A customer looks at bananas in a supermarket in Sydney April 27, 2011
A customer looks at bananas in a supermarket in Sydney April 27, 2011 Reuters/Daniel Munoz

Canberra is the place to live in Australia as far as affordability is concerned. The world's biggest price aggregation website Numbeo named it the 41st most affordable city in the world.

A Canberran's basket of groceries is among the cheapest in the country. The capital city is Australia’s second cheapest for a supermarket trip, trailing only the Gold Coast.

Numbeo's restaurant price index measures prices of restaurants and bar meals compared to those in New York City. Canberra was 118th for this index. This means Canberrans pay around 20 percent less to eat out compared to people in New York. Taking wages into account, the most appealing Australian city to live in is Canberra, where a typical ACT wage buys 39 percent compared to a typical New York wage.

A Domain report shows that Canberra was the nation’s third most expensive city in which to rent. Numbeo's recent data has confirmed this report.

Canberra outstripped Melbourne and beaten by Sydney and Darwin. Globally, the former came in the 65th rank.

The Numbeo's data found that Canberra was the world's 103rd most expensive city and the third cheapest in Australia. The cost of living here was about 20 percent cheaper than NYC.

Sydney sits at number 32 in the list of most expensive cities in the world. The world’s most expensive cost of living was recorded in Hamilton in Bermuda at 145 percent of New York costs. This can be compared to Sydney at 91 percent and Melbourne at 85 percent.

As for groceries index, Sydney ranked 52nd most expensive city and Melbourne, the 72nd most expensive. Compared to both Cairns and Darwin, Sydney is more expensive.

Sydney and Melbourne are more expensive compared to Adelaide, Perth, Hobart and Brisbane. Restaurant prices in Sydney and Melbourne are the 137th and 135th most expensive.

A month's rent for a one-bedroom apartment in central Sydney costs $2,619, while it costs $1,746 in central Melbourne. Childcare for a month costs $1,922 in Sydney and $1,343 in Melbourne compared to $2,158 in New York. The prices were scraped from websites and reported by volunteers. According to the Numbeo data, here’s what Australians pay:

Three-course meal for two people at a mid-range restaurant:

  • Canberra: $75
  • Sydney: $80
  • Melbourne: $80

Monthly utilities:

  • Canberra: $185.47
  • Sydney: $174.15
  • Melbourne: $217.10

One month of private early childhood education:

  • Canberra: $1,168
  • Sydney: $1,978.04
  • Melbourne: $1,343

Monthly rent for a one-bedroom apartment in the CBD:

  • Canberra: $1,733.26
  • Sydney: $2,618.80
  • Melbourne: $1,746.45
RELATED STORIES