Sydney Is Still Australia's Most Expensive Place To Live, but Melbourne and Brisbane Are Not Far Behind. Singapore and New York have tied for the title of world's most expensive city in this year's Worldwide Cost of Living report.
Cost of living in Sydney
According to Numbeo, Sydney is the most expensive place out of Australia's seven major cities.
Gold Coast is one of the cheapest places to live in Australia (89th globally). It is known for its high-standard education and academia and its budget-friendly living. International students will find the Gold Coast the perfect combination of study and social life, with its magnificent beaches and nightlife.
Its list, published in June, awarded Hong Kong the title of most expensive city for the third year straight and New York in second.
Melbourne is one of the most expensive cities in the world. Although you can enjoy an excellent quality of life on an average net salary in Melbourne, it is a fairly expensive city, as most of Australia's major cities are. The living cost in Melbourne varies greatly depending on your lifestyle and where you come from.
1. Toorak – $5.18m. Toorak, one of Melbourne's most exclusive and affluent suburbs, is a long-standing front runner for property prices so it's no surprise to see this suburb at the top of the list yet again. Toorak is located about 5km south-east of the CBD and has a range of luxury properties on offer.
If you've never visited Australia before and are looking for in-your-face classic tourist activities and Instagrammable heaven, then Sydney might be the best choice. But if you're looking for a destination where you have to scratch the surface a little to discover some rich culture, give Melbourne a try.
Sydney is tipped to replace Canberra as the most expensive capital city for renters as migration picks up in the harbourside city. Canberra was the only city to record a decline in rents in the three months to September, according to CoreLogic, with asking rents falling by 0.4%.
The cost of living is steadily rising in Australia and around the world. The rising prices of oil, petrol, groceries, flight tickets to a different state or country - it's all hurting the Australian hip pocket more than since the start of the pandemic in early 2020.
Sydney leads the pricey pocket stakes
While Bellevue Hill came out on top in the data, Sydney's actual most expensive suburb is considered to be the exclusive Harbourside enclave of Point Piper.
Living in Melbourne
Melbourne is considered by some to be the best city to live in Australia, and has even been ranked as the world's most livable city more than once. It's home to a thriving live music scene, late-night bars and laneways dotted with cafés and coffee shops.
Australia's top 10 cheapest suburbs 2022
Andamooka in South Australia takes the title of Australia's cheapest suburb, with a median house price of just $20,000.
Most affordable suburbs in 2022
Kambalda East in Western Australia was named the most affordable suburb for houses, with a median value of $118,525. For units, the most affordable suburb was Laguna Quays in Queensland, with a median value of just $72,076.
The average full salary in Australia is $77,135 per year or $39.56 per hour. Entry-level positions start at $59,463 per year, while most experienced workers make up to $130,000 per year.
The worst performing states are Tasmania, with incomes 26% below the national income and wealth average, as well as South Australia which is 19% below the average household income and 20% below the national net wealth.
Australia has plentiful supplies of natural resources, including the second largest accessible reserves of iron ore in the world, the fifth largest reserves of coal and significant gas resources.
So why is the cost-of-living in Australia so high? One of the major reasons is inflation. A measure for household inflation, the Consumer Price Index, or CPI, increased by 2.1% in the first quarter of this year and 5.1% annually, according to data compiled by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
Despite the downturn in real estate prices, housing is still fairly expensive in Australia as a whole, irrespective of whether you're looking to buy or rent. For each city, the median price is the middle of a range from highest to lowest.
Latest quarterly CommSec data shows Victoria is the best performing economy in Australia, ending Tasmania's long run at the top. After nine quarters at the top, Tasmania has slipped to third position in the rankings of the best performing economies, according to the latest quarterly CommSec State of the States report.
Advantage: Sydney.
There are more big pharma companies headquartered in Sydney than in Melbourne. Johnson & Johnson, AstraZeneca, Novartis, Sanofi and Sandoz are in Macquarie Park, while GSK, Bristol Myers & Squibb, and CSL have their headquarters in Melbourne.
Sydney prides itself on safety, deep culture, and friendly communities. It is considered the fifth safest city in the world and Australia's safest city. Like any other city, there is crime, just not as much. It is no secret that Sydney is a major city with a population of 5.2 million.
The 2016 ABS 'Victims of Crime' survey suggests Victoria has the highest incidence of crimes against the person, including robberies, assaults and car jackings, and Melbourne's violent crime rates are the highest in Australia.