Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sydney and Datong

For one person, living is cheaper in Datong: $715 a month against $3,245 in Sydney, rent and utilities included – about $30,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

156

Cost of Living Index in Sydney
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Sydney Living Index
35

Cost of Living Index in Datong
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Datong Living Index

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Sydney

🇦🇺 Australia

$3,245

/mo nomad

Datong

🇨🇳 China

$715

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Sydney and in Datong

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $3,245 in Sydney versus $715 in Datong.

Sydney $3,245
Datong $715

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,803 in Sydney versus $1,133 in Datong.

Sydney $4,803
Datong $1,133

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $6,362 in Sydney versus $1,551 in Datong.

Sydney $6,362
Datong $1,551

Living in Sydney is roughly 354% more expensive than in Datong, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Sydney is 139% above, Datong is 47% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.41 A$25.05

$2.77 ¥18.50

528.52%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$90.3 A$130

$21.44 ¥143

321.04%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.92 A$17.15

$4.93 ¥32.98

141.78%

Cappuccino

$4.03 A$5.80

$3.05 ¥20.42

32.13%

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

$2.88 A$4.15

$0.47 ¥3.11

512.77%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.23 A$3.20

$0.27 ¥1.80

725.93%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.89 A$11.36

$0.94 ¥6.31

739.36%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.78 A$9.76

$2.06 ¥13.76

229.13%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.71 A$2.45

$1.82 ¥12.16

-6.04%

White Bread (500g)

$2.94 A$4.23

$1.62 ¥10.80

81.48%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.51 A$3.61

$0.89 ¥5.92

182.02%

Eggs

$5.55 A$7.99

$1.55 ¥10.36

258.06%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.77 A$16.94

$12.59 ¥84.2

-6.51%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.28 A$13.35

$3.23 ¥21.62

187.31%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.70 A$24.03

$10.12 ¥67.7

65.02%

Apples (1kg)

$3.92 A$5.64

$1.87 ¥12.52

109.63%

Banana (1kg)

$3.16 A$4.55

$1.26 ¥8.39

150.79%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.48 A$5.00

$1.47 ¥9.83

136.73%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.38 A$6.31

$1.15 ¥7.68

280.87%

Potato (1kg)

$3.33 A$4.79

$0.73 ¥4.89

356.16%

Onion (1kg)

$2.40 A$3.46

$0.92 ¥6.13

160.87%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.31 A$3.32

$0.56 ¥3.77

312.50%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.15 A$1.65

$0.51 ¥3.44

125.49%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$44.34 A$63.8

$3.17 ¥21.22

1298.74%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.71 A$19.72

$10.71 ¥71.6

28.01%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$4.00 A$5.75

$0.79 ¥5.29

406.33%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.03 A$5.80

$1.60 ¥10.69

151.88%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.22 A$4.63

$0.27 ¥1.80

1092.59%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$154 A$222

$16.82 ¥112

816.17%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.57 A$5.14

$1.42 ¥9.48

151.41%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.58 A$2.27

$0.33 ¥2.19

378.79%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$39.44 A$56.8

$6.87 ¥45.96

474.09%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.48 A$2.13

$1.17 ¥7.83

26.50%

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

$29.6K A$42.5K

$19.4K ¥129.6K

52.44%

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

$27.7K A$39.8K

$17.4K ¥116.3K

59.00%

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

$241 A$347

$44.62 ¥298

440.97%

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

$27.57 A$39.67

$9.53 ¥63.7

189.30%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$56.3 A$81.0

$11.92 ¥79.7

372.23%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$78.1 A$112

$42.32 ¥283

84.64%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.26 A$33.47

$13.88 ¥92.8

67.58%

Cinema Ticket

$17.55 A$25.26

$5.84 ¥39.05

200.51%

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

$2,185 A$3,144

$329 ¥2,198

564.66%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$27.8K A$40.0K

$16.5K ¥110.5K

68.04%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$80.0 A$115

$44.27 ¥296

80.69%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$70.7 A$102

$30.48 ¥204

131.89%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$111 A$159

$71.5 ¥478

54.80%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$129 A$186

$70.7 ¥473

83.02%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,477 A$3,564

$283 ¥1,890

776.10%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,777 A$2,557

$193 ¥1,289

821.87%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$4,885 A$7,030

$598 ¥3,999

716.74%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,093 A$4,451

$363 ¥2,424

753.20%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$13.4K A$19.3K

$3,069 ¥20.5K

336.84%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$8,375 A$12.1K

$2,036 ¥13.6K

311.27%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,074 A$5,862

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.92

3.89

52.19%

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

Last update for Sydney: October 20, 2026

Last update for Datong: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Sydney

$1.8K 54.8%

Datong

$193 27% 89.2% $1.6K

Groceries & Markets

Sydney

$378 11.7%

Datong

$198 27.7% 47.7% $180

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sydney

$325 10%

Datong

$66 9.2% 79.7% $259

Eating Out

Sydney

$297 9.2%

Datong

$85 11.9% 71.2% $211

Getting Around

Sydney

$178 5.5%

Datong

$21 2.9% 88.3% $157

Clothing & Footwear

Sydney

$176 5.4%

Datong

$98 13.7% 44.5% $78

Sport & Entertainment

Sydney

$113 3.5%

Datong

$54 7.6% 52.3% $59

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $2,477 in Sydney and $283 in Datong. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $90.0 in Sydney vs $21.00 in Datong for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $378 vs $198 per month, with Datong cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Sydney

🇨🇳 Datong

🕒 Local time

11:05 11:05 AM

08:05 8:05 AM

3 h behind Sydney

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

4,840,600

3,318,057

💱 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 21, 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 21, 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

Sydney Datong 9,100 km ≈ 12 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 Datong: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Datong wins on cost – living expenses run 354% lower than in Sydney. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Datong the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

You'd need roughly $4,867 in Sydney and $1,072 in Datong 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: $2,477 in Sydney versus $283 in Datong. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $2,185 in Sydney versus $329 in Datong. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 91% higher in Sydney. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $715 in Datong versus $3,245 in Sydney, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Datong but tight or insufficient in Sydney. The gap between the two cities makes Datong 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 Datong 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 Datong gentler on the wallet – expenses run 354% less than in Sydney. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.