Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sydney and Pampanga

For one person, living is cheaper in Pampanga: $683 a month against $3,152 in Sydney, rent and utilities included – about $29,600 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 Pampanga
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Pampanga Living Index

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Sydney

🇦🇺 Australia

$3,152

/mo nomad

Pampanga

🇵🇭 Philippines

$683

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Sydney and in Pampanga

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $3,152 in Sydney versus $683 in Pampanga.

Sydney $3,152
Pampanga $683

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,710 in Sydney versus $1,034 in Pampanga.

Sydney $4,710
Pampanga $1,034

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $6,268 in Sydney versus $1,385 in Pampanga.

Sydney $6,268
Pampanga $1,385

Living in Sydney is roughly 361% more expensive than in Pampanga, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Sydney is 133% above, Pampanga is 49% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.57 A$25.29

$2.74 ₱173

541.24%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$91.5 A$132

$15.91 ₱1,001

474.98%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.96 A$17.21

$3.28 ₱206

264.63%

Cappuccino

$4.07 A$5.85

$2.17 ₱136

87.56%

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

$2.85 A$4.10

$0.61 ₱38.47

367.21%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.25 A$3.24

$0.31 ₱19.69

625.81%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.60 A$10.94

$1.18 ₱74.3

544.07%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.43 A$10.69

$2.01 ₱126

269.65%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 A$2.38

$1.43 ₱89.9

16.08%

White Bread (500g)

$2.78 A$4.00

$1.11 ₱70.2

150.45%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.42 A$3.49

$0.78 ₱49.42

210.26%

Eggs

$5.64 A$8.12

$1.50 ₱94.1

276.00%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.71 A$16.85

$4.10 ₱258

185.61%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.66 A$13.89

$2.90 ₱183

233.10%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.75 A$24.10

$6.37 ₱401

162.95%

Apples (1kg)

$4.07 A$5.85

$1.86 ₱117

118.82%

Banana (1kg)

$3.25 A$4.68

$0.93 ₱58.4

249.46%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.44 A$4.96

$2.12 ₱134

62.26%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.28 A$6.16

$1.04 ₱65.2

311.54%

Potato (1kg)

$3.28 A$4.72

$1.46 ₱92.2

124.66%

Onion (1kg)

$2.30 A$3.30

$1.51 ₱95.3

52.32%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.30 A$3.31

$0.83 ₱52.0

177.11%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.21 A$1.74

$0.54 ₱34.11

124.07%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$43.71 A$62.9

$1.94 ₱122

2153.09%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.88 A$19.97

$5.98 ₱377

132.11%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.90 A$5.62

$0.70 ₱43.99

457.14%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.91 A$5.63

$1.24 ₱78.1

215.32%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.04 A$4.38

$0.26 ₱16.52

1069.23%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$150 A$216

$11.36 ₱715

1222.45%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.38 A$4.86

$0.74 ₱46.64

356.76%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.56 A$2.24

$0.23 ₱14.49

578.26%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$40.01 A$57.6

$1.74 ₱109

2199.43%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.40 A$2.01

$1.05 ₱66.3

33.33%

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

$29.1K A$41.9K

$18.7K ₱1.2M

55.82%

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

$30.1K A$43.4K

$17.6K ₱1.1M

71.53%

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

$223 A$320

$131 ₱8,249

69.88%

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

$27.16 A$39.08

$14.96 ₱942

81.55%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$55.8 A$80.3

$28.08 ₱1,768

98.79%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$74.6 A$107

$29.56 ₱1,861

152.40%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.99 A$34.52

$4.82 ₱303

397.72%

Cinema Ticket

$17.56 A$25.27

$4.86 ₱306

261.32%

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

$2,196 A$3,160

$131 ₱8,262

1573.41%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$28.2K A$40.6K

$7,954 ₱500.8K

254.40%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$78.4 A$113

$26.71 ₱1,682

193.64%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$68.4 A$98.5

$19.85 ₱1,250

244.79%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$111 A$160

$71.8 ₱4,521

54.90%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$134 A$193

$37.39 ₱2,354

259.51%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,500 A$3,598

$268 ₱16.9K

831.51%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,709 A$2,460

$170 ₱10.7K

905.22%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$4,946 A$7,117

$517 ₱32.5K

856.87%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,022 A$4,349

$371 ₱23.4K

714.24%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$13.2K A$18.9K

$2,405 ₱151.4K

447.51%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$8,370 A$12.0K

$992 ₱62.5K

743.37%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,113 A$5,919

$299 ₱18.8K

1277.06%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.84

6.79

-13.99%

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

Last update for Sydney: October 11, 2026

Last update for Pampanga: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Sydney

$1.7K 54.2%

Pampanga

$170 24.9% 90.1% $1.5K

Groceries & Markets

Sydney

$379 12%

Pampanga

$144 21.1% 61.9% $234

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sydney

$306 9.7%

Pampanga

$174 25.5% 43% $132

Eating Out

Sydney

$299 9.5%

Pampanga

$71 10.5% 76.1% $227

Clothing & Footwear

Sydney

$177 5.6%

Pampanga

$70 10.3% 60.3% $107

Getting Around

Sydney

$174 5.5%

Pampanga

$14 2.1% 91.8% $159

Sport & Entertainment

Sydney

$110 3.5%

Pampanga

$39 5.8% 64.2% $70

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $2,500 in Sydney and $268 in Pampanga. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Sydney pays 1277% 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 Pampanga for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $379 vs $144 per month, with Pampanga cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Sydney

🇵🇭 Pampanga

🕒 Local time

12:39 12:39 PM

09:39 9:39 AM

3 h behind Sydney

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

4,840,600

15,616

💱 Currency

Australian Dollar AUD $

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

📈 Exchange rate

1 AUD = 0.695 USD

1 AUD = 0.618 EUR

100 PHP = 1.59 USD

100 PHP = 1.41 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

PHP, USD, EUR to AUD – Australian Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇦🇺 Australian Dollar ($)

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).

Philippine Peso exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 62.96 PHP (100 PHP = 1.59 USD). 1 EUR = 70.78 PHP (100 PHP = 1.41 EUR).

USD to AUD in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Sydney Pampanga 5,290 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Sydney
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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 Pampanga: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Pampanga wins on cost – living expenses run 361% lower than in Sydney. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Pampanga the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 1277% 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 $268 in Pampanga. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $2,196 in Sydney versus $131 in Pampanga. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 163% higher in Sydney. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $683 in Pampanga versus $3,152 in Sydney, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Pampanga but tight or insufficient in Sydney. The gap between the two cities makes Pampanga 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 Pampanga 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 Pampanga gentler on the wallet – expenses run 361% less than in Sydney. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.