---
title: "Cost of Living: New York vs Sydney — Geo-Parity"
description: "Australia is 6.9% cheaper than United States for monthly essentials ($2,244 vs $2,410). Full 32-item price comparison: rent, pint, groceries, transport, gym."
canonical: "https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/australia-vs-united-states/"
json: "https://geo-parity.com/api/micro-costs.json?base=US&target=AU"
generator: geo-parity markdown twin
---
Cost of Living · US vs AU

# 🇺🇸 New York vs 🇦🇺 Sydney: what everyday life costs

Monthly essentials: **$2,410** in United States vs **$2,244** in Australia — 6.9% cheaper.

- **Essentials, United States**: $2,410/mo
- **Essentials, Australia**: $2,244/mo
- **Difference**: -6.9%
- **1-bed city rent, Australia**: $1,614/mo

## Biggest differences

Much cheaper in Australia

- Rent: 1-bedroom, city center: -7.7%
- Rent: 1-bedroom, outside center: -7.7%
- Rent: 3-bedroom, city center: -7.7%

Closest to United States prices

- Petrol/gasoline, 1L: -2.1%
- Imported beer, 330ml bottle: -2.2%
- Jeans (mid-range brand): -2.3%

## The full basket (32 items)

| Item | United States | Australia | Diff |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Housing |  |  |  |
| Rent: 1-bedroom, city center | $1,750 | $1,614 (2,505 AUD) | -7.7% |
| Rent: 1-bedroom, outside center | $1,400 | $1,291 (2,004 AUD) | -7.7% |
| Rent: 3-bedroom, city center | $3,200 | $2,952 (4,581 AUD) | -7.7% |
| Food out |  |  |  |
| Meal, inexpensive restaurant | $18.00 | $16.89 (26 AUD) | -6.2% |
| Dinner for two, mid-range | $75.00 | $70.39 (109 AUD) | -6.1% |
| Fast-food combo meal | $11.00 | $10.38 (16 AUD) | -5.6% |
| Groceries |  |  |  |
| Milk, 1L | $1.10 | $1.05 (2 AUD) | -4.5% |
| Bread, fresh loaf 500g | $3.20 | $3.06 (5 AUD) | -4.4% |
| Eggs, dozen | $3.40 | $3.25 (5 AUD) | -4.4% |
| Chicken breast, 1kg | $10.00 | $9.55 (15 AUD) | -4.5% |
| White rice, 1kg | $4.00 | $3.82 (6 AUD) | -4.5% |
| Apples, 1kg | $4.80 | $4.58 (7 AUD) | -4.6% |
| Local cheese, 1kg | $12.00 | $11.46 (18 AUD) | -4.5% |
| Water, 1.5L bottle | $2.00 | $1.91 (3 AUD) | -4.5% |
| Drinks |  |  |  |
| Domestic beer, pint (draught) | $6.00 | $5.63 (9 AUD) | -6.2% |
| Imported beer, 330ml bottle | $8.00 | $7.82 (12 AUD) | -2.2% |
| Cappuccino | $5.00 | $4.69 (7 AUD) | -6.2% |
| Coke/Pepsi, 330ml | $2.30 | $2.20 (3 AUD) | -4.3% |
| Transport |  |  |  |
| Public transport, monthly pass | $65.00 | $61.36 (95 AUD) | -5.6% |
| Public transport, one-way | $2.75 | $2.60 (4 AUD) | -5.4% |
| Taxi start (normal tariff) | $4.00 | $3.75 (6 AUD) | -6.2% |
| Taxi, per km | $1.80 | $1.69 (3 AUD) | -6.1% |
| Petrol/gasoline, 1L | $0.95 | $0.93 (1 AUD) | -2.1% |
| Utilities & comms |  |  |  |
| Basic utilities, 85m² apartment | $200 | $189 (293 AUD) | -5.6% |
| Internet, 60Mbps+ unlimited | $70.00 | $66.08 (103 AUD) | -5.6% |
| Mobile plan, 10GB+ data | $45.00 | $42.48 (66 AUD) | -5.6% |
| Lifestyle |  |  |  |
| Gym membership, month | $50.00 | $46.93 (73 AUD) | -6.1% |
| Cinema seat | $14.00 | $13.14 (20 AUD) | -6.1% |
| Men's haircut | $30.00 | $28.16 (44 AUD) | -6.1% |
| Jeans (mid-range brand) | $55.00 | $53.75 (83 AUD) | -2.3% |
| Running shoes (brand) | $90.00 | $87.95 (137 AUD) | -2.3% |
| Coworking hot desk, month | $250 | $235 (364 AUD) | -6.1% |

Estimated from World Bank — Consumption price levels with per-item elasticity — model figures, not quotes. Compare any pair in the [interactive tool](https://geo-parity.com/expenses/?tab=prices&base=US&target=AU).

## Beyond prices

What each place pays, charges and offers — wages, rent, healthcare, climate, risk and time off. Figures come from the same engines behind the individual tools, so they match what those pages say. They sit about **17,123 km** apart as the crow flies.

| Measure | 🇺🇸 United States | 🇦🇺 Australia |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Median local wage Monthly, USD. The local midpoint, not an average. | $5,087 | $3,805 |
| Rent, modelled 1-bed Monthly, USD. | $1,109 | $1,534 |
| Rent as % of a local wage Are locals priced out? | 21.8% | 40.3% |
| Out-of-pocket healthcare Per person per year, USD. | $1,472 | $1,106 |
| Doctors per 1,000 WHO. | 3.7 | 4.1 |
| Comfortable days a year 18-27 °C and dry. Measured at New York and Sydney. | 73 | 145 |
| Rule of law World Bank WGI. A survey composite, so the band leads, not the decimal. | strong | very strong |
| Country risk INFORM, 0-10. Lower is safer. | 3.2 (low) | 2.4 (low) |
| Public holidays Observed nationwide; regional days are counted separately. | 10 + 3 regional | 6 + 21 regional |
| Air quality Mean annual PM2.5, µg/m³. WHO guideline is 5. Lower is better. | 9.9 | 6.3 |
| Life expectancy Years at birth — the outcome, not the spending. | 78.9 | 83.1 |
| Homicide rate Per 100,000 a year. A count, not a perception score. | 5.8 | 0.9 |
| Population online % using the internet. Reach, not speed — the row below is speed. | 94.7% | 96.1% |
| Internet download Measured median, Mbps. | 271.2 | 176.8 |

## Cheap for you, or cheap for everyone?

Rent measured twice: against a $6,000/month remote income, and against what people actually earn locally. The gap between the two is the arbitrage — and it is the reason somewhere can be affordable to you and unaffordable to a local at once.

🇺🇸 United States

3.3 pts

18.5% of your income vs 21.8% of a local wage

🇦🇺 Australia

14.7 pts

25.6% of your income vs 40.3% of a local wage

Worked at $6,000/month. [Run it on your own income](https://geo-parity.com/expenses/?tab=housing)

## The whole United States → Australia move, in one place

Everything above is free and always will be. The relocation report is the same engines run together for this one corridor: what you keep after rent, prices, healthcare and tax; the local wage ladder you would be earning against; which visas your income qualifies for; the day count that makes you tax-resident; and the months worth being there for.

[See the United States → Australia report — £7](https://geo-parity.com/report/united-states-to-australia/) One-off. No subscription. Free preview first.

## Related

- [Reverse view: Australia vs United States](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/australia-vs-united-states/)
- [Fair salary: United States → Australia](https://geo-parity.com/salary/united-states-to-australia/)
- [How much to retire in Australia?](https://geo-parity.com/fire/australia/)
- [Cost of living in Australia vs the US](https://geo-parity.com/ppp/australia/)

## More comparisons

### United States compared with

- [United States vs Denmark](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/united-states-vs-denmark/)
- [United States vs United Kingdom](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/united-states-vs-united-kingdom/)
- [United States vs Norway](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/united-states-vs-norway/)
- [United States vs New Zealand](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/united-states-vs-new-zealand/)
- [United States vs Sweden](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/united-states-vs-sweden/)
- [United States vs Canada](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/united-states-vs-canada/)

### Moving to Australia from

- [Denmark vs Australia](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/denmark-vs-australia/)
- [Switzerland vs Australia](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/switzerland-vs-australia/)
- [United Kingdom vs Australia](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/united-kingdom-vs-australia/)
- [Norway vs Australia](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/norway-vs-australia/)
- [New Zealand vs Australia](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/new-zealand-vs-australia/)

## Frequently asked questions

- **How much cheaper is Australia than United States?**: A single person's monthly essentials run about $2,244 in Australia versus $2,410 in United States — 6.9% less. Rents differ the most; world-priced goods like petrol and electronics the least.
- **What does a beer cost in Australia?**: A domestic draught pint is roughly $5.63 in Australia (≈ 8.74 AUD), versus about $6.00 in United States.
- **How much is rent in Australia compared to United States?**: A 1-bedroom city-center apartment is estimated at $1,614/month in Australia versus $1,750/month in United States (-7.7%). Housing is the most locally-priced item in the basket.
- **How are these prices estimated?**: Curated US baseline prices scaled by each country's purchasing-power price level with per-item elasticities (housing 1.4, services 1.1, groceries 0.8, world-priced goods 0.4) — model estimates for orientation, not quotes.

Model estimates — verify locally. Agents: GET /api/micro-costs.json?base=US&target=AU.

---

Source: Geo-Parity — https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/australia-vs-united-states/ · JSON: https://geo-parity.com/api/micro-costs.json?base=US&target=AU