The median salary in Australia in 2023 is 6,650 AUD (USD 4,420) per month. The median salary refers to the middle value of all the salaries considered. In other words, around half of the population in Australia earns less than 6,650 AUD per month, while the other half earns more.
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 top 10 per cent of earners in Australia make $122,664 or more, with some of the best paid incomes in the country including miners who rake in $124,550 on average, school principals who take home $130,142 and dentists that are earning $131,773.
Middle-income class refers to households with income between 75% and 200% of the median national income. Upper-income class refers to households with income above 200% of the median national income.
What is a good salary in Australia? A good salary in Australia is $5,000 to $6,000 per month or $60,500 to $72,500 per year. The national average income is $60,500 per annum. If living in major cities like Melbourne and Sydney, expect to earn around $100,000 per year or more depending on your experience.
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.
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.
> Five classes can be identified in Australian society. > They are: 'established affluent', 'emergent affluent', 'mobile middle', 'established middle, and 'established working'.
The amount of money it takes to make it into the top 1 per cent of the wealthiest Australians has doubled to $8.25 million since 2021, according to a new report.
The Pew Research Center defines the middle class as households that earn between two-thirds and double the median U.S. household income, which was $65,000 in 2021, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. 21 Using Pew's yardstick, middle income is made up of people who make between $43,350 and $130,000.
The average earnings of the top 20% are 12x the average earnings of the bottom 20% and the wealth of the average household in the top 20% is 93x the average wealth of those in the bottom 20%. The average household gross income is $121,108, however the top 20% of households earn 48% of all income.
Top 5% income
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. While that's certainly a lot, there's a growing trend of even more cash flowing to — flooding even — those at the top of the heap.
Landing in the top 10% is a fairly attainable goal for upwardly mobile Americans. A study by the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) found that the average earnings of those in the top 10% were roughly $173,000 in 2020.
So a taxpayer with an income of $80,000 a year is therefore in the top 20 per cent of Australians.
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.
Finally, the established working class is the lowest of all social classes in Australia. There isn't all that much difference between this class and the established middle class. Traits of those belonging to the working class include: Lowest income levels. Limited cultural experience.
It is higher than the median, meaning it is in the top 50% of salaries.
The ATO classifies those who control a net wealth of $5 million or more as 'wealthy individuals'2. Those with a net wealth of $30 million or more are classified as 'high-wealth individuals'. The wealthiest person in Australia is currently Gina Rinehart, with a net worth of around US$14.8 billion.
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.
Australian household incomes are the seventh-highest in the OECD – a club of mostly wealthy countries – while mean household net worth is third-highest, behind only the United States and Luxembourg. The average household in the OECD has a yearly disposable income of $US30,490, compared to $US37,433 in Australia.
What qualifies as working or middle class varies from region to region, but country-wide, a salary of $30,000–$90,000 qualifies a single individual as middle class, with incomes below that range falling into the working class. Homer Simpson is working class.
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.
The median salary in Australia in 2023 is 6,650 AUD (USD 4,420) per month. The median salary refers to the middle value of all the salaries considered. In other words, around half of the population in Australia earns less than 6,650 AUD per month, while the other half earns more.
Location – With some parts of Australia (namely: the big cities) having significantly higher costs of living than suburban or remote areas, your location is likely the biggest factor in this discussion. Experience – For someone starting out in their career, $60k is a reasonable pay.