Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sydney and Shenyang

For one person, living is cheaper in Shenyang: $718 a month against $3,152 in Sydney, rent and utilities included – about $29,200 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
35

Cost of Living Index in Shenyang
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Shenyang Living Index

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Sydney

🇦🇺 Australia

$3,152

/mo nomad

Shenyang

🇨🇳 China

$718

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Sydney and in Shenyang

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $3,152 in Sydney versus $718 in Shenyang.

Sydney $3,152
Shenyang $718

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,710 in Sydney versus $1,071 in Shenyang.

Sydney $4,710
Shenyang $1,071

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $6,268 in Sydney versus $1,424 in Shenyang.

Sydney $6,268
Shenyang $1,424

Living in Sydney is roughly 339% more expensive than in Shenyang, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Sydney is 133% above, Shenyang is 47% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.57 A$25.29

$3.00 ¥20.07

485.67%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$91.5 A$132

$22.24 ¥149

311.33%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.96 A$17.21

$5.08 ¥33.98

135.43%

Cappuccino

$4.07 A$5.85

$2.46 ¥16.45

65.45%

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

$2.85 A$4.10

$0.47 ¥3.17

506.38%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.25 A$3.24

$0.38 ¥2.54

492.11%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.60 A$10.94

$0.87 ¥5.79

773.56%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.43 A$10.69

$1.82 ¥12.16

308.24%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 A$2.38

$1.89 ¥12.67

-12.17%

White Bread (500g)

$2.78 A$4.00

$2.46 ¥16.46

13.01%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.42 A$3.49

$1.08 ¥7.19

124.07%

Eggs

$5.64 A$8.12

$1.03 ¥6.88

447.57%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.71 A$16.85

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.66 A$13.89

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.75 A$24.10

$11.99 ¥80.2

39.70%

Apples (1kg)

$4.07 A$5.85

$1.78 ¥11.91

128.65%

Banana (1kg)

$3.25 A$4.68

$1.19 ¥7.94

173.11%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.44 A$4.96

Tomato (1kg)

$4.28 A$6.16

$1.53 ¥10.23

179.74%

Potato (1kg)

$3.28 A$4.72

Onion (1kg)

$2.30 A$3.30

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.30 A$3.31

$0.61 ¥4.08

277.05%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.21 A$1.74

$0.64 ¥4.27

89.06%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$43.71 A$62.9

$3.77 ¥25.17

1059.42%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.88 A$19.97

$16.53 ¥111

-16.03%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.90 A$5.62

$0.66 ¥4.40

490.91%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.91 A$5.63

$1.09 ¥7.27

258.72%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.04 A$4.38

$0.38 ¥2.57

700.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$150 A$216

$12.91 ¥86.3

1063.67%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.38 A$4.86

$1.35 ¥9.04

150.37%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.56 A$2.24

$0.31 ¥2.10

403.23%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$40.01 A$57.6

$2.96 ¥19.78

1251.69%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.40 A$2.01

$1.29 ¥8.65

8.53%

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

$29.1K A$41.9K

$19.1K ¥127.7K

52.54%

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

$30.1K A$43.4K

$18.3K ¥122.5K

64.50%

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

$223 A$320

$75.4 ¥504

195.30%

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

$27.16 A$39.08

$15.87 ¥106

71.14%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$55.8 A$80.3

$14.87 ¥99.4

275.39%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$74.6 A$107

$22.27 ¥149

235.02%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.99 A$34.52

$10.79 ¥72.1

122.34%

Cinema Ticket

$17.56 A$25.27

$6.09 ¥40.75

188.34%

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

$2,196 A$3,160

$539 ¥3,606

307.13%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$28.2K A$40.6K

$21.3K ¥142.1K

32.63%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$78.4 A$113

$42.49 ¥284

84.58%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$68.4 A$98.5

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$111 A$160

$59.5 ¥398

86.86%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$134 A$193

$69.5 ¥465

93.33%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,500 A$3,598

$277 ¥1,850

803.83%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,709 A$2,460

$242 ¥1,619

605.95%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$4,946 A$7,117

$558 ¥3,734

785.61%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,022 A$4,349

$393 ¥2,625

669.89%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$13.2K A$18.9K

$2,272 ¥15.2K

479.69%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$8,370 A$12.0K

$1,308 ¥8,745

539.98%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,113 A$5,919

$1,115 ¥7,454

268.96%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.84

4.37

33.64%

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

Last update for Sydney: October 11, 2026

Last update for Shenyang: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Sydney

$1.7K 54.2%

Shenyang

$242 33.7% 85.8% $1.5K

Groceries & Markets

Sydney

$379 12%

Shenyang

$160 * 22.3% 57.7% $218

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sydney

$306 9.7%

Shenyang

$106 14.8% 65.3% $199

Eating Out

Sydney

$299 9.5%

Shenyang

$80 11.2% 73.1% $218

Clothing & Footwear

Sydney

$177 5.6%

Shenyang

$77 * 10.8% 56.3% $99

Getting Around

Sydney

$174 5.5%

Shenyang

$17 2.4% 90% $156

Sport & Entertainment

Sydney

$110 3.5%

Shenyang

$34 4.8% 68.6% $75

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $2,500 in Sydney and $277 in Shenyang. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Sydney pays 269% 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 $22.00 in Shenyang for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $379 vs $160 per month, with Shenyang cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Sydney

🇨🇳 Shenyang

🕒 Local time

00:50 12:50 AM

21:50 9:50 PM

3 h behind Sydney

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

4,840,600

9,199,601

💱 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 18, 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 18, 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 Shenyang 8,880 km ≈ 12 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 Shenyang: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Shenyang wins on cost – living expenses run 339% lower than in Sydney. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Shenyang the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 269% 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 $277 in Shenyang. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Shenyang – a meal for two runs $22.00 versus $91.0 in Sydney. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $3,152 per month in Sydney versus $718 in Shenyang – a 339% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $718 in Shenyang versus $3,152 in Sydney, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Shenyang but tight or insufficient in Sydney. The gap between the two cities makes Shenyang 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 Shenyang 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 Shenyang gentler on the wallet – expenses run 339% less than in Sydney. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.