Cost of living comparison

 Houston (TX), United States
compared to
 Sydney, Australia
Sydney vs. Houston Cost of Living Summary

Sydney is 23.5% more expensive than Houston.

Restaurants
pay 0.5% more in Sydney
Groceries
pay 16.4% more in Sydney
Transportation
pay 52.3% more in Sydney
Housing
pay 10.3% more in Sydney
Childcare
pay 7.4% more in Sydney
Entertainment and Sports
pay 56.7% more in Sydney
Clothing
pay 21.2% more in Sydney

The cost of entertainment and sports, transportation, clothing, groceries, housing, and childcare in Sydney are more expensive than in Houston.

Sydney vs. Houston Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Sydney instead of Houston, you would:

pay 0.5% more for restaurants

 
Houston
Sydney
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $18.00
 
$16.48
A$25.36
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$9.00
 
$9.89
A$15.22
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $2.53
 
$2.49
A$3.84

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pay 16.4% more for groceries

 
Houston
Sydney
Bread
1 loaf
$2.97
 
$2.80
A$4.31
Local cheese (8 oz) $6.39
 
$5.66
A$8.71
Milk (1 gallon) $3.43
 
$6.60
A$10.17

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pay 52.3% more for transportation

 
Houston
Sydney
Gasoline (1 gallon) $2.88
 
$4.95
A$7.62
Monthly public transit pass $75.00
 
$143.27
A$220.55
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $36,278.39
 
$29,276.08
A$45,067.86

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pay 10.3% more for housing

 
Houston
Sydney
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$66.71
 
$52.22
A$80.39
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $1,582.84
 
$2,177.38
A$3,351.88
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $1,189.12
 
$1,459.01
A$2,246.01

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pay 7.4% more for childcare

 
Houston
Sydney
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $1,457.58
 
$1,995.92
A$3,072.54
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $23,000.00
 
$17,906.19
A$27,564.96

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pay 56.7% more for entertainment and sports

 
Houston
Sydney
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $5.00
 
$6.59
A$10.15
Cappuccino in mid-range area $5.27
 
$3.47
A$5.34
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$9.97
 
$32.95
A$50.73

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pay 21.2% more for clothing

 
Houston
Sydney
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$47.14
 
$74.12
A$114.11
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$43.00
 
$53.36
A$82.14
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$103.28
 
$108.20
A$166.57

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The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you. We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: May 2025
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