Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sydney and Jining

For one person, living is cheaper in Jining: $675 a month against $3,152 in Sydney, rent and utilities included – about $29,700 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
33

Cost of Living Index in Jining
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Jining Living Index

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Sydney

🇦🇺 Australia

$3,152

/mo nomad

Jining

🇨🇳 China

$675

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Sydney and in Jining

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $3,152 in Sydney versus $675 in Jining.

Sydney $3,152
Jining $675

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,710 in Sydney versus $1,012 in Jining.

Sydney $4,710
Jining $1,012

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $6,268 in Sydney versus $1,349 in Jining.

Sydney $6,268
Jining $1,349

Living in Sydney is roughly 367% more expensive than in Jining, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Sydney is 133% above, Jining is 50% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.57 A$25.29

$2.19 ¥14.62

702.28%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$91.5 A$132

$16.48 ¥110

455.10%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.96 A$17.21

$4.37 ¥29.21

173.68%

Cappuccino

$4.07 A$5.85

$2.51 ¥16.75

62.15%

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

$2.85 A$4.10

$0.51 ¥3.41

458.82%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.25 A$3.24

$0.31 ¥2.08

625.81%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.60 A$10.94

$0.93 ¥6.21

717.20%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.43 A$10.69

$1.61 ¥10.80

361.49%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 A$2.38

$1.70 ¥11.35

-2.35%

White Bread (500g)

$2.78 A$4.00

$1.18 ¥7.89

135.59%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.42 A$3.49

$0.94 ¥6.27

157.45%

Eggs

$5.64 A$8.12

$0.96 ¥6.43

487.50%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.71 A$16.85

$8.16 ¥54.5

43.50%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.66 A$13.89

$2.87 ¥19.17

236.59%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.75 A$24.10

$10.26 ¥68.6

63.26%

Apples (1kg)

$4.07 A$5.85

$1.45 ¥9.68

180.69%

Banana (1kg)

$3.25 A$4.68

$0.99 ¥6.61

228.28%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.44 A$4.96

$1.06 ¥7.06

224.53%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.28 A$6.16

$1.17 ¥7.84

265.81%

Potato (1kg)

$3.28 A$4.72

$0.61 ¥4.09

437.70%

Onion (1kg)

$2.30 A$3.30

$0.73 ¥4.89

215.07%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.30 A$3.31

$0.66 ¥4.42

248.48%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.21 A$1.74

$0.76 ¥5.08

59.21%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$43.71 A$62.9

$5.31 ¥35.50

723.16%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.88 A$19.97

$9.86 ¥65.9

40.77%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.90 A$5.62

$0.95 ¥6.32

310.53%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.91 A$5.63

$1.61 ¥10.74

142.86%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.04 A$4.38

$0.31 ¥2.08

880.65%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$150 A$216

$18.21 ¥122

724.99%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.38 A$4.86

$1.04 ¥6.94

225.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.56 A$2.24

$0.29 ¥1.93

437.93%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$40.01 A$57.6

$3.60 ¥24.10

1011.39%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.40 A$2.01

$1.31 ¥8.77

6.87%

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

$29.1K A$41.9K

$19.3K ¥129.0K

50.91%

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

$30.1K A$43.4K

$17.6K ¥117.7K

71.22%

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

$223 A$320

$60.8 ¥407

266.00%

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

$27.16 A$39.08

$6.92 ¥46.30

292.49%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$55.8 A$80.3

$10.47 ¥70.0

433.14%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$74.6 A$107

$42.31 ¥283

76.34%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.99 A$34.52

$15.20 ¥102

57.83%

Cinema Ticket

$17.56 A$25.27

$4.43 ¥29.64

296.39%

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

$2,196 A$3,160

$386 ¥2,578

469.63%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$28.2K A$40.6K

$7,427 ¥49.7K

279.53%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$78.4 A$113

$43.12 ¥288

81.89%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$68.4 A$98.5

$33.56 ¥224

103.93%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$111 A$160

$72.6 ¥485

53.26%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$134 A$193

$69.8 ¥466

92.69%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,500 A$3,598

$281 ¥1,880

789.11%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,709 A$2,460

$182 ¥1,214

841.17%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$4,946 A$7,117

$391 ¥2,615

1164.54%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,022 A$4,349

$269 ¥1,796

1025.21%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$13.2K A$18.9K

$3,524 ¥23.6K

273.64%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$8,370 A$12.0K

$1,958 ¥13.1K

327.39%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,113 A$5,919

$592 ¥3,957

595.07%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.84

3.29

77.51%

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

Last update for Sydney: October 11, 2026

Last update for Jining: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Sydney

$1.7K 54.2%

Jining

$182 26.9% 89.4% $1.5K

Groceries & Markets

Sydney

$379 12%

Jining

$172 25.5% 54.6% $207

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sydney

$306 9.7%

Jining

$78 11.6% 74.4% $227

Eating Out

Sydney

$299 9.5%

Jining

$72 10.6% 75.9% $227

Clothing & Footwear

Sydney

$177 5.6%

Jining

$99 14.6% 44.2% $78

Getting Around

Sydney

$174 5.5%

Jining

$22 3.3% 87.4% $152

Sport & Entertainment

Sydney

$110 3.5%

Jining

$51 7.6% 53.4% $59

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $2,500 in Sydney and $281 in Jining. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Sydney pays 595% 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: $91.0 in Sydney vs $16.00 in Jining for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $379 vs $172 per month, with Jining cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Sydney

🇨🇳 Jining

🕒 Local time

20:32 8:32 PM

17:32 5:32 PM

3 h behind Sydney

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

4,840,600

8,357,897

💱 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 →

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Sydney Jining 8,500 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

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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 Jining: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Jining is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 367% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 595% 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: $2,500 in Sydney versus $281 in Jining. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Jining runs roughly 725% less than in Sydney. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $2,196 in Sydney versus $386 in Jining. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $675 in Jining versus $3,152 in Sydney, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Jining but tight or insufficient in Sydney. The gap between the two cities makes Jining 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 Jining 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 Jining gentler on the wallet – expenses run 367% less than in Sydney. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.