Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sydney and Hohhot

For one person, living is cheaper in Hohhot: $725 a month against $3,245 in Sydney, rent and utilities included – about $30,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

156

Cost of Living Index in Sydney
Learn more

Sydney Living Index
35

Cost of Living Index in Hohhot
Learn more

Hohhot Living Index

Jump to prices

Sydney

🇦🇺 Australia

$3,245

/mo nomad

Hohhot

🇨🇳 China

$725

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Sydney and in Hohhot

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

A single person spends $3,245 per month in Sydney vs $725 in Hohhot, rent included.

Sydney $3,245
Hohhot $725

A couple spends around $4,803 per month in Sydney vs $1,133 in Hohhot, rent included.

Sydney $4,803
Hohhot $1,133

A family of three spends $6,362 per month in Sydney vs $1,542 in Hohhot, rent included.

Sydney $6,362
Hohhot $1,542

Sydney costs about 348% more than Hohhot, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Sydney sits 139% above the global median, while Hohhot is 47% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.41 A$25.05

$3.43 ¥22.90

407.58%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$90.3 A$130

$22.14 ¥148

307.72%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.92 A$17.15

$8.61 ¥57.5

38.44%

Cappuccino

$4.03 A$5.80

$3.67 ¥24.57

9.81%

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

$2.88 A$4.15

$0.46 ¥3.05

526.09%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.23 A$3.20

$0.30 ¥2.02

643.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.89 A$11.36

$1.22 ¥8.17

546.72%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.78 A$9.76

$2.07 ¥13.82

227.54%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.71 A$2.45

$2.31 ¥15.41

-25.97%

White Bread (500g)

$2.94 A$4.23

$1.28 ¥8.59

129.69%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.51 A$3.61

$1.17 ¥7.81

114.53%

Eggs

$5.55 A$7.99

$1.46 ¥9.79

280.14%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.77 A$16.94

$13.43 ¥89.8

-12.36%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.28 A$13.35

$3.13 ¥20.91

196.49%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.70 A$24.03

$12.81 ¥85.6

30.37%

Apples (1kg)

$3.92 A$5.64

$2.02 ¥13.52

94.06%

Banana (1kg)

$3.16 A$4.55

$1.22 ¥8.18

159.02%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.48 A$5.00

$1.75 ¥11.67

98.86%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.38 A$6.31

$0.74 ¥4.97

491.89%

Potato (1kg)

$3.33 A$4.79

$0.54 ¥3.63

516.67%

Onion (1kg)

$2.40 A$3.46

$0.88 ¥5.89

172.73%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.31 A$3.32

$0.59 ¥3.94

291.53%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.15 A$1.65

$0.46 ¥3.04

150.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$44.34 A$63.8

$5.56 ¥37.17

697.48%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.71 A$19.72

$7.68 ¥51.4

78.52%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$4.00 A$5.75

$0.94 ¥6.30

325.53%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.03 A$5.80

$1.83 ¥12.24

120.22%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.22 A$4.63

$0.17 ¥1.15

1794.12%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$154 A$222

$17.58 ¥118

776.56%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.57 A$5.14

$1.17 ¥7.80

205.13%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.58 A$2.27

$0.23 ¥1.54

586.96%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$39.44 A$56.8

$3.20 ¥21.39

1132.50%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.48 A$2.13

$1.26 ¥8.42

17.46%

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

$29.6K A$42.5K

$15.7K ¥105.3K

87.63%

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

$27.7K A$39.8K

$15.9K ¥106.6K

73.52%

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

$241 A$347

$54.9 ¥367

339.43%

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

$27.57 A$39.67

$6.29 ¥42.08

338.31%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$56.3 A$81.0

$11.07 ¥74.0

408.49%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$78.1 A$112

$34.07 ¥228

129.35%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.26 A$33.47

$17.17 ¥115

35.47%

Cinema Ticket

$17.55 A$25.26

$5.12 ¥34.21

242.77%

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

$2,185 A$3,144

$409 ¥2,735

434.18%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$27.8K A$40.0K

$24.3K ¥162.4K

14.40%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$80.0 A$115

$60.7 ¥406

31.71%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$70.7 A$102

$26.14 ¥175

170.39%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$111 A$159

$83.2 ¥556

32.97%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$129 A$186

$74.1 ¥496

74.63%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,477 A$3,564

$205 ¥1,371

1107.77%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,777 A$2,557

$163 ¥1,090

990.11%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$4,885 A$7,030

$333 ¥2,225

1368.06%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,093 A$4,451

$267 ¥1,788

1056.86%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$13.4K A$19.3K

$1,696 ¥11.3K

690.70%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$8,375 A$12.1K

$1,105 ¥7,386

658.22%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,074 A$5,862

$933 ¥6,235

336.83%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.92

3.75

57.87%

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

Last update for Sydney: October 20, 2026

Last update for Hohhot: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Sydney

$1.8K 54.8%

Hohhot

$163 22.5% 90.8% $1.6K

Groceries & Markets

Sydney

$378 11.7%

Hohhot

$204 28.1% 46.1% $174

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sydney

$325 10%

Hohhot

$72 10% 77.8% $253

Eating Out

Sydney

$297 9.2%

Hohhot

$111 15.3% 62.7% $186

Getting Around

Sydney

$178 5.5%

Hohhot

$21 2.8% 88.5% $158

Clothing & Footwear

Sydney

$176 5.4%

Hohhot

$110 15.2% 37.5% $66

Sport & Entertainment

Sydney

$113 3.5%

Hohhot

$44 6.1% 60.9% $69

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $2,477 in Sydney versus $205 in Hohhot. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 337% higher in Sydney, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $90.0 in Sydney versus $22.00 in Hohhot. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $378 vs $204 – making Hohhot the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Sydney

🇨🇳 Hohhot

🕒 Local time

08:58 8:58 AM

05:58 5:58 AM

3 h behind Sydney

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

4,840,600

3,446,100

💱 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 20, 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 20, 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 →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Sydney Hohhot 9,240 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Sydney
Hohhot

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 Hohhot: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $3,245 in Sydney, $725 in Hohhot – roughly 348% apart. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $4,867 per month in Sydney and $1,087 in Hohhot. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Hohhot, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Groceries cost about 85% more in Sydney, though it depends on what you buy. Local produce may be comparable; imported and premium items show the biggest price gap.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $90.0 in Sydney and $22.00 in Hohhot. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

A $2,000 monthly budget goes further in Hohhot, where all-in costs run around $725, than in Sydney at $3,245. In Hohhot it covers expenses comfortably, while in Sydney it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Hohhot – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

If budget matters most, go with Hohhot. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Sydney makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.