Australian Income Percentile Calculator — Where Does Your Salary Rank?
This article provides general information only and does not constitute financial advice. For advice tailored to your situation, consult a licensed financial adviser. Learn more.
Contents
Your income percentile tells you what percentage of Australian earners you earn more than. If you are at the 70th percentile, you earn more than 70% of all Australian income earners.
The table below shows income percentiles for Australian individual earners based on ATO Tax Statistics (FY2022–23, the most recent available) and ABS data.
Key Takeaways
- The median individual income in Australia is approximately $62,400/year (all earners including part-time)
- Among full-time workers only, the median is approximately $84,000/year
- Earning $100,000+ puts you in roughly the top 20% of all individual earners
- Earning $200,000+ puts you in the top 3%
- Income percentile data is from the ATO and ABS — it includes wages, business income, and investment income
Income Percentile Table — All Australian Earners (FY2022–23)
| Annual Income | Percentile | You Earn More Than… |
|---|---|---|
| $20,000 | ~12th | 12% of earners |
| $30,000 | ~22nd | 22% of earners |
| $40,000 | ~33rd | 33% of earners |
| $50,000 | ~44th | 44% of earners |
| $60,000 | ~54th | 54% of earners |
| $70,000 | ~62nd | 62% of earners |
| $80,000 | ~70th | 70% of earners |
| $90,000 | ~75th | 75% of earners |
| $100,000 | ~80th | 80% of earners |
| $120,000 | ~86th | 86% of earners |
| $150,000 | ~92nd | 92% of earners |
| $180,000 | ~95th | 95% of earners |
| $200,000 | ~97th | 97% of earners |
| $250,000 | ~98.5th | 98.5% of earners |
| $500,000+ | ~99.7th | 99.7% of earners |
Source: ATO Taxation Statistics 2022–23. Includes all individuals who lodged a tax return. Percentiles are approximate as ATO publishes banded data.
Income Percentile — Full-Time Workers Only
If you work full-time, you should compare yourself against the full-time worker distribution rather than all earners (which includes part-time and casual workers):
| Annual Salary | Full-Time Percentile |
|---|---|
| $50,000 | ~10th |
| $65,000 | ~25th |
| $75,000 | ~38th |
| $84,000 | ~50th (median) |
| $95,000 | ~62nd |
| $100,000 | ~67th |
| $120,000 | ~80th |
| $150,000 | ~91st |
| $200,000 | ~97th |
Source: ABS Average Weekly Earnings and Characteristics of Employment survey, 2024.
Income Percentile by State
High-income states like ACT and WA have higher median wages, which shifts percentiles. What counts as a “70th percentile” income varies by state:
| State | Median Full-Time Salary | Top 20% Threshold |
|---|---|---|
| ACT | ~$100,000 | ~$150,000+ |
| WA | ~$98,000 | ~$145,000+ |
| NSW | ~$92,000 | ~$140,000+ |
| VIC | ~$88,000 | ~$135,000+ |
| QLD | ~$86,000 | ~$130,000+ |
| SA | ~$80,000 | ~$120,000+ |
| TAS | ~$78,000 | ~$118,000+ |
State figures are approximate. The national percentile table above is most commonly used for comparison.
Income Percentile by Age Group
Earnings follow a predictable life-cycle pattern — peaking in the 35–50 age bracket:
| Age | Median Annual Income (Full-Time) | Top 20% Threshold |
|---|---|---|
| 20–24 | ~$55,000 | ~$75,000 |
| 25–29 | ~$72,000 | ~$100,000 |
| 30–34 | ~$85,000 | ~$120,000 |
| 35–44 | ~$95,000 | ~$145,000 |
| 45–54 | ~$92,000 | ~$140,000 |
| 55–64 | ~$88,000 | ~$130,000 |
| 65+ | ~$58,000 | ~$90,000 |
Source: ABS Characteristics of Employment 2024.
How to Calculate Your Income Percentile
To find your exact percentile:
- Use your total taxable income — wages + investment income + business income + other assessable income
- Compare against the ATO national table (above) for all earners, or the ABS table for full-time workers
- Super contributions (concessional) are not included in taxable income, so salary sacrifice reduces your percentile figure
Your percentile is not fixed — it changes as your income changes and as the overall distribution shifts year to year.
Frequently Asked Questions
What percentile is $100,000 in Australia?
$100,000 places you at approximately the 80th percentile of all individual tax filers — meaning you earn more than around 80% of Australians. Among full-time workers only, $100,000 is at approximately the 67th percentile.
What is top 1% income in Australia?
Based on ATO Tax Statistics, the top 1% of Australian individual earners have taxable income above approximately $350,000–$400,000/year. This includes wages, investment income, and business income.
What is the median income in Australia?
The median individual income for all earners (including part-time) is approximately $62,400/year. For full-time workers only, the median is approximately $84,000/year. These figures are from ABS Characteristics of Employment 2024.
Does superannuation count towards income percentile?
No. Salary sacrificed super contributions reduce your taxable income and therefore reduce your reported income percentile. If you earn $100,000 gross but salary sacrifice $10,000 into super, your taxable income for percentile comparison purposes is $90,000.
Income Percentile by State — Key Differences
Income varies significantly by state. FIFO workers in WA, high concentrations of finance professionals in Sydney, and government employment in Canberra all shape the state distributions:
| State/Territory | Median individual income (approx.) |
|---|---|
| ACT (Canberra) | ~$78,000 (highest in Australia) |
| Western Australia | ~$68,000 |
| New South Wales | ~$64,000 |
| Victoria | ~$62,000 |
| Queensland | ~$60,000 |
| South Australia | ~$56,000 |
| Tasmania | ~$54,000 |
| Northern Territory | ~$66,000 |
Source: ABS Census and Taxation Statistics estimates.
ACT’s high median reflects the concentration of public service and professional employment in Canberra. WA’s elevated median reflects resource sector employment. Tasmania and South Australia have lower median incomes driven by different industry and employment structures.
Income Percentile by Occupation
Some occupations sit significantly above the national median. Based on ABS Earnings and Work Statistics:
| Occupation group | Average weekly earnings | Approx. annual |
|---|---|---|
| Mining, resources | ~$2,800/week | ~$145,000 |
| Finance and insurance | ~$2,100/week | ~$109,000 |
| Health professionals | ~$1,900/week | ~$99,000 |
| Education professionals | ~$1,800/week | ~$94,000 |
| Administrative / clerical | ~$1,200/week | ~$62,000 |
| Hospitality / food service | ~$950/week | ~$49,000 |
What Affects Your Income Percentile
Percentile rankings can be counterintuitive. Key factors to be aware of:
Comparing to all tax filers vs full-time workers: The ATO population includes millions of part-time workers, students, and retirees with low incomes. Comparing your full-time salary only against other full-time workers gives a more relevant benchmark for career comparison purposes.
Household vs individual: Income percentile data is generally for individual earners. A couple earning $80,000 each are each at the ~70th percentile individually — but their combined $160,000 household income is well into the top 10% of Australian household incomes.
Super contributions: Salary sacrificed super is not in your assessable income. A person earning $120,000 who salary sacrifices $20,000 into super has taxable income of $100,000 — and would appear at the 80th percentile rather than the 86th percentile.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is $80,000 a good salary in Australia?
$80,000 places a full-time individual earner at approximately the 70th percentile of all earners — meaning you earn more than around 70% of all tax-filing Australians. Among full-time workers, $80,000 is around the 60th–65th percentile. Whether it’s a “good” salary depends heavily on location (cost of living in Sydney vs regional Queensland differs substantially) and your household structure.
What percentage of Australians earn over $100,000?
Approximately 20% of all individual Australian tax filers earn over $100,000/year. This includes part-time workers and those with investment income. Among full-time workers only, the proportion is higher — approximately 35–40% of full-time workers earn over $100,000.
Income Percentile Over Time — Has the Middle Class Grown?
Real wage growth in Australia has been slow over the 2010s and early 2020s. From 2013 to 2022, real wages (wages adjusted for inflation) grew at below 1% per year on average — meaning many Australians’ purchasing power stagnated even as nominal salaries increased.
The period 2022–2024 saw CPI inflation surge above 7%, eroding real wages further. The RBA’s wage price index (WPI) tracked below CPI through most of this period — meaning the real income percentile of many workers fell even if their nominal income stayed flat or grew modestly.
Key takeaway: if your income grew by 10% over 5 years but inflation ran at 15%, your real purchasing power fell — and your income percentile relative to other workers may not have shifted meaningfully.
Household Income vs Individual Income
Individual income percentile data (what this hub covers) is different from household income:
- A couple earning $80,000 each are each at approximately the 70th percentile individually
- Their combined $160,000 household income places them closer to the top 15–20% of Australian households
- A single person earning $80,000 has significantly less purchasing power than a household earning $160,000
The ABS reports household income separately from individual income. The median Australian household income (all household types) is approximately $108,000/year — higher than the individual median because most households include multiple income earners.
Related Guides
- Average Salary Australia 2025–26
- What Is a Good Salary in Australia?
- Income Percentile by City
- Good Salary in Sydney
Income percentile data sourced from ATO Taxation Statistics FY2022–23 and ABS Characteristics of Employment 2024. Figures are estimates — the ATO publishes banded data, so exact percentiles are interpolated. This is general information only.