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Student Cities Australia

Hobart Mall

What is the cheapestAustralian city to live in? Ifwe're talking about universitycities, the answer is Hobart.

The most expensive Australiancity to live in? For students andnon-students, it is Sydney.

The ranking of major universitycities from cheapest city tomost expensive is: (1) Hobart,(2) Adelaide, (3) Newcastle, (4)Brisbane, (5) Wollongong, (6)Gold Coast, (7) Melbourne, (8)Perth, (9) Canberra and (10)Sydney.

Cost of LivingComparisons

The cost of accommodation is the major cause ofdifferences in living costs across Australian cities.In turn, living costs significantly influence theoverall quality of living.

In Sydney, the median house price is upwards of$600,000. In Hobart, it's less than $350,000.Disparities in housing prices flow through to rentalcosts - the cost of renting in Sydney is also close todouble that for Hobart.

The costs of non-housing goods and services areactually similar across Australian cities. Statisticsindicate there is no more than a few percentagepoints difference in non-housing costs between any two cities.

While there may be significant differences for certain types of goods and services, especially those thatare costly to freight, across a basket of consumption items the differences tend to cancel out.

Price differentials are also small for spending categories that cover many items - such as Food,Clothing & Footwear, Household Items & Services, Transportation, Recreation and Financial Services.Even comparing the most expensive city for a category with the cheapest city, the price difference isalmost always under 15 per cent (NATSEM).

Student BudgetsExample BudgetWeekly CostsRent: $200Food: $175Public transport: $40Energy, phone, etc:$35Spending money: $100Total: $550 per weekAnnual cost: $28,600Source: UWA

Students generally have tight budgets and try hard to minimise spending. Expenses tend to be reducedto essential items - such as accommodation, food and electricity - and some spending money for socialactivities.

A fairly typical budget for an Australian student might add up to around $500-$600 per week and closeto $30,000 per year. Students who live frugally - or at home - could live on less than $20,000 however.

Accommodation typically accounts for 30%-40% of living costs for students living away from home. Forexample, a student might spend $200 pw (per week) sharing a $400 pw flat with another person (orsharing a $600 pw house with two other people). This works out to $10,400 per year.

Cost of Living City IndexUsing a budget method, we've calculated an index of living costs by city. The base-case budget is for astudent who lives in Melbourne and spends $480 per week, including $180 on rent.

Accommodation costs are the main cause of differences in overall living costs, so the budget isadjusted to account for housing prices. If the student lived in similar accommodation in Hobart, he orshe would pay more like $124 per week instead of $180. If he or she lived in Sydney, rent would becloser to $226.

Weekly rent Other costs Weekly spend Annual spend Cost indexHobart $124 $300 $424 $22,026 88Adelaide $145 $300 $445 $23,155 93

Newcastle $156 $300 $456 $23,737 95Brisbane $164 $300 $464 $24,144 97Wollongong $166 $300 $466 $24,221 97Gold Coast $177 $300 $477 $24,803 99Melbourne $180 $300 $480 $24,960 100Perth $190 $300 $490 $25,461 102Canberra $198 $300 $498 $25,919 104Sydney $226 $300 $526 $27,345 110

Sources: Australian Bureau of Statistics 6416.0 House Price Indexes: 8 Capital Cities ,HomePriceGuide.com.au

Overall, the cost of living ranges from $22,000 per year in Hobart to more than $27,000 in Sydney. Thisshows that choice of city can significantly impact on living costs. Choosing a cheaper city means youcan save money, live in nicer accommodation, or have more money (up to $5000 or so) to spend onother things.

More about the cheaper cities ...

Cheapest Cities to Live InCost of Living ComparisonsStudent BudgetsCost of Living City IndexMore about the cheaper cities ...