Cost of Living in Australia
Image credit: Matilda at English Wikipedia
Purchasing Power vs. United States
Based on GDP per capita (PPP). Australia: $60,304/capita.
Cities in Australia
Income Category
Happiness
7.1 / 10
#9 globally
GDP per Capita
Population
How Far Your Money Goes
Prices are 32% lower than the global benchmark (New York City = 100).
Child Education
Public-school quality, expat access, instruction language, and homeschool legality for relocating families.
Public schools
How realistic the local public-school path is for a relocating family in Australia.
Quality
Good public schools
Assessment snapshot: 2022
Expat access
Open to resident families
openInstruction
English
Language fit is more manageable.
PISA / outcomes
488
Above OECD avg
PISA 2022 · OECD avg ~480
Why this quality rating
Australia has a solid public school system with generally good outcomes, particularly in English-medium states. Quality varies somewhat by state and local school area.
Why the expat-access rating looks like this
Resident families can typically enroll in local public schools. Some areas require proof of residency and vaccination records, but the system is broadly accessible.
🗺️ Homeschooling
Varies by state/territoryLegal in all states and territories with registration required. NSW, Victoria, and Queensland have structured requirements including learning plans. Some states provide funding or access to resources. Registration processes vary significantly.
Homeschool legality in Australia — check current regulations before committing.
Source: User-curated family relocation research (initial seed) (2026-04-14)
Childcare & Domestic Help
Current city samples for the family-support costs we track in Australia.
Full-time nanny (5 days)
$3,600-$5,200
2 tracked cities, not a national average
Live-in / 24-7 nanny
$4,300-$6,200
2 tracked cities, not a national average
Source: curated family relocation research
Healthcare
System strength, outcome signals, facility coverage, and self-pay visibility in Australia.
Method: country metrics come from public system indicators, facility coverage reflects mapped providers we can inventory, direct pricing only reflects observed self-pay pages, and relative care cost can fall back to broad cost-of-living healthcare indices. Sparse pricing does not imply sparse healthcare availability.
Healthcare system
StrongHigh national coverage, strong doctor availability, and deep nursing capacity support this rating.
Public care
StrongBroad public coverage, strong public funding, and relatively low patient cost-sharing support this rating.
Private care
GoodA large tracked hospital and clinic network and a clearly private facility base help, but self-pay pricing transparency is still sparse.
UHC coverage
89/100
2023
Physicians
4.09/1k
2022
Hospital beds
3.82/1k
2016
Out of pocket
16%
2023
Outcome signals
Life expectancy
83.1 yrs
2024
Maternal mortality
2/100k
2023
Neonatal mortality
2.3/1k
2024
International patient readiness
GoodA visible private hospital base and multiple facilities have websites help, but price transparency is still sparse.
Pricing transparency
LimitedMultiple facilities have crawlable websites help, but published self-pay prices are scarce.
Facility coverage
Self-pay pricing visibility
No verified self-pay prices are published for the tracked facilities in Australia yet.
This usually reflects low online price transparency rather than a lack of healthcare providers.
Notable facilities
System metrics: World Bank WDI · Updated 2026-06-01
Safety & Governance
Street Safety
Source: Numbeo where a city row is matched; otherwise World Bank WGI and country-level safety context.
Political Stability
World Bank WGI scale: -2.5 to +2.5.
Wages by Sector
| Sector | Median |
|---|---|
| Agriculture & Farming | — |
| Construction | — |
| Finance & Insurance | — |
| Information & Technology | — |
| Manufacturing | — |
| Real Estate | — |
2023 annual wages in Australia · Source: OECD STAN
Visa Information (US passport)
Short-stay entry
US passport holders need advance travel authorization or a visa before entry.
Long-Term Visa Programs
working holiday
Work and Holiday Visa (Subclass 462)working holiday
Working Holiday Visa (Subclass 417)About Australia
Australia is a high-income East Asia & Pacific country where relocation math starts with rent. Canberra is the capital, but Sydney and Melbourne are the cities most newcomers tend to benchmark for jobs, housing, and daily costs. It sits at the high-cost end of the region, especially for housing, so the tradeoff is not cheap living but strong infrastructure: English as the official language, fast internet, excellent Medicare-backed healthcare, and very high safety. Visa access is moderate rather than effortless, with skilled migration and points-based pathways doing much of the work. Climate also needs sorting by region, from tropical northern areas to temperate southern cities and the arid interior. Australia suits relocators who can justify higher fixed costs through salaries, worker protections, and a stable long-term setup.
See the full breakdown — free
No password needed. Takes ~30 seconds.
Common questions about Australia
Sourced from SortaRich's public-data ranking engine — every figure links to its institutional source.
Is Australia a good country to live in?
Australia is an excellent country to live in per the World Happiness Report (7.1 of 10, ranking #9 globally). Whether it's right for you depends on your priorities — use SortaRich's free quiz to see how Australia ranks for your specific income, family, and visa profile.
Sources: World Happiness Report, SortaRich Methodology
How much does it cost to live in Australia?
The cost of living in Australia is about 32% cheaper than the global benchmark (New York City), with an overall cost-of-living index of 68. SortaRich personalizes these numbers to your home city's purchasing power so the comparison is real, not nominal.
Sources: SortaRich Cost of Living, World Bank ICP 2021
How far does $1 go in Australia?
$1 in Australia is close to purchasing-power parity with the baseline market (current PPP ratio: 1.02). The figure adjusts every year as exchange rates and local prices shift. SortaRich uses World Bank ICP 2021 as the anchor and Penn World Tables 11.0 for cross-validation.
Sources: World Bank ICP 2021, Penn World Tables 11.0
What visa do I need to move to Australia?
To move to Australia you have these visa options: Tourist entry: eta. Visa rules change frequently — confirm the current terms with the official immigration authority before booking flights.
Source: SortaRich Visa Database
What are the best cities to live in Australia?
The best cities to live in Australia are Canberra, Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth — those are the most-searched options among the 7 cities profiled in the SortaRich database. Each city page includes a personalized PPP comparison versus your home city plus subnational price data where available.
Source: SortaRich City Index