According to the ATO, the top 1% of income earners in Australia start at $237,300 but average $438,100. Inspired by this article from the US, readers asked me to do an Australian version. Below I interviewed some households with incomes above $250,000 for singles or above $400,000 if a couple.
The net worth required to be in the top one per cent of Australia's rich was the third highest figure globally, behind Monaco and Switzerland. But the number might surprise you. To be considered in Australia's highest percentage of wealth, you must have a total net worth of a staggering US$5.5 million (A$8.26 million).
In fact, the average American household earns a median income of under $70,000, but in some places, the top 1% can earn as much as $955,000. Those annual earnings can seem far out of reach in a country where less than 10% of all households earn more than $200,000, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Average Australian Salaries in 2023
A taxable income that was $131,501 or higher was within the top 10% of earners in Australia last year. About 5% of taxpayers had incomes above $180,000. Someone who earned more than $253,066 was in the top 1%.
Australia leapfrogs New Zealand for the top regional 0.1% level at US$7.9 million compared to US$7.5 million. Both are around double the Middle East's highest entry - the UAE at US$3.8 million.
Someone earning $200,000 a year would be among the top 3.5 per cent of Australians who fall into the top tax bracket which cuts in at $180,000 a year. Mr Derbas suggested in the video that singles living in the Harbour City would do incredibly well on the same salary.
The amount of female respondents with salaries over $100k has increased from 16 per cent in 2017 to 20 per cent in 2019 - but the amount of male respondents with salaries over $100k has also increased from 37 per cent in 2017 to 41 per cent in 2019.
$100,000/year is above an average salary and if you're frugal enough, on $100,000/year, you should be able to live a good life and save some money too. Usually if you consider living in desirable locations of cities like Melbourne and Sydney, most of your income will be consumed in the house rents.
The average household gross income is $121,108, however the top 20% of households earn 48% of all income. With the bottom 20% who are left with 4% of Australia's income.
Four in five Australians earn less than $100,000 with new tax figures revealing the federal budget is increasingly reliant on the nation's best-paid 1 per cent to cover the cost of growing services and infrastructure.
Top 5% income
Salaries start to jump significantly the closer you get to the top 1%. You'll start to see dramatic shifts in the top 5%, where the EPI found the average earners significantly increased to $343,000 in 2020, up from $324,000 the year before.
The increase means the amount of money you need to be part of Australia's top echelon of wealth ($US5.5 million) is now the third highest among the countries and territories covered by global property consultancy Knight Frank's Wealth Report 2023, behind Monaco at $US12.4 million and Switzerland at $US6.6 million.
The top 20% richest individuals have annual pre-tax incomes of about $330,000, the middle 20% make about $116,000 while the lowest 20% earn $41,000. In terms of income from investments, the biggest chunk is concentrated at the topmost. Close to 70% of investment income goes to the 20% most moneyed households.
So with 120k, you are looking at close to 7k a month take home. That is enough money to support a family so for a single person, that should be plenty.
There aren't many of them, just 110,613 — 82,258 men and 28,355 women. Only 39,209 have taxable incomes of more than $500,000, and of these only 14,467 have taxable incomes of more than $1 million.
Overall, less than 3 per cent of Australians feel wealthy despite the fact that more than 15 per cent of those surveyed earn more than $200,000 a year. However, most people surveyed felt “comfortable” on their current wage, with 55 per cent indicating this on a sliding scale when asked if they felt wealthy.
It is higher than the median, meaning it is in the top 50% of salaries.
The average Australian would need to earn over $300,000 a year to consider themselves as officially "rich", new research has found.
If you make $300,000 a year living in Australia, you will be taxed $111,667. That means that your net pay will be $188,333 per year, or $15,694 per month. Your average tax rate is 37.2% and your marginal tax rate is 47.0%.
If you make $140,000 a year living in Australia, you will be taxed $39,667. That means that your net pay will be $100,333 per year, or $8,361 per month.
But it may surprise you to know that just 3.1 per cent of Australian taxpayers had taxable incomes that high in 2016-17, the latest year for which figures are available. Only another 14.9 per cent had taxable incomes exceeding $80,000 a year.
Using pay calculator , $100k incl super and tax results in a post-tax income of $5,643 per month, which is quite a good income to live off.
A salary of $150,000 in Sydney can be considered a good salary. Sydney is known for its high cost of living, including housing, transportation, and other expenses. However, the exact level of comfort and affordability will depend on various factors such as your lifestyle, personal expenses, and financial goals.