Income distribution in Australia: what each income percentile earns

It depends on which dataset is used. The ATO median, which is the midpoint of all individual tax returns, was $55,868 in 2022–23. The ABS median for all employees, including part-time workers, was $74,100 per year, or $1,425 per week, as at August 2025. The ATO figure is lower because it includes people working minimal hours or reporting small amounts of secondary income. The ABS figure is higher because it covers people who are actively employed.

The ATO records everyone who files a tax return, including people working a few hours a week, casual workers between jobs, and retirees with a small taxable income. The ABS collects income data from employer payroll records and counts workers who are actively employed. Limiting the count to full-time adult workers produces a higher figure, $106,657, because it excludes many part-time and low-hour workers who pull the broader average down. Both figures are accurate. They answer different questions.

The ABS median for all employees, $74,100 per year, is generally a useful benchmark. It represents the midpoint of actively employed Australians, uses recent data, and is not skewed by very high earners in the same way as the mean. The ATO median of $55,868 is more useful for comparisons with the broader taxpayer population, which includes many low-hour earners and people with secondary income sources. The ABS full-time median of $90,532 applies specifically to people in full-time work.

The ACOSS relative poverty line for a single adult in 2026 is $584 per week, or $30,368 per year. ACOSS, the Australian Council of Social Service, sets this at 50% of national median household income. An estimated 3.7 million Australians, or 14.2% of the population, live below this level. Because it is a relative measure, the poverty line moves with median household income rather than tracking a fixed cost of living. Other poverty measures also exist. These include the Henderson poverty line and the OECD threshold, which uses 60% of median income and produces higher figures.

The base JobSeeker payment of $404.35 per week, or $21,026 per year, sits $179.65 per week below the ACOSS poverty line of $584 per week. A single adult relying only on the base rate, without Rent Assistance or other supplements, falls below the poverty threshold. Some recipients receive Rent Assistance and other payments that reduce this gap, but many remain below the poverty line even with those additions.

Approximately 3.7 million Australians, or 14.2% of the population, live below the ACOSS relative poverty line, defined as 50% of median household income. People below the line have incomes averaging $390 per week below the threshold. Families with children average $464 per week below it. The share rises to around 17% to 20% under the OECD measure, which uses 60% of median income as the threshold.

Statistically, the middle class covers the middle 20% of earners, between the 40th and 60th percentiles of the all-employee income distribution. This range runs from about $65,000 to $88,400 per year, with the median at $74,100 per year, or $1,425 per week. People in this range typically earn too much to qualify for most government support, but may have limited money left over for saving or investing after housing and everyday costs, especially in major capital cities.

Among full-time adult workers, it is $210 per week, or $10,920 per year. Men earn a median of $1,841 per week, compared with $1,631 per week for women. Across all employment types, including part-time and casual roles, the gap grows to $350 per week, or $18,200 per year, as women hold a higher share of part-time roles. The gap has narrowed since the 1970s but persists due to differences in occupation type, career breaks linked to caring responsibilities, and lower representation in senior roles.

The 45 to 54 age group records the highest median weekly earnings, at $1,750 per week, or $91,000 per year. Earnings typically rise through the 20s and 30s as workers gain skills and experience, peak between 45 and 54, then taper as workers approach retirement. This means younger workers who are starting families or trying to buy a home may still be some distance from their highest-earning years.

A declared taxable income above $362,900 places an individual in the top 1% of Australian taxpayers, based on Parliamentary Budget Office modelling. The ATO's own data shows the top 1% starting above $408,974, covering approximately 126,476 people. The Budget Office's lower threshold reflects a broader taxpayer population. Income from assets held for more than 12 months can qualify for the CGT 50% discount, meaning only half of that gain is counted as taxable income. This means some people in this group may have higher actual income than their declared taxable income shows.

Several features of the tax system can reduce taxable income or the tax paid on some income types. These include

• The CGT 50% discount, which halves the taxable portion of capital gains on assets held for more than 12 months
• Large deductions, such as investment property loan interest
• Structuring income through a company, trust or self-managed superannuation fund at a lower tax rate
• Timing when assets are sold to control when a gain is declared

ATO data shows that 10% of people declaring $390,000 pay an effective tax rate as low as 19%, below the rate paid by many workers earning $71,000. These are lawful arrangements that reflect features of the tax system, not non-compliance.

The precise mean income of the top 1% is not published directly in ATO summary tables. The ATO data shows the 99th percentile band spanning $292,594 to $408,973, with the top 1% starting above $408,974. The average capital gain alone for people in the top 1% was $850,690 in 2022–23. Given that some individuals in this group earn very high incomes, the mean income of the top 1% is likely to sit well above the entry threshold.