✦ Cost of living
Australia
National taxes, visas and economy — plus every city we track in Australia.
The cost of living in Australia averages 123 on our index (a typical US city = 100) — about 23% more expensive. Among the cities we track, Melbourne is the most affordable and Sydney the priciest. A one-bedroom rent runs roughly $2,000/mo and the top income-tax rate is 45%. The average net salary is about $3,900/mo.
- Currency
- Australian dollar ($ AUD)
- Languages
- English
- Capital
- Canberra
- Driving
- Left-hand side
- Power
- I · 230V
▤ Taxes
45%
Income tax
progressive
10%
VAT / sales
30%
Corporate
$3,900
Avg net salary
per month
$2,600
Minimum wage
per month
83.1 yr
Life expectancy
World Bank 2024
✈ Visas & residency
Points-tested skilled migration; employer-sponsored visas.
✈ ETA/eVisitor for short visits from many countries.
Skilled Independent (189)residence
Skills in Demand visawork
❖ Cities in Australia
⚖ Compare Australia with other countries
Australia vs United StatesAustralia vs United KingdomAustralia vs FranceAustralia vs GermanyAustralia vs NetherlandsAustralia vs IrelandAustralia vs SpainAustralia vs PortugalAustralia vs ItalyAustralia vs SwitzerlandAustralia vs CanadaAustralia vs United Arab EmiratesAustralia vs SingaporeAustralia vs JapanAustralia vs ThailandAustralia vs MexicoAustralia vs ArgentinaAustralia vs IndiaAustralia vs TurkeyAustralia vs IndonesiaAustralia vs ColombiaAustralia vs BrazilAustralia vs AustriaAustralia vs South Korea