Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Shenyang and Melbourne

For one person, living is cheaper in Shenyang: $718 a month against $2,821 in Melbourne, rent and utilities included – about $25,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

35

Cost of Living Index in Shenyang
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Shenyang Living Index
138

Cost of Living Index in Melbourne
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Melbourne Living Index

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Shenyang

🇨🇳 China

$718

/mo nomad

Melbourne

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,821

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $718 in Shenyang versus $2,821 in Melbourne.

Shenyang $718
Melbourne $2,821

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,071 in Shenyang versus $4,235 in Melbourne.

Shenyang $1,071
Melbourne $4,235

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,424 in Shenyang versus $5,650 in Melbourne.

Shenyang $1,424
Melbourne $5,650

Living in Shenyang costs roughly 75% less than in Melbourne, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Shenyang is 47% below, Melbourne is 109% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.00 ¥20.07

$17.43 A$25.08

-82.79%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$22.24 ¥149

$84.6 A$122

-73.70%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.08 ¥33.98

$12.46 A$17.92

-59.23%

Cappuccino

$2.46 ¥16.45

$4.11 A$5.91

-40.15%

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

$0.47 ¥3.17

$3.06 A$4.40

-84.64%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.38 ¥2.54

$2.52 A$3.62

-84.92%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$0.87 ¥5.79

$9.80 A$14.10

-91.12%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.82 ¥12.16

$8.57 A$12.33

-78.76%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.89 ¥12.67

$1.48 A$2.14

27.70%

White Bread (500g)

$2.46 ¥16.46

$2.94 A$4.23

-16.33%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.08 ¥7.19

$2.66 A$3.82

-59.40%

Eggs

$1.03 ¥6.88

$5.54 A$7.97

-81.41%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.51 A$15.13

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.65 A$13.89

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.99 ¥80.2

$15.22 A$21.91

-21.22%

Apples (1kg)

$1.78 ¥11.91

$3.99 A$5.75

-55.39%

Banana (1kg)

$1.19 ¥7.94

$3.02 A$4.34

-60.60%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.10 A$4.46

Tomato (1kg)

$1.53 ¥10.23

$4.82 A$6.93

-68.26%

Potato (1kg)

$3.03 A$4.36

Onion (1kg)

$2.44 A$3.52

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.61 ¥4.08

$2.46 A$3.54

-75.20%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.64 ¥4.27

$1.63 A$2.34

-60.74%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.77 ¥25.17

$44.07 A$63.4

-91.45%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.53 ¥111

$12.70 A$18.28

30.16%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.66 ¥4.40

$5.54 A$7.97

-88.09%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.09 ¥7.27

$5.23 A$7.52

-79.16%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.38 ¥2.57

$3.74 A$5.38

-89.84%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$12.91 ¥86.3

$138 A$198

-90.61%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.35 ¥9.04

$4.51 A$6.50

-70.07%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.31 ¥2.10

$1.36 A$1.96

-77.21%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.96 ¥19.78

$30.45 A$43.81

-90.28%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.29 ¥8.65

$1.47 A$2.12

-12.24%

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

$19.1K ¥127.7K

$29.0K A$41.7K

-34.17%

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

$18.3K ¥122.5K

$26.5K A$38.1K

-30.82%

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

$75.4 ¥504

$234 A$336

-67.74%

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

$15.87 ¥106

$27.93 A$40.19

-43.18%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$14.87 ¥99.4

$55.7 A$80.2

-73.32%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$22.27 ¥149

$49.40 A$71.1

-54.92%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.79 ¥72.1

$21.48 A$30.91

-49.77%

Cinema Ticket

$6.09 ¥40.75

$15.09 A$21.72

-59.64%

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

$539 ¥3,606

$2,371 A$3,412

-77.25%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$21.3K ¥142.1K

$30.2K A$43.5K

-29.62%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$42.49 ¥284

$80.0 A$115

-46.87%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$50.7 A$73.0

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$59.5 ¥398

$121 A$174

-50.65%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$69.5 ¥465

$130 A$188

-46.69%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$277 ¥1,850

$1,759 A$2,531

-84.27%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$242 ¥1,619

$1,390 A$2,000

-82.58%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$558 ¥3,734

$3,494 A$5,027

-84.02%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$393 ¥2,625

$2,493 A$3,588

-84.26%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,272 ¥15.2K

$6,926 A$9,967

-67.20%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,308 ¥8,745

$6,445 A$9,274

-79.71%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,115 ¥7,454

$4,383 A$6,307

-74.56%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.37

5.9

-25.93%

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

Last update for Shenyang: October 12, 2026

Last update for Melbourne: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Shenyang

$242 33.7%

Melbourne

$1.4K 49.3% 474% $1.1K

Groceries & Markets

Shenyang

$160 * 22.3%

Melbourne

$384 13.6% 140% $224

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Shenyang

$106 14.8%

Melbourne

$317 11.3% 199% $211

Eating Out

Shenyang

$80 11.2%

Melbourne

$315 11.2% 292% $234

Clothing & Footwear

Shenyang

$77 * 10.8%

Melbourne

$172 6.1% 123% $95

Sport & Entertainment

Shenyang

$34 4.8%

Melbourne

$80 2.8% 131% $45

Getting Around

Shenyang

$17 2.4%

Melbourne

$164 5.8% 843% $146

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $277 in Shenyang and $1,759 in Melbourne. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Melbourne pays 293% 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: $22.00 in Shenyang vs $85.0 in Melbourne for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $160 vs $384 per month, with Shenyang cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇳 Shenyang

🇦🇺 Melbourne

🕒 Local time

00:41 12:41 AM

03:41 3:41 AM

3 h ahead of Shenyang

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,199,601

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 18, 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 18, 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 →

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Between locations

Shenyang Melbourne 9,120 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Shenyang
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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

Shenyang vs Melbourne: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Shenyang and Melbourne differ by about 293% in total monthly costs ($718 vs $2,821 including rent). Shenyang is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 293% 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: $277 in Shenyang versus $1,759 in Melbourne. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $539 in Shenyang 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 140% higher in Melbourne. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $718 in Shenyang versus $2,821 in Melbourne, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Shenyang but tight or insufficient in Melbourne. The gap between the two cities makes Shenyang 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, Shenyang 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 Shenyang gentler on the wallet – expenses run 293% less than in Melbourne. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.