What Salary is Middle Class in Australia?
Using ABS income data, we break down Australia's income distribution — from the bottom 20% to the top 20% — and show what salary puts you in the middle.
Australia's income quintiles
The ABS divides income earners into five equal groups (quintiles) of 20% each. The 2022–23 data shows a wide spread between the bottom and top quintiles, with the middle quintile covering roughly $62,000 to $98,000 in annual individual income.
| Quintile | Weekly income | Annual (approx) |
|---|---|---|
| Q1 — Bottom 20% | Under $600/wk | Under $31,200 |
| Q2 | $600 – $1,200/wk | $31,200 – $62,400 |
| Q3 — Middle 20% | $1,200 – $1,900/wk | $62,400 – $98,800 |
| Q4 | $1,900 – $3,000/wk | $98,800 – $156,000 |
| Q5 — Top 20% | Over $3,000/wk | Over $156,000 |
Source: ABS Household Income and Wealth Survey 2022–23. Includes all income types for individuals aged 15+.
What is "middle class" in Australia?
There is no official government definition of "middle class" in Australia. Most economists use the middle three quintiles (Q2–Q4) as a working definition, which covers roughly $31,000 to $156,000 in annual individual income. The median individual income sits at approximately $65,000 per year, while median household income — combining all earners in a household — is around $115,000.
In practical terms, "middle class" in Australia is often associated with homeownership, a stable job, private school access, and regular holidays — a standard that has become progressively harder to achieve on a single income in major cities. Many Australians who earn "median" wages no longer feel financially secure in the way the term implies.
Middle class by city
Where you live dramatically affects what "middle class" means in practice. The same $80,000 salary provides a very different lifestyle in Adelaide or Hobart compared to Sydney or Melbourne, primarily because of differences in rent and housing prices. In Sydney, a median-income earner spends a far higher proportion of their take-home pay on rent or mortgage repayments.
Sydney and Melbourne have higher median incomes than other capitals — partly because high-paying industries (finance, tech, professional services) are concentrated there — but the cost of living offsets much of this advantage. In Adelaide, Hobart, and many regional areas, a salary of $75,000–$90,000 affords a genuinely comfortable lifestyle with homeownership within reach, whereas in Sydney the equivalent purchasing power often requires $120,000 or more.
How income inequality has changed
HILDA (Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia) survey data shows that income inequality has grown steadily since the 1990s. The top 10% of earners now earn approximately eight times more than the bottom 10%, up from around six times in the mid-1990s. Wealth inequality — which includes assets like property and shares — is even more concentrated, with the top 20% holding over 60% of net household wealth.
Income growth has not been evenly distributed. Wages at the median have grown in real terms since the 1990s, but the gains have been much larger at the top. High-skill professional roles, technology, and property ownership have driven most of the wealth accumulation, leaving those without property assets or high professional income falling behind in relative terms.
What does "middle class" feel like in 2026?
For many Australians earning $70,000–$120,000, the day-to-day experience of financial life feels less secure than previous generations at the same income level. Homeownership has become out of reach for first-time buyers in major cities without significant parental assistance or a dual income — the median house price in Sydney now exceeds ten times the median individual income. The deposit hurdle alone can take a decade to clear for a single earner.
Outside the major cities the picture is more nuanced. Regional centres and smaller capitals offer significantly lower housing costs, and many Australians are making deliberate lifestyle trade-offs to access homeownership. The gap in lifestyle outcomes between those who already own property and those who do not has widened considerably, creating what some researchers describe as a two-tier middle class divided by property ownership rather than income.