Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Yokohama and Melbourne

For one person, living is cheaper in Yokohama: $1,317 a month against $2,852 in Melbourne, rent and utilities included – about $18,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

65

Cost of Living Index in Yokohama
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Yokohama Living Index
137

Cost of Living Index in Melbourne
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Melbourne Living Index

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Yokohama

🇯🇵 Japan

$1,317

/mo nomad

Melbourne

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,852

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Yokohama and in Melbourne

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Yokohama and in Melbourne actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,317 in Yokohama versus $2,852 in Melbourne.

Yokohama $1,317
Melbourne $2,852

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,057 in Yokohama versus $4,297 in Melbourne.

Yokohama $2,057
Melbourne $4,297

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,797 in Yokohama versus $5,742 in Melbourne.

Yokohama $2,797
Melbourne $5,742

Living in Yokohama costs roughly 54% less than in Melbourne, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Yokohama is 2% below, Melbourne is 113% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$6.45 ¥1,021

$17.75 A$25.40

-63.66%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$40.79 ¥6,454

$84.8 A$121

-51.92%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.15 ¥814

$12.16 A$17.40

-57.65%

Cappuccino

$3.39 ¥537

$3.93 A$5.62

-13.74%

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

$1.05 ¥166

$3.14 A$4.49

-66.56%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.73 ¥116

$2.43 A$3.47

-69.96%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.56 ¥406

$9.90 A$14.17

-74.14%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.25 ¥515

$8.29 A$11.86

-60.80%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.44 ¥228

$1.55 A$2.21

-7.10%

White Bread (500g)

$1.71 ¥271

$3.01 A$4.31

-43.19%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.65 ¥578

$2.88 A$4.12

26.74%

Eggs

$2.02 ¥320

$5.44 A$7.79

-62.87%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.39 ¥1,644

$10.59 A$15.16

-1.89%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.23 ¥985

$9.61 A$13.76

-35.17%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.32 ¥2,265

$14.99 A$21.46

-4.47%

Apples (1kg)

$5.69 ¥900

$4.15 A$5.94

37.11%

Banana (1kg)

$2.75 ¥434

$3.05 A$4.37

-9.84%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.96 ¥469

$3.30 A$4.72

-10.30%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.27 ¥676

$4.76 A$6.81

-10.29%

Potato (1kg)

$2.61 ¥413

$3.04 A$4.34

-14.14%

Onion (1kg)

$2.58 ¥408

$2.55 A$3.65

1.18%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.24 ¥197

$2.48 A$3.55

-50.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.82 ¥130

$1.63 A$2.33

-49.69%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.85 ¥609

$44.07 A$63.1

-91.26%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.47 ¥1,024

$12.43 A$17.79

-47.95%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.75 ¥277

$5.33 A$7.63

-67.17%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.11 ¥334

$5.16 A$7.38

-59.11%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.38 ¥218

$3.84 A$5.50

-64.06%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$57.4 ¥9,089

$142 A$203

-59.41%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.15 ¥498

$4.40 A$6.29

-28.41%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.71 ¥429

$1.40 A$2.01

93.57%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$20.27 ¥3,208

$29.83 A$42.69

-32.05%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.12 ¥177

$1.46 A$2.09

-23.29%

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

$21.7K ¥3.4M

$28.1K A$40.3K

-22.90%

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

$18.5K ¥2.9M

$25.9K A$37.1K

-28.66%

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

$132 ¥20.8K

$233 A$333

-43.48%

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

$24.29 ¥3,843

$27.28 A$39.04

-10.96%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$31.83 ¥5,037

$57.0 A$81.6

-44.20%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$50.0 ¥7,914

$52.7 A$75.4

-5.07%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.70 ¥1,852

$22.62 A$32.37

-48.28%

Cinema Ticket

$12.46 ¥1,972

$17.10 A$24.48

-27.13%

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

$635 ¥100.5K

$2,373 A$3,397

-73.24%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.6K ¥2.3M

$30.5K A$43.6K

-52.12%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$61.5 ¥9,725

$78.2 A$112

-21.42%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$36.30 ¥5,744

$50.5 A$72.2

-28.08%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$62.8 ¥9,931

$121 A$172

-47.93%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$101 ¥16.0K

$133 A$191

-24.06%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,192 ¥188.6K

$1,713 A$2,451

-30.40%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$441 ¥69.7K

$1,402 A$2,006

-68.57%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,271 ¥359.3K

$3,339 A$4,778

-31.99%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$840 ¥132.9K

$2,529 A$3,619

-66.78%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,367 ¥1.0M

$7,018 A$10.0K

-9.28%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,393 ¥695.2K

$6,767 A$9,685

-35.08%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,676 ¥423.4K

$4,228 A$6,051

-36.72%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.64

5.9

-55.25%

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

Last update for Yokohama: October 3, 2026

Last update for Melbourne: October 6, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Yokohama

$441 33.2%

Melbourne

$1.4K 49.3% 218% $961

Groceries & Markets

Yokohama

$291 22%

Melbourne

$385 13.5% 32.2% $94

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Yokohama

$188 14.2%

Melbourne

$317 11.1% 68.9% $129

Eating Out

Yokohama

$134 10.1%

Melbourne

$314 11% 134% $180

Clothing & Footwear

Yokohama

$118 8.9%

Melbourne

$172 6.1% 46.1% $54

Getting Around

Yokohama

$80 6%

Melbourne

$168 5.9% 111% $89

Sport & Entertainment

Yokohama

$75 5.7%

Melbourne

$87 3.1% 15.9% $12

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,192 in Yokohama and $1,713 in Melbourne. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Melbourne pays 58% 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: $41.00 in Yokohama vs $85.0 in Melbourne for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $291 vs $385 per month, with Yokohama cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇯🇵 Yokohama

🇦🇺 Melbourne

🕒 Local time

16:13 4:13 PM

18:13 6:13 PM

2 h ahead of Yokohama

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,777,491

5,031,195

💱 Currency

Japanese Yen JPY ¥

Australian Dollar AUD $

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 JPY = 6.32 USD

1,000 JPY = 5.63 EUR

1 AUD = 0.699 USD

1 AUD = 0.623 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

AUD, USD, EUR to JPY – Japanese Yen Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇯🇵 Japanese Yen (¥)

Japanese Yen exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 158 JPY (1,000 JPY = 6.32 USD). 1 EUR = 177 JPY (1,000 JPY = 5.63 EUR).

Australian Dollar exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 1.43 AUD (1 AUD = 0.699 USD). 1 EUR = 1.61 AUD (1 AUD = 0.623 EUR).

USD to JPY in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Yokohama Melbourne 8,170 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Yokohama
Melbourne

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

Yokohama vs Melbourne: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yokohama and Melbourne differ by about 117% in total monthly costs ($1,317 vs $2,852 including rent). Yokohama is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 58% lower in Melbourne. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,192 in Yokohama versus $1,713 in Melbourne. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $635 in Yokohama versus $2,373 in Melbourne. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 32% higher in Melbourne. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,317 in Yokohama versus $2,852 in Melbourne, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Yokohama but tight or insufficient in Melbourne. The gap between the two cities makes Yokohama 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, Yokohama and Melbourne 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 Yokohama gentler on the wallet – expenses run 117% less than in Melbourne. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.