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Time Out
2 days ago
- Business
- Time Out
The top ten most affordable cities in Australia have been revealed – and Melbourne ranked fifth
If you're over crying every time you fill up on petrol or pay for a bag of lettuce, we hear you. To help Aussies decide where they might want to settle, a new study has revealed the ten most affordable major cities in Australia where you have the most money to play with. There's no denying that the cost-of-living crisis is hitting Melburnians hard, but it turns out, things could be a lot worse. According to the research, Melbourne is the fifth most affordable city in the country. We'll clink a (happy hour) drink to that. To compile the rankings, researchers at StandOut Resume looked at six basic life expenses in Australia's 20 most populous cities: rent, electricity, gas, internet, grocery costs and public transport. They then compared these costs to the local median net income to reveal where your pay cheque goes the furthest – but also where it barely scrapes by. Queensland's coastal city of Townsville came out as the most affordable place to live in the country. Thanks to a higher-than-average salary of $56,858 (after income tax), locals only spend around half of their earnings (51.74 per cent) on the essentials, leaving $27,442 for saving or spending on entertainment, spontaneous getaways or dining out. Rockingham in Western Australia was the second most affordable city, where essentials take up $31,815 of the $58,702 net income, leaving a solid $26,887 to play with. Launceston followed in third, with the lowest percentage of income spent on the basics (51.71 per cent), leaving $25,664 to splash on the fun stuff. Surprisingly, Melbourne – Australia's second-most populous city – ranked as the fifth-most affordable major city nationwide. While rent, gas and public transport costs are all higher than average, our Victorian capital city has the second-highest median salary of $60,051 (second only to Sydney), helping to balance things out. This leaves $24,078 of their income to save or splurge. The other Victorian cities to rank were Ballarat (coming in seventh place) and Bendigo (coming in tenth). The ten most affordable cities in Australia: Townsville, QLD Rockingham, WA Launceston, TAS Wollongong, NSW Melbourne, VIC Perth, WA Ballarat, VIC Hobart, TAS Brisbane, QLD Bendigo, VIC On the flip side, the Gold Coast has earned the unfortunate title of Australia's least affordable city to live in right now, and Geelong ranked in third place on this less desirable list – which is interesting, as it's the top Aussie destination for city dwellers looking to move regional. You can check out the full rankings below or read more here. The ten least affordable cities in Australia: Gold Coast, QLD Canberra, ACT Geelong, VIC Cairns, QLD Darwin, NT Adelaide, SA Logan City, QLD Sydney, NSW Newcastle, NSW Toowoomba, QLD
Time Out
06-08-2025
- Business
- Time Out
The most (and least) affordable cities in Australia have been ranked – here's how Sydney scored
Let's face it: the cost-of-living crisis here in Sydney is real. Our property market is the second most expensive in the world, and finding a cup of coffee for less than $5 is a struggle (though not impossible). If you're done crying every time you fill up on petrol or pay for a bag of lettuce, a new study has revealed the ten most affordable major cities in Australia where you have the most money to play with. While Sydney didn't rank among the most affordable (no surprise there), it's not the most unaffordable either – with seven Aussie cities (including Darwin, Canberra and Adelaide) all ranking as more unaffordable than the Harbour City. We'll clink a (happy hour) glass to that. To compile the rankings, researchers at StandOut Resume looked at six basic life expenses in Australia's 20 most populous cities: rent, electricity, gas, internet, grocery costs and public transport. They then compared these costs to the local median net income to reveal where your paycheque goes the furthest – but also where it barely scrapes the list of the 10 least affordable cities in Australia, Sydney came in at number eight – with 73.3 per cent of the average income going towards rent, utilities, transport and food. According to the research, things are harder in seven other Aussie cities. The Gold Coast has earned the unfortunate title of Australia's least affordable city to live in right now. With one of the lowest median net salaries ($48,447) and the highest percentage spent on basics (79.1 per cent), locals are left with just $10,127 a year to spare. Rent is the biggest culprit — at $536 a week, it's the second-most expensive in Australia (after Sydney and joint with Canberra) but the higher salaries in Sydney and Canberra offered a bit more breathing room. You can check out the full rankings below and read more over here. The 10 least affordable cities in Australia Gold Coast, QLD Canberra, ACT Geelong, VIC Cairns, QLD Darwin, NT Adelaide, SA Logan City, QLD Sydney, NSW Newcastle, NSW Toowoomba, QLD Northern Australia's largest city, Townsville, came out as the most affordable place to live in the country. Thanks to a higher-than-average salary of $56,858 (after income tax), locals only spend around half of their earnings (51.74 per cent) on the essentials, leaving $27,442 for saving or spending on entertainment, spontaneous getaways or meals at schmick in Western Australia was the second most affordable city, where essentials take up $31,815 of the $58,702 net income, leaving a solid $26,887 to play with. Launceston followed in third, with the lowest percentage of income spent on the basics (51.71 per cent), leaving $25,664 to splash on the fun stuff. A big reason for Launceston's affordability was that it has the cheapest average rent in the study at just $331 per week, which is more than 25 per cent below the $444 study average. Surprisingly, Melbourne – Australia's second-most populous city – ranked as the fifth-most affordable major city nationwide. While rent, gas and public transport costs are all higher than average, the city has the second-highest median salary of $60,051 (second only to Sydney), helping to balance things out. This leaves $24,078 of their income to save or splurge. The 10 most affordable cities in Australia Townsville, QLD Rockingham, WA Launceston, TAS Wollongong, NSW Melbourne, VIC Perth, WA Ballarat, VIC Hobart, TAS Brisbane, QLD Bendigo, VIC
Time Out
06-08-2025
- Lifestyle
- Time Out
Revealed: The ten most (and least) affordable cities in Australia
The cost-of-living crisis is hitting Aussies hard — but not all cities are squeezing wallets the same way. If you're done crying every time you fill up on petrol or pay for a bag of lettuce, a new study has revealed the ten most affordable major cities in Australia where you have the most money to play with. To compile the rankings, researchers at StandOut Resume looked at six basic life expenses in Australia's 20 most populous cities: rent, electricity, gas, internet, grocery costs and public transport. They then compared these costs to the local median net income to reveal where your paycheque goes the furthest – but also where it barely scrapes by. Northern Australia's largest city, Townsville, came out as the most affordable place to live in the country. Thanks to a higher-than-average salary of $56,858 (after income tax), locals only spend around half of their earnings (51.74 per cent) on the essentials, leaving $27,442 for saving or spending on entertainment, spontaneous getaways or meals at schmick restaurants. Rockingham in Western Australia was the second most affordable city, where essentials take up $31,815 of the $58,702 net income, leaving a solid $26,887 to play with. Launceston followed in third, with the lowest percentage of income spent on the basics (51.71 per cent), leaving $25,664 to splash on the fun stuff. A big reason for Launceston's affordability was that it has the cheapest average rent in the study at just $331 per week, which is more than 25 per cent below the $444 study average. Surprisingly, Melbourne – Australia's second-most populous city – ranked as the fifth-most affordable major city nationwide. While rent, gas and public transport costs are all higher than average, the city has the second-highest median salary of $60,051 (second only to Sydney), helping to balance things out. This leaves $24,078 of their income to save or splurge. On the flip side, the Gold Coast has earned the unfortunate title of Australia's least affordable city to live in right now. With one of the lowest median net salaries ($48,447) and the highest percentage spent on basics (79.1 per cent), locals are left with just $10,127 a year to spare. Rent is the biggest culprit — at $536 a week, it's the second-most expensive in Australia, after Sydney and joint with Canberra. Both these capitals also landed in the ten least affordable cities, but their higher salaries offered a bit more breathing room. You can check out the full rankings below or read more here. The 10 most affordable cities in Australia Townsville, QLD Rockingham, WA Launceston, TAS Wollongong, NSW Melbourne, VIC Perth, WA Ballarat, VIC Hobart, TAS Brisbane, QLD Bendigo, VIC The 10 least affordable cities in Australia Gold Coast, QLD Canberra, ACT Geelong, VIC Cairns, QLD Darwin, NT Adelaide, SA Logan City, QLD Sydney, NSW Newcastle, NSW Toowoomba, QLD RECOMMENDED FOR YOU: 😱 The world's 50 richest cities have been ranked: here's where Australia landed in 2025 💰 How Australia performed on the ⭐️
Yahoo
02-08-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Top 10 most affordable places to live in Australia revealed after mass exodus from major city
If you're living in one of Australia's expensive capital cities and want to move somewhere a little more affordable, new data has found where your money can go the furthest. A whopping 41,000 people left Sydney last year alone in search of a cheaper lifestyle. With the rising cost of living squeezing everyone's wallets, many are in desperate need of more financial breathing room. StandOut Resume found the average total expenses per year were $34,417, which went to rent, electricity, gas, internet, food, and transport. It searched far and wide to find the 10 places you could move to to get the most bang for your buck. RELATED Family finds 'much cheaper' option than Sydney after $1m property realisation St George Bank increases fee to deposit or withdraw cash by 200 per cent Cashless revolt to hit back against horror bank trend decimating Aussie towns 10 most affordable cities to live in Australia The study had a look at what essential living expenses were in each city across the country. It discovered the average after-tax income in Australia was $53,541, and once you took away expenses, a person would have $19,124 left over at the end of the year. The study found 64.3 per cent of that salary went towards basic life expenses. Shockingly, 43.2 per cent went to rent alone, which is far above averages found in Germany (27.8 per cent) and the UK (36 per cent). Food took up 11.3 per cent of the person's money. For living costs, the study focused on rent prices rather than mortgage repayments, while transport costs were based on public modes rather than a car. Here are the 10 cities that topped the list: Townsville Rockingham Launceston Wollongong Melbourne Perth Ballarat Hobart Brisbane BendigoWhy are these cities so affordable? StandOut Resume found Townsville came out on top because of its relatively high salary of $56,858 after income tax. When you took out basic living expenses (which accounted for 51.7 per cent of their pay), people in the northern Queensland city had $27,442 left over at the end of the year. Townsville also had the third-cheapest monthly grocery bills ($460), the fourth-cheapest gas prices ($766 per year), and the fifth-cheapest rent ($364 per week). Western Australia's Rockingham had a slightly better average salary at $58,702, but expenses were a little higher, leaving residents with $26,887 remaining. Tasmania's highest entry on the list was down to Launceston having the cheapest average rental prices at just $331 per week, which was 25 per cent lower than the national average. Melbourne was the best performing capital city on the list, with Perth not too far behind. Victoria's capital performed well thanks to residents having the second-highest median salary, behind those living in Sydney. 10 least affordable cities to live in Australia You might think Sydney would easily top this list considering how expensive rent can be, but StandOut Resume research found seven cities that were worse than the NSW capital. Gold Coast Canberra Geelong Cairns Darwin Adelaide Logan City Sydney Newcastle Toowoomba People on the Gold Coast typically have only $10,127 left at the end of the year, as 79.1 per cent of their median $48,447 salary went to living expenses. The city came in joint second with Canberra for having the highest rent prices ($536 per week), with Sydney coming in first. The NSW capital and the ACT capital were the only other cities in Australia where more than 70 per cent of a resident's wage went to expenses, with 50 per cent alone going to rent in Canberra. Geelong found its way into bronze because it had some of the most expensive gas prices in the country at $892 per year, and public transport costs were the second-highest in the country. Combine that with the regional Victorian city having the second-lowest median salary after Toowoomba, and you can see why it's so expensive. Sydney was so far down the list because its average salary of $63,639 gave residents a bit more breathing room. People there typically had $16,989 at the end of each year, but they were still giving 73.3 per cent of their wages to in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data
