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AU

Port Macquarie cost of living

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Nomad score 5.8/10

-31.4299, 152.9104 Australia/Sydney #3145

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Researched Updated Nov 12, 2026 Last changed Nov 14, 2026 About costs

Cost breakdown

Digital nomad: short-term stay (1-3 months). Furnished Airbnb or coliving near center, coworking, eating out ~3x/day, travel health insurance.

Expat: long-term resident (1+ years). Renting apartment in center, mix of cooking and dining out, local health insurance, settled lifestyle.

Family: middle-class 4-person family. 2-3 bedroom in suburbs, groceries for 4, international school, car/transport, family health plan.

Local: budget-conscious local resident. Renting outside center, cooking at home, public transport, local phone plan.

Tourist: short-stay visitor (1-14 days). Hotel/Airbnb nightly, all meals at restaurants, taxis, sightseeing.

CategoryCost
Housing 1 2 31 $1,990 $1,060 $2,088 $949 $112
Utilities 19 31 — $105 $174 $84 —
Internet & Mobile 5 6 7 $68 $95 $128 $95 $1
Groceries 8 9 10 11 12 13 31 $197 $458 $1,020 $387 $11
Transportation 3 4 18 $87 $129 $244 $73 $21
Dining Out 15 17 31 $1,151 $416 $453 $140 $53
Leisure Activities 30 31 $293 $234 $439 $84 $28
Health Insurance 22 $68 $105 $279 — $2
Visa & Legal Fees 23 24 25 $7 $24 $36 — $0
Total $3,861 $2,626 $4,861 $1,812 $228

Itemized prices

Local prices converted to the selected currency.

Housing

Apartment (1 bedroom) 1 31 $948.59 $949 – $1,601 per month
Coworking Space 26 27 $279.00 per month
Airbnb (1 month) 2 $1,989.96 per month
Coliving Space 28 $755.62 per month

Food & Dining

Coffee $3.66 per cup
Beer 15 31 $5.93 per pint
Meal (Inexpensive) 17 31 $17.44 per meal
Fast Food Combo 17 31 $11.51 per meal
Apples 13 31 $4.18 per kg
Bread 9 31 $2.09 per loaf
Milk 8 $1.22 per liter
Rice 10 31 $1.26 per kg
Chicken Fillets 11 31 $8.36 per kg
Beef 12 31 $14.64 per kg
Wine (Mid-range) 16 31 $10.46 per bottle
Meal (Mid-range, 2 people) $80.94 per meal
Water (1.5L bottle) 14 31 $0.62 per bottle

Transportation

Taxi Start 3 $3.69 per trip
Taxi per km 3 $1.74 per km
Monthly Transport Pass 4 $73.24 per month
Gasoline 18 31 $1.64 per liter
Ride-hailing (5km) 3 $12.37 per trip
Scooter Rental $17.60 per month

Services

Mobile Plan 5 7 $32.88 per month
Internet (60 Mbps+) 6 31 $62.08 per month
Gym Membership $52.79 per month
Tennis Court (Weekend) $15.48 per hour
SIM Card (Tourist, prepaid) 5 $11.86 one-time

Entertainment

Cinema Ticket $14.78 per ticket

Clothing

Jeans $80.94 per pair
Summer Dress $54.90 per dress
Running Shoes $123.17 per pair

Personal Care

Haircut 29 $27.90 per visit
Laundry $8.45 per kg

Healthcare

Doctor Visit (GP) 20 $62.84 per visit
Pharmacy (basic meds) 21 $6.27 per purchase

About these costs

Method
Researched
Last updated
Nov 12, 2026
Last changed
Nov 14, 2026
Exchange rate
1 USD = 1.4337 AUD on Oct 19, 2026

Checked against the sources below and compared with similar cities. Numbers in the list point to these sources.

Compared with Newcastle, Sydney, Hervey Bay, London, Hanoi

  1. SQM Research weekly rents postcode 2444 (Port Macquarie) week ending 12 Nov 2026: all houses $709.03/wk, 3-bed houses $690.85/wk, all units $529.85/wk, 2-bed units $515.54/wkListings
  2. Airbnb Port Macquarie monthly search (18 homes on page one): discounted 30-night totals apartment A$2,853, private room A$2,876, larger two-bed apartments from A$4,763, homes up to A$15,224Listings
  3. Transport for NSW country-area rank and hail taxi maximum fares: hire charge $5.29, $2.49/km first 12 km (night $2.97), $1.20 passenger service levyOfficial
  4. Transport for NSW regional bus fares: short trip (1-2 sections) maximum adult $2.30, Daily Adult Ticket from $5.00, operators may charge less; no monthly pass in regional NSWOfficial
  5. Telstra Pre-Paid: $2 SIM kit; $15 7-day plan 4GB (5GB with activation bonus); $44 28-day plan 20GB ongoing (Black Friday first-recharge pricing ignored); eSIM availableOfficial
  6. Telstra nbn plans: 50% off first 4 months from $44/mth, from $88-89/mth ongoing (promo prices ignored for the monthly figure)Official
  7. Vodafone Prepaid Plus: $35 (25GB), $40 (30GB), $50 (40GB), $60 (55GB) ongoing allowances; eSIM availableOfficial
  8. ALDI Full Cream Milk 1L $1.75 (2L $1.70/L, 3L $1.65/L)Shop
  9. ALDI White Loaf 800g $2.99 (White Sandwich Sliced Bread 650g $2.39)Shop
  10. ALDI Long Grain Rice 2kg $3.59 ($1.80/kg)Shop
  11. ALDI RSPCA Approved Chicken Breast Fillets $11.99/kg (Bulk Pack $8.99-10.99/kg)Shop
  12. ALDI Beef Blade Steak $20.99/kg (Beef Rump Steak per kg $19.99)Shop
  13. ALDI apples per kg: Pink Lady $5.99, Granny Smith $6.49, Royal Gala $6.99Shop
  14. ALDI Natural Australian Still Spring Water 1.5L $0.89Shop
  15. ALDI Feldschlösschen Pils 500ml bottle $3.99Shop
  16. ALDI Shiraz 750ml: South Australia & Heathcote $7.99, The Player Barossa Shiraz $11.99, Clare Valley $12.99, Special Release $15.99Shop
  17. McDonald's Australia menu prices (page text updated December 2025): Big Mac combo meal $15-18 AUDListings
  18. GlobalPetrolPrices Australia Octane-95 AUD 2.35/litre on 2 Nov 2026Index
  19. Finder AEMC representative market offers: NSW $903/year at 2,500 kWh (36.12c/kWh), $2,638/year at 9,500 kWhSecondary
  20. MBS item 23 GP Level B consultation schedule fee $45.05, Medicare benefit 100% (updated 1 Jul 2026)Official
  21. Discount Chemist: Panadol Extra 32 caplets $8.99 (RRP $9.75)Shop
  22. SafetyWing Nomad Insurance Essential USD 62.72 per 4 weeks (ages 10-39)Official
  23. eVisitor subclass 651: visa cost Free (no visa application charge), up to 3 months per visit in 12-month validityOfficial
  24. ETA subclass 601: service charge of AUD20 to use the Australian ETA app and no other charge; stays up to 3 monthsOfficial
  25. Home Affairs Legislation Amendment (2026 Measures No. 1) Regulations 2026: visitor subclass 600 charges rise from 1 Jul 2026; offshore base charge AUD 250 as recorded in the Australia country prep (the register page needs scripts to display its text)Official
  26. WOTSO Newcastle (nearest published coworking, ~390 km): coworking desks from $400/month, day passes $66Listings
  27. Rubberdesk "Port Macquarie" search: office and coworking desk listings all resolve to Newcastle-area addresses (postcodes 2290-2322); no coworking desk listed in Port Macquarie itselfListings
  28. Little Drifter Cairns long-stay furnished rooms from $250/week with weekly cleaning and kitchen (borrowed basis for coliving)Official
  29. Fresha Port Macquarie men's haircuts, 6 venues: Hairageous $35, Jordy Wells from $40, fades from $46, Hair Candy from $51.50Listings
  30. Port Jet Cruise Adventures Port Macquarie bookings: Eco River cruise $30, Morning Tea $35, Sunset $40, Hastings river cruise $45, Boom Net $50, Fish & Chip $55, Wauchope lunch cruise $90Listings
  31. Numbeo Port Macquarie (last updated 28 Nov 2025, 31 entries, 1 contributor): meal 25, two-person 125, combo 15, pint 9, cappuccino 5.50, milk 3.00, bread 500g 4.33, rice 4.00, chicken 15, beef 17.50, apples 4.50, water 1.5L 5.00, wine 15, one-way 3.00, petrol 1.83, utilities 130, broadband 86.67, gym 75, tennis 14, cinema 15.50, 1-bed 1,520 centre / 1,360 outside, 3-bed 2,460 outsideIndex

Change history

    • Method Generated Researched
    • Airbnb (1 month) 3378.37 1989.96
    • Apartment (1 bedroom) 1372.46 948.59
    • Apples 3.62 4.18
    • Beef 16.54 14.64
    • Beer 7.39 5.93
    30 more changes
    • Bread 2.67 2.09
    • Chicken Fillets 11.61 8.36
    • Coliving Space 985.36 755.62
    • Coworking Space 267.45 279
    • Dining Out local 197.07, nomad 1302.08, expat 527.87, family 633.44, tourist 77.42 local 139.5, nomad 1150.87, expat 415.71, family 453.37, tourist 53.01
    • Doctor Visit (GP) 59.83 62.84
    • Fast Food Combo 11.61 11.51
    • Gasoline 1.49 1.64
    • Groceries local 387.1, nomad 154.84, expat 457.49, family 985.36, tourist 10.56 local 387.11, nomad 197.04, expat 457.56, family 1020.44, tourist 10.56
    • Haircut 29.56 27.9
    • Health Insurance local 0, nomad 77.42, expat 116.13, family 295.61, tourist 3.52 local 0, nomad 67.95, expat 104.62, family 279, tourist 2.24
    • Housing local 1372.46, nomad 2674.54, expat 1689.18, family 2252.25, tourist 126.69 local 948.59, nomad 1989.96, expat 1060.19, family 2088.08, tourist 111.6
    • Internet & Mobile local 59.83, nomad 239.3, expat 84.46, family 126.69, tourist 5.63 local 94.96, nomad 67.76, family 127.84, tourist 1.49
    • Internet (60 Mbps+) 59.83 62.08
    • Leisure Activities local 84.46, nomad 316.72, expat 225.22, family 387.1, tourist 42.23 local 84.4, nomad 292.95, expat 233.66, family 439.42, tourist 27.9
    • Meal (Inexpensive) 16.89 17.44
    • Milk 1.72 1.22
    • Mobile Plan 31.67 32.88
    • Monthly Transport Pass 102.05 73.24
    • Pharmacy (basic meds) 10.21 6.27
    • Rice 2.25 1.26
    • Ride-hailing (5km) 13.72 12.37
    • SIM Card (Tourist, prepaid) 21.11 11.86
    • Taxi Start 3.87 3.69
    • Taxi per km 2.01 1.74
    • Transportation local 98.54, nomad 126.69, expat 246.34, family 422.3, tourist 31.67 local 73.24, nomad 87.19, expat 129.04, family 244.12, tourist 21.27
    • Utilities local 126.69, nomad 0, expat 154.84, family 267.45, tourist 0 local 83.71, nomad 0, expat 104.62, family 174.37, tourist 0
    • Visa & Legal Fees local 0, nomad 35.19, expat 31.67, family 105.57, tourist 0.7 local 0, nomad 6.97, expat 24.41, family 36.27, tourist 0.46
    • Water (1.5L bottle) 2.18 0.62
    • Wine (Mid-range) 15.48 10.46

    Coworking Space, Fast Food Combo, Rice, Monthly Transport Pass, Doctor Visit (GP) and the Utilities, Transportation, Internet & Mobile, Groceries, Dining Out and Leisure Activities totals re-computed from their cited prices at the same country rate, and the tourist SIM starter pack's data allowance corrected to the current 4GB offer (au.pricelisto.com, telstra.com.au)

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