Everyone assumes Sydney pays the most. On current ABS data it does not — and the city that beats it also has cheaper housing, which makes the gap considerably wider than the salary table suggests.
Which Australian city has the highest salaries?
Greater Perth, with a median full-time salary of about $100,000 a year. Greater Sydney follows at $96,000, then the ACT at $94,500 and Greater Brisbane at $91,000. Greater Melbourne sits sixth at $88,500 — below Brisbane and only just above Hobart (ABS, August 2025).
Median full-time pay by city and region
| Location | Weekly | Annual |
|---|---|---|
| Greater Perth | $1,923 | $100,000 |
| Greater Sydney | $1,846 | $96,000 |
| Australian Capital Territory | $1,818 | $94,500 |
| Greater Brisbane | $1,750 | $91,000 |
| Northern Territory | $1,750 | $91,000 |
| Greater Melbourne | $1,701 | $88,500 |
| Greater Hobart | $1,700 | $88,400 |
| Rest of WA | $1,730 | $89,900 |
| Rest of QLD | $1,700 | $88,400 |
| Rest of NSW | $1,656 | $86,100 |
| Greater Adelaide | $1,646 | $85,600 |
| Rest of VIC | $1,587 | $82,500 |
| Rest of SA | $1,500 | $78,000 |
| Rest of TAS | $1,500 | $78,000 |
Why Perth is at the top
Mining, and the industries that serve it. The mining median is about $147,300 a year and Western Australia carries a disproportionate share of those jobs, plus the engineering, logistics and construction work attached to them. That single industry is enough to lift an entire state median above Sydney’s.
It also comes with more hours. Compare weekly pay with hourly pay and the picture separates:
| State or territory | Median hourly |
|---|---|
| Australian Capital Territory | $53.33 |
| Western Australia | $50.00 |
| New South Wales | $49.04 |
| Victoria | $47.14 |
| Northern Territory | $47.36 |
| Queensland | $45.95 |
| South Australia | $43.73 |
| Tasmania | $42.31 |
The ACT has the highest hourly rate in the country but not the highest weekly pay, because Canberra works a more standard week. Western Australia earns its top weekly figure partly through longer hours. If you are comparing two offers in different states, the hourly column is the fairer comparison — the logic is worked through in high-paying jobs with sane hours.
What happens after housing
Salary is only half the equation, and the half everyone quotes. Perth pays about $4,000 a year more than Sydney at the median while housing costs materially less — which means the real gap in disposable income is far larger than the salary table shows. Melbourne, meanwhile, pays $11,500 a year below Perth with housing costs well above it.
We are not going to publish an invented cost-of-living index here, because a credible one needs rent, mortgage and household spending data at city level. What the earnings data does support is a warning: the ranking of Australian cities by *salary* and the ranking by *what is left at the end of the month* are not the same list, and Sydney and Melbourne sit lower on the second one than most people assume.
The regional story is better than expected
Rest of Queensland ($88,400) and Rest of WA ($89,900) sit above Greater Melbourne. Rest of NSW at $86,100 is only $9,900 behind Greater Sydney. The old assumption that leaving a capital costs you 20% of your salary does not hold outside Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania — and it holds least in the mining and resources states.
Before you move for money
A state median tells you about the state, not about your job. A nurse, a developer and an accountant will each find a different city at the top of their own list. Run a free salary check for your role in the city you are considering, then compare it against your current percentile. The wider ladder is in the Australian salary percentile table, and the city detail for the two biggest markets is in what counts as a good salary in Sydney and Melbourne.
Perth pays more than Sydney and costs less to live in. That combination is not in anyone’s mental model of the Australian job market.
Figures from ABS Employee Earnings (August 2025).
