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
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