Cost of living & salary equivalence
Cost of living in Australia
Australia's static cost-of-living index is 0.94× the US baseline (94% of US living costs in our model). Mid-level roles average ~$98,645 in US-equivalent buying power—rank #8 of 20 countries in our catalog. Compare mid-level gross pay, USD equivalents, and CoL-adjusted buying power across 50 roles—then open any job for junior and senior breakdowns.
Model revision Content revision: 2026-05 · Methodology
Figures use Toolminator's static salary model (ranges for comparison, not job listings). Methodology & limitations.
CoL index
0.94×
vs US baseline · #6 most expensive of 20
Avg buying power
$98,645
Mid-level roles · US-equivalent
Global rank
#8
of 20 countries on buying power
Mid-level salaries & buying power
Buying power = gross USD ÷ CoL index. US equivalent is the gross USD salary in the United States with the same purchasing power (US index = 1.0).
| Role | Gross (mid) | Gross USD | Buying power | US equivalent | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Physician | A$310,326 | $219,312 | $233,311 | $233,311 | View |
| Machine Learning Engineer | A$229,856 | $162,442 | $172,811 | $172,811 | View |
| Cloud Architect | A$229,722 | $162,348 | $172,711 | $172,711 | View |
| Dentist | A$217,228 | $153,518 | $163,317 | $163,317 | View |
| Investment Banker | A$204,533 | $144,546 | $153,772 | $153,772 | View |
| Product Manager | A$199,495 | $140,986 | $149,985 | $149,985 | View |
| Data Scientist | A$195,599 | $138,233 | $147,056 | $147,056 | View |
| Software Engineer | A$193,114 | $136,476 | $145,187 | $145,187 | View |
| DevOps Engineer | A$189,151 | $133,676 | $142,209 | $142,209 | View |
| Lawyer | A$181,359 | $128,169 | $136,350 | $136,350 | View |
| Full Stack Developer | A$174,374 | $123,233 | $131,099 | $131,099 | View |
| Backend Developer | A$174,105 | $123,042 | $130,896 | $130,896 | View |
| Cybersecurity Analyst | A$173,030 | $122,283 | $130,088 | $130,088 | View |
| Pharmacist | A$171,956 | $121,524 | $129,281 | $129,281 | View |
| Mobile Developer | A$163,761 | $115,732 | $123,119 | $123,119 | View |
| Frontend Developer | A$155,163 | $109,656 | $116,655 | $116,655 | View |
| Project Manager | A$143,878 | $101,681 | $108,171 | $108,171 | View |
| UX Designer | A$142,508 | $100,712 | $107,140 | $107,140 | View |
| Electrical Engineer | A$135,603 | $95,833 | $101,950 | $101,950 | View |
| Construction Manager | A$132,728 | $93,801 | $99,788 | $99,788 | View |
| Account Executive | A$127,624 | $90,194 | $95,951 | $95,951 | View |
| Financial Analyst | A$126,065 | $89,092 | $94,779 | $94,779 | View |
| QA Engineer | A$125,071 | $88,389 | $94,031 | $94,031 | View |
| Scrum Master | A$125,071 | $88,389 | $94,031 | $94,031 | View |
| HR Manager | A$125,071 | $88,389 | $94,031 | $94,031 | View |
| Data Analyst | A$124,130 | $87,724 | $93,323 | $93,323 | View |
| Business Analyst | A$123,593 | $87,345 | $92,920 | $92,920 | View |
| Mechanical Engineer | A$123,593 | $87,345 | $92,920 | $92,920 | View |
| Physical Therapist | A$122,948 | $86,889 | $92,435 | $92,435 | View |
| Civil Engineer | A$120,584 | $85,218 | $90,657 | $90,657 | View |
| Nurse | A$113,168 | $79,977 | $85,082 | $85,082 | View |
| Accountant | A$104,786 | $74,054 | $78,781 | $78,781 | View |
| Digital Marketer | A$94,791 | $66,990 | $71,266 | $71,266 | View |
| Recruiter | A$93,823 | $66,306 | $70,538 | $70,538 | View |
| Electrician | A$88,289 | $62,395 | $66,378 | $66,378 | View |
| Registered Nurse | A$88,000 | $62,191 | $66,161 | $66,161 | View |
| SEO Specialist | A$87,697 | $61,977 | $65,933 | $65,933 | View |
| Sales Representative | A$86,784 | $61,331 | $65,246 | $65,246 | View |
| Plumber | A$84,635 | $59,813 | $63,631 | $63,631 | View |
| Truck Driver | A$79,476 | $56,167 | $59,752 | $59,752 | View |
| Graphic Designer | A$76,628 | $54,154 | $57,611 | $57,611 | View |
| Paralegal | A$74,801 | $52,863 | $56,237 | $56,237 | View |
| Teacher | A$74,022 | $52,312 | $55,651 | $55,651 | View |
| Restaurant Manager | A$72,463 | $51,211 | $54,480 | $54,480 | View |
| Elementary Teacher | A$70,717 | $49,977 | $53,167 | $53,167 | View |
| Content Writer | A$70,126 | $49,559 | $52,722 | $52,722 | View |
| Chef | A$65,666 | $46,407 | $49,369 | $49,369 | View |
| Medical Assistant | A$59,808 | $42,267 | $44,965 | $44,965 | View |
| Customer Support Specialist | A$59,325 | $41,926 | $44,602 | $44,602 | View |
| Warehouse Worker | A$54,166 | $38,280 | $40,723 | $40,723 | View |
Higher buying power
Countries where mid-level roles score higher on our CoL-adjusted heuristic.
Lower buying power
Markets with lower average CoL-adjusted mid-level pay in our model.
All countries
- United StatesCoL 1.00× US
- CanadaCoL 0.92× US
- United KingdomCoL 0.95× US
- GermanyCoL 0.88× US
- FranceCoL 0.86× US
- NetherlandsCoL 0.90× US
- SwedenCoL 0.91× US
- NorwayCoL 1.05× US
- SwitzerlandCoL 1.28× US
- IrelandCoL 0.93× US
- SpainCoL 0.72× US
- ItalyCoL 0.78× US
- PolandCoL 0.52× US
- AustraliaCoL 0.94× US
- SingaporeCoL 1.02× US
- JapanCoL 0.89× US
- IndiaCoL 0.28× US
- BrazilCoL 0.38× US
- MexicoCoL 0.42× US
- TürkiyeCoL 0.35× US
Salary hub — Australia
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