🇦🇺 Australia · #58 of 546 cities · 2026

Cost of Living in Melbourne

Close to the Australia average

Ranked #58 of 546 cities · More expensive than 89.4% of cities worldwide

Compared to Australia average

Rent Prices

Rent Prices in Melbourne

Apartment City Centre Outside Centre You Save
1-Bedroom AUD 2,490/mo ≈ $1,728 AUD 1,848/mo ≈ $1,283 26%
3-Bedroom AUD 4,779/mo ≈ $3,316 AUD 3,451/mo ≈ $2,395 26%
Numbeo · 2026-03-12

Multi-Source Comparison

★★ Medium Confidence

Melbourne has a composite cost index of 63.5 from 4 independent data sources.

63.5
Composite
4
Sources
8.0
Spread

Source Values (NYC = 100)

Numbeo
69.6
Expatistan
61.6
LivingCost
65.5
SIM
50.3
Eurostat Validation (EU27 = 100) Gov. Data
Eurostat
118.8

Based on 110 country PLI x 1.08 city factor

View all 127 cities | Data last updated: 2026-03-18

Cost Indices

Cost of Living
+0.7% Average
Rent
+0.6% Average
Groceries
+1.9% Average
Restaurants
-3.8% Average
Purchasing Power
+8.6% Strong

Living in Melbourne: What to Expect

Melbourne is average by global standards (ranked #58 of 546 cities). It is 0.7% more expensive than the Australia average, based on 8 cities.

Groceries are average, while dining out is average. Restaurants offers the best value, while Groceries is the priciest.

Local purchasing power is strong — residents can afford more goods and services than in most cities.

Workers in Australia earning AUD 82,488 gross take home AUD 5,464/month after tax (20.5% effective rate). See full Australia tax calculator →

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