Adelaide cost of living vs Sydney
Adelaide has annual CPI of 2.4%, 0.5 points below Sydney's 2.9%, against 3.2% nationally. The biggest gap is alcohol and tobacco: +7.4% in Adelaide vs +4.6% in Sydney.
Sydney cost of livingQuarterly, from the ABS Consumer Price Index.
Adelaide annual CPI
2.4%
▲ from 1.8% last quarter
Latest quarter
Sydney annual CPI
2.9%
▲ from 1.9% last quarter
Latest quarter
Gap vs Sydney
-0.5 pts
Adelaide lower
Headline CPI
National figure
3.2%
Below national
Weighted average, 8 capitals
Where the two cities differ
Annual CPI change by category — Adelaide against Brisbane, most recent quarter, widest gaps first.
- Alcohol and tobacco+7.4% · +4.6%
- Housing+1.5% · +3.7%
- Recreation and culture+1.6% · +2.8%
- Transport+0.2% · +1.3%
- Education+4.4% · +5.4%
- Furnishings, household equipment and services+1.4% · +0.8%
- Health+4.0% · +4.4%
- Food and non-alcoholic beverages+3.0% · +2.9%
- Communication+1.8% · +1.9%
- Insurance and financial services+1.8% · +1.9%
- Clothing and footwear+1.8% · +1.9%
Adelaide BrisbaneTrack spans −10% to +10%; larger moves are clamped.
The headline rate over time
AdelaideSydney
2023-Q32024-Q32025-Q3
Adelaide annual CPI moved from 5.9% in 2023-Q3 to 2.4% in 2025-Q3, against 2.9% nationally most recently.
Show the data table
| Year | Adelaide | Sydney |
|---|---|---|
| 2023-Q3 | 5.9% | 5.6% |
| 2023-Q4 | 4.8% | 4.2% |
| 2024-Q1 | 4.3% | 3.8% |
| 2024-Q2 | 4.5% | 3.8% |
| 2024-Q3 | 3.2% | 2.9% |
| 2024-Q4 | 2.5% | 2.4% |
| 2025-Q1 | 2.2% | 2.3% |
| 2025-Q2 | 1.8% | 1.9% |
| 2025-Q3 | 2.4% | 2.9% |
Sydney against other cities
A side-by-side read, category by category, for every mainland and island capital.
The full Sydney picture
Sydney cost of living has the full category drill-down and every capital-city overlay.