Cost of Living Calculator
Compare the cost of living between two cities to understand how much you would need to earn to maintain your current standard of living.
Quick Use Samples
Compare Cities
Comparison Results
To maintain your current lifestyle in Melbourne, you would need a salary of approximately $68,100. The cost of living is 9.2% lower, so moving could save you around $6,900 per year if you kept your $75,000 salary.
Detailed Breakdown
Cost of Living Index Comparison
💰 Ready to grow your money?
- 🔹 Raiz: Microinvest your spare change
- 🔹 Swyftx: Trade crypto with confidence
We may receive a commission from our partners if you sign up through these links. This helps us keep our tools free.
What is the Cost of Living?
The cost of living is the amount of money needed to cover basic expenses such as housing, food, taxes, and healthcare in a particular place and time period. It's often used to compare how affordable it is to live in one city versus another, and it's a crucial factor in determining a fair salary.
Behind the Formula
This tool doesn't calculate an absolute cost, but rather compares the cost of living between two locations. It uses crowd-sourced data indices that measure the relative prices of a basket of goods and services (like rent, groceries, and transport). The formula takes your current salary and adjusts it based on the percentage difference in the cost of living index between your current city and the new city to show you what you'd need to earn to maintain your current standard of living.
Expert Insights
- Housing is almost always the single biggest factor in cost of living differences between Australian cities. A high salary in Sydney can feel less valuable than a moderate salary in Adelaide due to the huge disparity in rent and property prices.
- Don't just look at the overall index. Drill down into the categories that matter most to you. If you don't own a car, transport costs are less relevant, but if you have a large family, grocery bills are a major factor.
- Salaries don't always scale perfectly with the cost of living. Some industries pay similar rates nationwide, meaning you could have a much higher disposable income by working in a city with a lower cost of living.
Actionable Tips
- When relocating for a job, use a cost of living comparison to negotiate your new salary. Show your employer that a simple 5% raise isn't enough to cover a 20% increase in living costs.
- Consider a 'lifestyle arbitrage' by working remotely for a company based in a high-cost city (like Sydney) while living in a lower-cost regional area. This can dramatically increase your disposable income.
- Before moving, create a detailed personal budget based on the expected costs in the new city. Use real data from property websites, grocery store prices, and public transport fares for the most accurate picture.
Real-World Examples
Moving from Melbourne to Perth
An engineer earning $120,000 in Melbourne is offered a job in Perth. The calculator shows that the cost of living in Perth is about 10% lower. Therefore, a salary of $108,000 in Perth would provide a similar standard of living.
A Graduate Choosing a Starting City
A graduate has job offers in both Canberra and Brisbane. While the Canberra job pays more due to public sector wages, the calculator shows that the significantly lower cost of rent and transport in Brisbane means they would have more disposable income there.
Negotiating a Relocation Package
An employee is asked to move from Hobart to Sydney for work. They use the calculator to show their boss that they would need a salary increase of at least 35% just to maintain their current standard of living, forming the basis of their salary negotiation.
Glossary of Terms
Cost of Living Index
A theoretical price index that measures the relative cost of living over time or between regions. It is based on the price of a basket of common goods and services.
Standard of Living
The level of wealth, comfort, material goods, and necessities available to a certain socioeconomic class or a certain geographic area.
Disposable Income
The amount of money that an individual or household has to spend or save after income taxes have been deducted.