Melbourne is cheaper to rent in. Sydney and Melbourne compared on the measures we can hold level across states: rent, household income, house prices where open data exists, parks and cafés. Medians are taken over each city's scored suburbs, from official data and OpenStreetMap.
By Formada3D research · Updated 10 October 2026
| Measure | Sydney | Melbourne |
|---|---|---|
| Median suburb rent (per week) | $520 | $408 |
| Median household income (per week, 2021 census) | $2,276 | $2,044 |
| Rent as a share of household income | 23% | 20% |
| Median house price (median suburb) | $1,808,000 | $1,295,500 |
| Median age | 38 | 38 |
| Park hectares per 1,000 residents (median suburb) | 1.8 | 2.8 |
| Cafés per 1,000 residents (median suburb) | 0.5 | 0.6 |
| Suburbs scored | 422 | 216 |
Melbourne is cheaper to rent in. The median Melbourne suburb rents for $408/wk against $520/wk in Sydney, about 22% less. Sydney is where households earn more ($2,276/wk against $2,044/wk in Melbourne). Measured against local household income, rent takes about 23% in Sydney and 20% in Melbourne.
The median house price in the median Melbourne suburb is $1,295,500, against $1,808,000 in Sydney. Periods differ by state: Sydney is Jan–Mar 2026 (NSW DCJ Rent and Sales Report), Melbourne is Oct–Dec 2025 (Victorian Property Sales Report), so treat the gap as indicative, not exact.
Melbourne is greener per resident (2.8 ha per 1,000 against 1.8 ha per 1,000 in Sydney). Melbourne is ahead on cafés (0.6 per 1,000 against 0.5 per 1,000 in Sydney).
We do not rank Sydney against Melbourne on safety. Crime is recorded by different state agencies with different definitions, so a cross-state comparison would mislead. What we can do is rank suburbs within each city: see the safest suburbs in Sydney and Melbourne.
Within each city the answer depends on what you weight. Top family suburbs: Sydney: Cammeray, Alfords Point, Bonnet Bay; Melbourne: Eltham North, Montmorency, Macleod. Best value: Sydney: Voyager Point, Yarrawarrah, Willoughby East; Melbourne: Yallambie, Attwood, Diamond Creek.
Medians are of suburb-level figures (a median suburb, not a pooled city total). Guidance only, visit before you move. No city, agent or developer can pay for placement here. Sources and method: how we rank suburbs.