Cost of living in Sydney
Australia's largest and most expensive city to rent in. Strong wage premiums but housing absorbs a large share of take-home pay.
Includes Greater Sydney as defined by the ABS GCCSA.
The numbers
| Item | AUD | Period | Annual |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median unit rent | $720 | weekly | $37,440 |
| Median house rent | $780 | weekly | $40,560 |
| Weekly groceries (one person) | $160 | weekly | $8,320 |
| Public transport | $220 | monthly | $2,640 |
| Utilities | $230 | monthly | $2,760 |
| Essential outlay (unit rent baseline) | - | $51,160 | |
Check your budget in Sydney
The graduate budget calculator applies the 50/30/20 framework to your take-home weekly wage. Pick Sydney from the dropdown to see whether the $720 median weekly unit rent fits the 50 percent needs envelope on a graduate salary.
Careers that can comfortably afford median unit rent here
We define "comfortable" as weekly take-home pay at least twice the median unit rent in Sydney. Take-home pay is estimated with the 2024-25 ATO resident tax scale, the 2% Medicare levy and HECS-HELP compulsory repayment.
$2750/week before tax
$2500/week before tax
$3000/week before tax
$2200/week before tax
$2500/week before tax
$2200/week before tax
$2500/week before tax
$2250/week before tax
$2500/week before tax
$2750/week before tax
$2500/week before tax
$2500/week before tax
$2300/week before tax
$4500/week before tax
$2750/week before tax
$2750/week before tax
$2250/week before tax
$2100/week before tax