Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Okinawa and Melbourne

For one person, living is cheaper in Okinawa: $1,399 a month against $2,852 in Melbourne, rent and utilities included – about $17,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

67

Cost of Living Index in Okinawa
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Okinawa Living Index
137

Cost of Living Index in Melbourne
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Melbourne Living Index

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Okinawa

🇯🇵 Japan

$1,399

/mo nomad

Melbourne

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,852

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Okinawa 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 Okinawa and in Melbourne actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,399 in Okinawa versus $2,852 in Melbourne.

Okinawa $1,399
Melbourne $2,852

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,189 in Okinawa versus $4,297 in Melbourne.

Okinawa $2,189
Melbourne $4,297

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,979 in Okinawa versus $5,742 in Melbourne.

Okinawa $2,979
Melbourne $5,742

Living in Okinawa costs roughly 51% less than in Melbourne, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Okinawa 4% above, Melbourne 113% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.13 ¥1,602

$17.75 A$25.49

-42.93%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$39.78 ¥6,288

$84.8 A$122

-53.11%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.04 ¥1,112

$12.16 A$17.46

-42.11%

Cappuccino

$4.26 ¥674

$3.93 A$5.64

8.40%

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

$1.47 ¥233

$3.14 A$4.51

-53.18%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.00 ¥158

$2.43 A$3.49

-58.85%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.01 ¥318

$9.90 A$14.22

-79.70%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.55 ¥719

$8.29 A$11.91

-45.11%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.64 ¥258

$1.55 A$2.22

5.81%

White Bread (500g)

$2.15 ¥340

$3.01 A$4.32

-28.57%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.84 ¥606

$2.88 A$4.14

33.33%

Eggs

$1.75 ¥277

$5.44 A$7.82

-67.83%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.94 ¥2,835

$10.59 A$15.22

69.41%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.87 ¥770

$9.61 A$13.81

-49.32%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$22.16 ¥3,503

$14.99 A$21.54

47.83%

Apples (1kg)

$3.62 ¥572

$4.15 A$5.96

-12.77%

Banana (1kg)

$2.63 ¥416

$3.05 A$4.38

-13.77%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.14 ¥338

$3.30 A$4.74

-35.15%

Tomato (1kg)

$5.18 ¥819

$4.76 A$6.83

8.82%

Potato (1kg)

$2.41 ¥380

$3.04 A$4.36

-20.72%

Onion (1kg)

$2.58 ¥407

$2.55 A$3.66

1.18%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.31 ¥207

$2.48 A$3.56

-47.18%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.74 ¥117

$1.63 A$2.34

-54.60%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.99 ¥630

$44.07 A$63.3

-90.95%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.42 ¥1,015

$12.43 A$17.85

-48.35%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.87 ¥295

$5.33 A$7.65

-64.92%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.19 ¥504

$5.16 A$7.41

-38.18%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.47 ¥232

$3.84 A$5.52

-61.72%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$67.2 ¥10.6K

$142 A$203

-52.52%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.97 ¥627

$4.40 A$6.32

-9.77%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.56 ¥563

$1.40 A$2.01

154.29%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$11.44 ¥1,808

$29.83 A$42.84

-61.65%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.09 ¥173

$1.46 A$2.09

-25.34%

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

$21.3K ¥3.4M

$28.1K A$40.4K

-24.50%

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

$15.4K ¥2.4M

$25.9K A$37.3K

-40.62%

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

$162 ¥25.6K

$233 A$334

-30.39%

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

$24.91 ¥3,938

$27.28 A$39.19

-8.69%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$53.8 ¥8,503

$57.0 A$81.9

-5.68%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$71.3 ¥11.3K

$52.7 A$75.7

35.40%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$54.9 ¥8,679

$22.62 A$32.49

142.75%

Cinema Ticket

$12.17 ¥1,924

$17.10 A$24.57

-28.83%

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

$329 ¥52.0K

$2,373 A$3,409

-86.14%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,538 ¥875.3K

$30.5K A$43.8K

-81.82%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$50.1 ¥7,913

$78.2 A$112

-35.98%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$23.29 ¥3,681

$50.5 A$72.5

-53.85%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$78.8 ¥12.5K

$121 A$173

-34.63%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$94.6 ¥14.9K

$133 A$191

-29.01%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$404 ¥63.9K

$1,713 A$2,460

-76.41%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$328 ¥51.9K

$1,402 A$2,014

-76.59%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$826 ¥130.5K

$3,339 A$4,796

-75.27%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$663 ¥104.8K

$2,529 A$3,632

-73.77%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$8,594 ¥1.4M

$7,018 A$10.1K

22.46%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,206 ¥190.6K

$6,767 A$9,721

-82.18%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,849 ¥292.3K

$4,228 A$6,074

-56.27%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.23

5.9

-62.20%

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

Last update for Okinawa: October 5, 2026

Last update for Melbourne: October 6, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Okinawa

$328 23.8%

Melbourne

$385 13.5% 17.3% $57

Accommodation & Living

Okinawa

$328 23.8%

Melbourne

$1.4K 49.3% 327% $1.1K

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Okinawa

$241 17.4%

Melbourne

$317 11.1% 31.7% $76

Eating Out

Okinawa

$182 13.2%

Melbourne

$314 11% 72.1% $132

Clothing & Footwear

Okinawa

$111 8%

Melbourne

$172 6.1% 55% $61

Sport & Entertainment

Okinawa

$96 6.9%

Melbourne

$87 3.1% 9.2% $8.8

Getting Around

Okinawa

$95 6.9%

Melbourne

$168 5.9% 77.4% $73

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $404 in Okinawa and $1,713 in Melbourne. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Melbourne pays 129% 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: $40.00 in Okinawa vs $85.0 in Melbourne for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $328 vs $385 per month, with Okinawa cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇯🇵 Okinawa

🇦🇺 Melbourne

🕒 Local time

10:54 10:54 AM

12:54 12:54 PM

2 h ahead of Okinawa

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

142,752

5,031,195

💱 Currency

Japanese Yen JPY ¥

Australian Dollar AUD $

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 JPY = 6.33 USD

1,000 JPY = 5.64 EUR

1 AUD = 0.696 USD

1 AUD = 0.621 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

AUD, USD, EUR to JPY – Japanese Yen Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇯🇵 Japanese Yen (¥)

Japanese Yen exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 158 JPY (1,000 JPY = 6.33 USD). 1 EUR = 177 JPY (1,000 JPY = 5.64 EUR).

Australian Dollar exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 1.44 AUD (1 AUD = 0.696 USD). 1 EUR = 1.61 AUD (1 AUD = 0.621 EUR).

USD to JPY in detail →

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Between locations

Okinawa Melbourne 7,370 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Okinawa
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

Okinawa vs Melbourne: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Okinawa and Melbourne differ by about 104% in total monthly costs ($1,399 vs $2,852 including rent). Okinawa is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 129% lower in Melbourne. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $404 in Okinawa versus $1,713 in Melbourne. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $329 in Okinawa versus $2,373 in Melbourne. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 17% higher in Melbourne. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,399 in Okinawa versus $2,852 in Melbourne, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Okinawa but tight or insufficient in Melbourne. The gap between the two cities makes Okinawa 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, Okinawa 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 Okinawa gentler on the wallet – expenses run 104% less than in Melbourne. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.