Living cost in Australia for one person: $2,835 per month. Average living expenses for a couple: $4,118 per month. Average monthly living expenses for a family of 4: $5,378.
Summary of cost of living in Australia: A family of four estimated monthly costs are 3,726.6$ (5,606.5A$) without rent. A single person estimated monthly costs are 1,057.4$ (1,590.8A$) without rent. Cost of living in Australia is, on average, 5.0% higher than in United States.
Want to plan your living expenses in Australia? We'll help you. There is no “one size fits all” plan for all but it is understood that an individual may need approximately $20,000 each year and an average family needs more than $50,000 a year to get by in Australia.
The average cost of living for a family in Australia will range between AUD 2500 and AUD 3000 every month. Sydney is by far the most expensive city to live in Australia, followed by Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, and Canberra.
The most recent numbers indicate that the following food plans will cost the following amounts for a family of four: a frugal food plan will cost \$146 per week, a low-cost food plan will cost \$191 per week, a moderate-cost food plan will cost \$239 per week, and a liberal food plan will cost \$289 per week.
From 1981 to 2021, the average full-time total earnings for Australian adults increased 5.9 times, from $15,800 (1981) to $93,500 (November 2021). Today the average adult full time wage is $97,510 with median house prices across Australia at $1,008,988 or 10.3 times the average earnings.
Meanwhile, collaborative database Expatistan estimates the current cost of living in Australia is roughly $3,803 per month for a single person or $7,064 per month for a family of four, just for the bare essentials.
While there's no consensus on what rents will do exactly in 2023 — go up a little, go down a little, or stay flat, according to three forecasts — what's clear is they are expected to return to more normal growth patterns, instead of the unsustainable, record rates seen in 2021 and 2022.
Our 2022 Poverty in Australia Snapshot found that there are 3.3 million people (13.4%) living below the poverty line of 50% of median income, including 761,000 children (16.6%). In dollar figures, the poverty line works out to $489 a week for a single adult and $1,027 a week for a couple with 2 children.
Approximately 58% of the Australian population is considered to be part of the middle class. What is the average annual income range for the Australian middle class? The average annual income range for the Australian middle class is between AUD 46,000 and AUD 140,000.
The average full time salary in Australia is $70,001 per year or $35.90 per hour. Entry-level positions start at $57,500 per year, while most experienced workers make up to $107,282 per year.
Going home with 50k AUD per annum isn't that good. However, this obviously also depends on where you live and what kind of lifestyle you (want to) have. Do you want to live life to the max? You probably will need to bring home 150k AUD per annum.
Overall, Canberra remains the most expensive capital city to rent a house in, with median weekly rents sitting at $690. Sydney takes second place at $650 per week, followed by Darwin ($620 per week), Hobart ($550 per week), and Brisbane ($550 per week).
Summary of cost of living in Sydney, Australia: A family of four estimated monthly costs are 4,056.9$ (6,244.9A$) without rent. A single person estimated monthly costs are 1,131.4$ (1,741.6A$) without rent.
The average household spent $108,291 in 2021, equivalent to $2,083 per week. Rent and dwelling costs are the largest expense by far, costing the average household $445 per week.
Barely average for an individual, below average for a family.
So why is the cost-of-living in Australia so high? One of the major reasons is inflation. A measure for household inflation, the Consumer Price Index, or CPI, increased by 2.1% in the first quarter of this year and 5.1% annually, according to data compiled by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
So if you're on $100k or more, congratulations, you're in the top 20% of Aussie income earners. If not, don't worry, you're in the good company of 80% of Aussies.
On average, Australians have around $34,000 in savings but this varies significantly by age, gender, location, and income. Nearly three quarters (73%) of Australians are trying to build their savings but around 1 in 5 say they have less in savings now than they did three months ago.
In 2019-20, a household at the 90th percentile of the distribution – that is, a household that is richer than 90 per cent of households – had a net worth of $2.26 million. A household at the 10th percentile was worth just $36,900, or 61 times less.
So the ideal income for an American family of four, for instance, would be $210,000. Earn any higher than this threshold, though, and the researchers found you might actually experience lower overall satisfaction. Jebb asserts that higher income is often associated with larger workloads and less free time.