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Australia, Adelaide

Australia, Adelaide

Cost of living in Adelaide, prices and what it is like to live for an Expat, quality of life / hardship, and compare cost of living for Expatriates as at July 2020.

What is it like to live in Adelaide?


Economy: Adelaide's economy is primarily based around manufacturing, defence technology and research, commodity export and corresponding service industries. It has large manufacturing, defence and research zones. They contain car manufacturing plants for General Motors Holden, and plants that produce electronic systems that are sold worldwide for applications in medical, communications, defence, automotive, food and wine processing and industrial sectors. The revenue of Adelaide's electronics industry has grown at over 15% per year since 1990. The electronics industry in Adelaide employs over 13,000 people, which is more than the automotive industry. Almost half of all cars produced in Australia are made in Adelaide.

Inflation: -0.3% for Australia as at June 2020.

Adelaide Population: 1.3 Million (2020 est.)

Expat Life: Australians typically talk directly rather than around issues, generally do not like class orientated structure, preferring informality and modesty such as first names even in a business setting (although dress tends to be formal), respect the opinions of others, and enjoy a good debate. Australians typically take turns in paying for beverages, and often use humour to establish rapport. The safety risk for expatriates in Australia is low. Risks include low levels of petty crime in busy tourist areas.

Health Care: The standard of healthcare in Australia is very good however costs of treatment for expatriates can be high. The Coronavirus COVID-19 total reported cases for Australia as at 5 August 2020 is 19,444, with 247 deaths. The rate of deaths per 1 million population is 10.

For other areas within the country see Australia.

Cost Of Living

What is the cost of living in Adelaide?

The cost of living for expatriates in Adelaide as at July 2020 is average in comparison to other places in the world, with an overall Cost of Living Index (COLI), for all 13 basket groups, of 62.22 (New York =100). We have collected prices for the same items, world wide, based on Expat spending norms, in or closest to the location, and converted them to $USD so that we can compare the cost of 13 different baskets in 780 global locations. For each basket, compared to New York, the equivalent cost in Adelaide is as follows:

1) Alcohol and/or Tobacco: Cost is very high for items such as beer, spirits, wine and tobacco related products such as cigarettes. A basket costing USD$1,000 in New York costs USD$1070. Average price in a store for a midrange bottle of wine is USD$13.52, domestic/local beer (500ml) USD$5.28, imported/international beer (330ml) USD$6.02 and a pack of 20 cigarettes is USD$26.00.

2) Clothing: Cost is average for items such as business, casual and children's clothing and footwear. A basket costing USD$1,000 in New York costs USD$840. Average price for an international brand of mens jeans is USD$66, a quality international brand of running shoes USD$84, mens leather shoes suitable for office wear USD$88 while a medium size international summer dress from a global chain store is USD$43.

3) Communication: Cost is very high for various communication costs such as home telephone rental, internet subscription, mobile service provider tariff and data costs. A basket costing USD$200 in New York costs USD$296. Average price for a monthly standard plan internet subscription is USD$48, while the benchmark mobile tariff is USD$0.40 per minute.

4) Education: Cost is low for items such as creche / pre-school fees, primary school fees, high school fees and tertiary study fees. A basket costing USD$30,000 in New York costs USD$18300. Average annual private international school fee (excluding extras) USD$11,961 for Primary School, and USD$13,311 for High School.

5) Furniture & Appliances: Cost is average for items such as dining table and chairs, home entertainment, kitchen appliances, and sofas. A basket costing USD$2,500 in New York costs USD$1750. Average price for a 6kg front loader Washing Machine is USD$647, and USD$556 for a 46+'' LED UHD TV.

6) Groceries: Cost is average for items such as consumables, cleaning products, dairy, fresh fruit & vegetables, general food products, snacks, soft drinks. A basket costing USD$1,000 in New York costs USD$650. Average grocery prices in a major international retail store for 1 kg apples is USD$3.89, 1 kg oranges USD$3.25, 1 head lettuce USD$2.43, 1 kg potatos USD$2.41, 1 kg boneless, skinless, chicken breast USD$9.37, 1 kg cheddar cheese USD$9.23, 1 dozen large eggs USD$3.76, 500g loaf white bread USD$2.16, 1 L full cream milk USD$1.48, and 1.5 L water USD$1.87.


8) Household Accommodation: Cost is average for items such as apartment rent, house rent, property purchase, mortgage rate, and utilities. A basket costing USD$5,000 in New York costs USD$2000. Average expatriate house / apartment rent for a secure upmarket unfurnished apartment (3 bedrooms) is USD$2,679 in a central location, and USD$1,724 in a suburban location, per month, excluding utilities.




12) Restaurants Meals Out and Hotels: Cost is average for items such as hotel daily room rates, meals and beverages in a restaurant, and take away food and beverages. A basket costing USD$1,000 in New York costs USD$640. Average cappuccino price (regular, medium) is USD$3.90, coke/pepsi (330ml) USD$3.13, burger meal (international franchise or similar) USD$9.92, and a mid-range international restaurant meal for 2 USD$63.09.

13) Transport: Cost is average for items such as fuel (petrol/gasoline), car hire, public transport, vehicle purchase and maintenance. A basket costing USD$1,000 in New York costs USD$830. Average average price over the last year for highest available octane petrol / gasoline (1L) is USD$1.04, while the benchmark car sedan purchase price including taxes/duties for a compact / small / economy vehicle (1.4 L) is USD$18,719.

How does the cost of living in Adelaide compare?

Adelaide is -8.5% cheaper than Houston TX for groceries, 18% more expensive for household costs than Kuala Lumpur, and 38.8% more expensive for transport costs than Dubai.

What is the quality of life / hardship in Adelaide?

Adelaide is ranked as a minimal hardship location.The hardship premium for Adelaide for an expat from London, is for example 0%, i.e. host location (Adelaide) premium of 10% minus home (London) location premium of 10%.

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