Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sydney and Dalian

For one person, living is cheaper in Dalian: $895 a month against $3,182 in Sydney, rent and utilities included – about $27,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

155

Cost of Living Index in Sydney
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Sydney Living Index
44

Cost of Living Index in Dalian
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Dalian Living Index

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Sydney

🇦🇺 Australia

$3,182

/mo nomad

Dalian

🇨🇳 China

$895

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Sydney and in Dalian

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $3,182 in Sydney versus $895 in Dalian.

Sydney $3,182
Dalian $895

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,696 in Sydney versus $1,433 in Dalian.

Sydney $4,696
Dalian $1,433

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $6,210 in Sydney versus $1,970 in Dalian.

Sydney $6,210
Dalian $1,970

Living in Sydney is roughly 256% more expensive than in Dalian, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Sydney is 137% above, Dalian is 33% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.66 A$25.28

$3.63 ¥24.25

386.50%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$97.1 A$139

$24.88 ¥166

290.23%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.94 A$17.09

$5.12 ¥34.24

133.20%

Cappuccino

$4.00 A$5.72

$3.30 ¥22.04

21.21%

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

$2.84 A$4.06

$0.49 ¥3.30

479.59%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.27 A$3.25

$0.25 ¥1.67

808.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.89 A$11.29

$0.92 ¥6.17

757.61%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.13 A$10.20

$1.53 ¥10.23

366.01%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 A$2.38

$1.59 ¥10.63

4.40%

White Bread (500g)

$2.79 A$4.00

$1.42 ¥9.52

96.48%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.32 A$3.33

$1.02 ¥6.80

127.45%

Eggs

$5.53 A$7.92

$1.59 ¥10.61

247.80%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.08 A$17.28

$20.36 ¥136

-40.67%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.84 A$14.09

$3.46 ¥23.10

184.39%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.61 A$23.78

$13.05 ¥87.2

27.28%

Apples (1kg)

$4.02 A$5.76

$1.31 ¥8.74

206.87%

Banana (1kg)

$3.15 A$4.51

$1.13 ¥7.52

178.76%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.50 A$5.01

$1.93 ¥12.90

81.35%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.47 A$6.39

$0.89 ¥5.96

402.25%

Potato (1kg)

$3.32 A$4.76

$0.82 ¥5.50

304.88%

Onion (1kg)

$2.30 A$3.30

$0.71 ¥4.77

223.94%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.34 A$3.35

$1.35 ¥9.00

73.33%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.15 A$1.65

$0.62 ¥4.16

85.48%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$45.02 A$64.4

$3.75 ¥25.08

1100.53%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.96 A$19.97

$14.55 ¥97.2

-4.05%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.98 A$5.70

$1.10 ¥7.32

261.82%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.07 A$5.82

$1.93 ¥12.92

110.88%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.16 A$4.52

$0.31 ¥2.10

919.35%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$150 A$215

$30.05 ¥201

399.03%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.45 A$4.94

$1.53 ¥10.23

125.49%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.63 A$2.33

$0.43 ¥2.87

279.07%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$39.98 A$57.2

$3.98 ¥26.60

904.52%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.40 A$2.01

$1.26 ¥8.43

11.11%

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

$28.4K A$40.7K

$19.6K ¥130.8K

45.24%

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

$29.4K A$42.1K

$17.5K ¥117.0K

67.99%

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

$220 A$315

$63.8 ¥426

244.93%

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

$27.70 A$39.64

$9.13 ¥61.0

203.40%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$55.5 A$79.5

$13.34 ¥89.1

316.27%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$74.3 A$106

$40.35 ¥270

84.19%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.95 A$34.28

$36.04 ¥241

-33.55%

Cinema Ticket

$17.73 A$25.37

$6.85 ¥45.75

158.83%

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

$2,157 A$3,087

$393 ¥2,627

448.66%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$28.3K A$40.5K

$20.6K ¥137.9K

37.14%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$78.4 A$112

$75.4 ¥504

3.94%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$70.5 A$101

$54.9 ¥367

28.45%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$111 A$159

$114 ¥762

-2.38%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$132 A$189

$117 ¥784

12.28%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,514 A$3,598

$402 ¥2,684

526.01%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,732 A$2,478

$244 ¥1,628

610.65%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$4,889 A$6,996

$702 ¥4,688

596.89%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,039 A$4,349

$445 ¥2,971

583.48%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$13.2K A$18.9K

$2,684 ¥17.9K

392.37%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$8,117 A$11.6K

$1,585 ¥10.6K

412.19%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,082 A$5,842

$1,090 ¥7,287

274.37%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.84

3.89

50.13%

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

Last update for Sydney: October 5, 2026

Last update for Dalian: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Sydney

$1.7K 54.5%

Dalian

$244 26.6% 85.9% $1.5K

Groceries & Markets

Sydney

$380 12%

Dalian

$239 26.1% 37.2% $142

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sydney

$303 9.6%

Dalian

$86 9.4% 71.6% $217

Eating Out

Sydney

$299 9.4%

Dalian

$95 10.3% 68.4% $205

Clothing & Footwear

Sydney

$176 5.6%

Dalian

$163 17.8% 7.7% $14

Getting Around

Sydney

$174 5.5%

Dalian

$35 3.8% 79.9% $139

Sport & Entertainment

Sydney

$110 3.5%

Dalian

$54 5.9% 50.8% $56

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $2,514 in Sydney and $402 in Dalian. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Sydney pays 274% 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: $97.0 in Sydney vs $25.00 in Dalian for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $380 vs $239 per month, with Dalian cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Sydney

🇨🇳 Dalian

🕒 Local time

21:25 9:25 PM

18:25 6:25 PM

3 h behind Sydney

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

4,840,600

7,450,785

💱 Currency

Australian Dollar AUD $

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

1 AUD = 0.699 USD

1 AUD = 0.624 EUR

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.134 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 10, 2026: 1 USD = 1.43 AUD (1 AUD = 0.699 USD). 1 EUR = 1.6 AUD (1 AUD = 0.624 EUR).

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 6.68 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.49 CNY (1 CNY = 0.134 EUR).

USD to AUD in detail →

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Sydney Dalian 8,650 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

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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

Sydney vs Dalian: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Sydney and Dalian differ by about 256% in total monthly costs ($3,182 vs $895 including rent). Dalian is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 274% higher in Sydney, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $2,514 in Sydney versus $402 in Dalian. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $2,157 in Sydney versus $393 in Dalian. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 59% higher in Sydney. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $895 in Dalian versus $3,182 in Sydney, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Dalian but tight or insufficient in Sydney. The gap between the two cities makes Dalian 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, Sydney and Dalian 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 Dalian gentler on the wallet – expenses run 256% less than in Sydney. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.