Updated guide for cost of living in Adelaide for anyone – an individual, couple, family and international students.
This blog is updated regularly to reflect the current living cost in Adelaide. Different aspects like rental, transportation, grocery, utilities and more are taken into consideration.
Can you believe that as an international student you can live in Adelaide for about $1500 a month? How about when I say a couple can live in Adelaide with the cost of living of around $2200 a month? And for a family of three, if you are budget conscious then around $3500 might be enough for you to live your best in Adelaide.
You will believe this after you finish reading this blog post in full.
Here in this blog post, I have tried to list and calculate the weekly and monthly expenses for an individual or an international student, for a couple (where one is a student) and also for a small family of three.
Several factors are considered including housing, food, utilities and transportation.
If you are planning to be in Adelaide for your higher education or if you are thinking of being here to give your partner a company while s/he is doing a course here then this blog will be your ultimate guide.
Before I take you to the cost of living in Adelaide, let us talk a little about Adelaide and the lifestyle here.
About Adelaide
Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia. South Australia is one of the seven states of Australia. SA considered a regional state is famous for wineries, festivals, food and tourist destinations.
Adelaide has been consistently listed in the world’s top 10 most liveable cities through the 2010s by The Economist Intelligence Unit, in the world. It was ranked the most liveable city in Australia by the Property Council of Australia, based on surveys of residents’ views of their own city, between 2010 and 2013.
Even though relatively small in size in comparison to other cities, Adelaide is rich with 29 large public parks, a botanical garden, a zoo, a state of the art infrastructure and reliable public transport.
Rich with cultural diversity, It is also becoming the preferred destination for thousands of immigrants and international students.
Living cost in Adelaide
Costs are divided on weekly basis (and total calculated at monthly) living costs for a couple in Adelaide metropolitan with an average expense. This information might suit you better if you are budget-conscious. All the amounts are in Australian dollars.
One major factor to consider here is if you are living on your own or living in shared accommodation.
You will find this post divided into two sections one for students and another for couples.
If you enjoy watching a video, then here’s a video that Sonisha and I published a while ago on YouTube, video is in Nepali with English captions.
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Renting in Adelaide
Compared to other cities in Australia, Adelaide metropolitan (including CBD and surrounding suburbs) is one of the most affordable and cheapest in terms of housing and property market.
The cost of renting around the CBD might be higher than living in the outer suburbs. It also depends on which suburbs you live in and the market scenario in that particular suburb. Rent is usually higher in wealthier suburbs.

Even though the rental market has noticed a significant rise in rental demands in Adelaide, still Adelaide’s rentals are relatively affordable than other cities in Australia.
According to realestate.com.au, the average cost for renting a one-bedroom unit in Adelaide costs around $300 per week and for the two-bedroom unit, it would be around $350. Prices will differ according to suburbs, housing types (flat, unit, apartment, house).
If you are living in a shared scenario with other housemates, your rent would be around and above $200/ week for a couple exclusive of bills.
Accommodation in Adelaide | Shared (in AUD) | Rental (in AUD) for 1 BR |
Single Student | 170 | around and above 300 |
Couple | 200 | around and above 350 |
Grocery
Talking about grocery, it is almost similar to other states as the supermarket and grocery stores are almost common across Australia, Coles, Aldi, Woolworth, Drakes Supermarket are famous supermarkets for grocery shopping.
You can find good bargains in the Sunday Markets like in Gepps Cross (map), Morphettville. Adelaide Central Market is also one of the popular destinations for fresh produce located at the heart of the city.

Grocery shopping would depend on the food habit of an individual so the average $80 groceries might be enough for you for a week.
Grocery in Adelaide | in AUD/ week |
Single (student) | ~ 100 |
Couple | ~ 180 |
Family | ~ 200 |
Adelaide’s Public Transportation
Adelaide Metro is the public transport system in Adelaide comprising an interconnecting bus, tram and train services under the same brand.

You can use the same MetroCard (electronic smart magnetic card) and metro ticket across all public transportation.
Once validated, you can board/ transfer to the next service for free for 2 hours of first validation, be it on bus, train or tram.
Tram service is free to use inside the core CBD and in Glenelg.
A 28-day pass costs $107 and you can get a student concession at $53.50. Find more about tickets and fares at https://adelaidemetro.com.au/Tickets-Fares.
Public transportation in Adelaide | 28-day pass (AUD) | MetroCard charge/ trip | MetroTicket charge/ trip |
Student concession | 53.50 | 2.00 peak trip 1.10 interpeak trip | 3.00 peak trip 1.40 interpeak trip |
Regular | 107.0 | 4.05 peak trip 2.25 interpeak trip | 5.90 peak trip 4.00 interpeak trip |
peak trips: before 9.01am and after 3pm Monday to Friday, all-day Saturday
interpeak trips: 9.01am to 3pm Monday to Friday , all day Sunday and public holidays
Utilities
Electricity, water and gas usages are generally charged quarterly (once in 3 months). Mobile bills and internet bills are generally monthly.
It depends on the nature of the mobile service provider you subscribe to, prepaid/ postpaid and type of internet connection.

The following table gives you an estimate scenario for your utilities monthly.
utilities in estimate (bills per month) | single (student) | couple | family of 3 |
electricity | $50 | $70 | $100 |
gas | $40 | $60 | $90 |
water | $33 | $33 | $33 |
phone – sim only | $50 | $100 | $120 |
internet | $75 | $75 | $75 |
Total | $248 | $338 | $418 |
Addons
Eating out, movies, online and offline subscriptions, etc depends on individual needs and we have estimated the rough roundabouts for different extras here.

The total cost of living in Adelaide
Adding all, the Cost of living in Adelaide for a couple can be estimated to be above $2800, while if a couple lives in a shared accommodation scenario it would be around $2200.
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single/ student | couple | family of 3 | |
accommodation | $680 (~$170/wk, shared) $1200 (~$300/wk) | $800 (~$200/wk, shared) $1400 (~$350/wk) | $1400 – $1600 ($350 – $400/wk) |
grocery | $400 ($100×4) | $720 ($180×4) | $800 ($200×4) |
public transportation | $52.50 for 28 day pass | $157.5, 28-day pass ($105+$52.5) | $262.5, 28-day pass ($105+$105+$52.5) |
utility bills | $248 | $338 | $418 |
addons | + | + | + |
Total (approximate estimate) | $1500 in shared accommodation $2100 when rented on own | $2200 in shared accommodation $2800 when rented on own | $3400 |
Individual’s living cost in Adelaide
By referencing the above table, if you are a student or a living on your own then almost around 1500 Australian dollars will be enough for you to live in Adelaide when you live in shared accommodation scenarios.
If you prefer to rent on your own then you’ll have to slightly increase your budget to around 2000 Australian dollars.
Cost of living for a couple in Adelaide, SA
Living with your partner in Adelaide and in South Australia isn’t expensive either. In comparison to Australian states, Adelaide can be your choice to spend your life together with your loved one and make saving for your future plans.
The estimated total cost for a couple to live in Adelaide would be around 200 AUD and 2800 when living in shared accommodation or in private rental respectively.
Adelaide’s living cost for a family
While most of the costs presented here are more precise for individuals and couples, we’ve tried to gather an estimate of what the cost would be like if you had a family of three. Seems at around a budget of fewer than 4000 dollars a month, you can live a good and happy lifestyle in Adelaide.
Conclusion
In 2022, one individual or an international student can live a good lifestyle in Adelaide with an average cost of $1500 per month which is less than $400 per week. This includes rent, groceries, transportation, utilities and more.
Likewise, a couple when renting on their own the average living cost can be around and above $700 a week.
A budget-conscious family of three can expect to spend around $3500 a month as a cost of living in Adelaide.
Before we wrap up, there are a few things to be aware of in this blog post.
Here while calculating the average living cost in Adelaide for international students, I have taken average for most items.
I have only divided the rent when in shared scenarios but not utilities and groceries. If you are living or planning to live in a shared scenario where you will be splitting the grocery and utility bills the total cost of living would be even lower. Also, the add-ons explained here aren’t added to the total bill as it would differ on the individual need and choices.
Useful Links
- Real Estate AU, https://www.realestate.com.au/rent/in-adelaide
- Adelaide Metro, https://adelaidemetro.com.au/
- Coles, https://www.coles.com.au/
- Woolworths Adelaide, https://www.woolworths.com.au/Shop/StoreLocator/SA-Adelaide-5317
- Drakes Supermarket, https://www.drakes.com.au/
- Vodafone Australia, https://www.vodafone.com.au/
- Telstra, https://www.telstra.com.au/
- NBN, https://www.nbnco.com.au/
What do you think of this blog post?
Leave a comment down under!
Thanks for your time and have a wonderful time ahead. 🙂
FAQs
It will cost around AUD 1500 to AUD 2100 a month to live alone in Adelaide in 2022.
Definitely, Adelaide is the number one choice for many because of the environment, regional settings, living costs and affordability and job opportunities.
The average living expense in Adelaide for an individual is between AUD 1500 -2100 a month and for a couple, it can be around AUD 2200 – 2800 a month which includes rent, grocery, public transportation and utilities.
If you rent a unit a single bedroom flat can cost you around AUD 300/ week while renting a two-bedroom house may go around AUD 400/ week.
We are moving to Adelaide we are family of 3 and my son is 4 years okd.what will be our average monthly expenses kindly suggest.
We also family of 4 moving to adelaide in about 6 months. 1 toddler, 1 kid going to school… Any advice would be appreciated
We are Family of 4 moving to Adelaide, what would be average expense be like.
One Kid is in school while the other is a toddler.