Nanchong vs $85.0 in Melbourne for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $214 vs $384 per month, with Nanchong cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇳 Nanchong

🇦🇺 Melbourne

🕒 Local time

13:22 1:22 PM

16:22 4:22 PM

3 h ahead of Nanchong

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

5,607,565

5,031,195

💱 Currency

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

Australian Dollar AUD $

📈 Exchange rate

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.133 EUR

1 AUD = 0.695 USD

1 AUD = 0.618 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

AUD, USD, EUR to CNY – Chinese Yuan Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇳 Chinese Yuan (¥)

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).

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).

USD to CNY in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Nanchong Melbourne 8,630 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Nanchong
Melbourne

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

Nanchong vs Melbourne: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Nanchong and Melbourne differ by about 314% in total monthly costs ($682 vs $2,821 including rent). Nanchong is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $1,022 in Nanchong and $4,231 in Melbourne 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: $298 in Nanchong versus $1,759 in Melbourne. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $292 in Nanchong versus $2,371 in Melbourne. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 79% higher in Melbourne. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $682 in Nanchong versus $2,821 in Melbourne, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Nanchong but tight or insufficient in Melbourne. The gap between the two cities makes Nanchong 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, Nanchong and Melbourne 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 Nanchong gentler on the wallet – expenses run 314% less than in Melbourne. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.