Money · 21 January 2026 · 7 min read
The real cost of living in Brisbane for a family of four
Housing, power, transport, groceries, schooling and the costs interstate families forget.
Housing dominates everything else
Whether you rent or buy, housing will be sixty to seventy per cent of the difference between corridors. Every other line item moves far less. Get the corridor right and the budget usually works.
The lines people underestimate
Summer electricity with air conditioning, pool chemicals and servicing, two cars including tolls on the northern and eastern tunnels and bridges, and home insurance in flood or storm-exposed pockets.
Council rates, water and, in units, body corporate levies also tend to be higher than newcomers expect.
The lines that fall
Heating, winter clothing, independent school fees compared with Sydney and Melbourne, and generally eating out. Sport and outdoor activity are cheap because so much of it happens in public parks and pools.