The Big Mac tastes the same wherever you go, but what it costs is an entirely different matter.

A Big Mac in Bathurst will set you back $4.75, which is in the middle ground compared with other outlets in the Central West.

The most expensive Big Macs in the region are in Lithgow and Cowra, where they cost $4.95.

It’s $4.80 in Dubbo, and $4.50 in Orange and Mudgee. By comparison, a Big Mac at Broken Hill will cost $4.80, $4.95 at Darling Harbour, $4.80 at Circular Quay, and $4.50 on the corner of George and Bridge streets in Sydney’s CBD.

McDonald’s Bathurst owner- operator Wade Whitley said there are many cost pressures which affect a Big Mac’s price – food, utility and labour to name just a few.

For example, McDonald’s Bathurst is the only McDonald’s restaurant in the Central West which opens its dining room 24 hours a day, which means the restaurant has to absorb the cost of an additional three workers at penalty rates.

By comparison, all other Central West McDonald’s outlets which open 24 hours are drive through only, and so require fewer staff.

While there is a variance of up to 40 cents between costings in the region, Mr Whitley said very few Big Macs are sold as a one-off item – in fact, a single Big Mac would account for less than five per cent of Bathurst’s sales.

Instead, the majority of burgers are sold as part of a value meal or bundle deal, which save consumers up to 30 per cent.

“The bundles offer significant discounts; we do family value meals, Happy Meals, beef and chicken meals and brecky mate boxes,” Mr Whitley said.

McDonald’s Australia yesterday said 70pc of the state’s 241 outlets are owned and operated by franchisees and the company has no control over how much each charges for hamburgers. McDonald’s does have a recommended range for Big Macs of $4.45-$4.95.