Brisbane has ranked as the second most cost-of-living friendly city globally, according to research by Compare the Market.
Brisbane scored an overall index score of 6.31 mainly in part due to its ultra-low A$0.50 public transport fares which are expected to continue indefinitely.
Australia’s fuel prices were also comparatively cheaper at $1.680 per litre for 95 RON unleaded petrol, rent prices have experienced a 17.70% increase since 2015 and the unemployment rate sits at only 4.20%.
While Brisbane has many qualities that make it cost-of-living friendly, the research found that it was sub-par for typical electricity costs, the cost of a milk bottle, bread loaf and the cash rate.
Melbourne and Sydney also ranked highly on the list, sitting at seventh and 13th respectively.
Compare the Market’s general manager of money, Stephen Zeller said there is no perfect city for the cost of living, but there are ways to reduce money pressures through comparison.
“The power is in the consumer's hands’ to actively compare options that are available,” he said.
“If your home loan is taking a larger-than-ideal portion off your payslip, it’s worth comparing what’s on offer from lenders, look for a better deal, and switch to help ease one major cost-of-living pressure.”
The most cost-of-living friendly city was Seoul in South Korea, which scored an overall index score of 6.69 out of 10. Seoul had the lowest unemployment rate out of all 42 cities studied at 2.50%. Other factors leading to this result include the combination of low 3.50% cash rate, 11.50% and 8.50% house and rent price increases respectively since 2015 and $0.194 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) average electricity rates.
The least cost-of-living friendly city was Reykjavík, Iceland with an overall index score of 3.21. Despite its high annual wages, low electricity prices and low unemployment rate, Iceland's capital still couldn’t be saved from the bottom spot. Out of all 42 cities, Reykjavík had the highest transport prices at $3.21 per litre for petrol and $6.81 typical one-way transport fare.
