Is A$100,000 a good income in Australia?
It is above the median, but not exceptional. An income of A$100,000 a year puts you ahead of about 57% of adults in Australia — roughly 11.8 million people have less.
Source: WealthPercentile model for adults aged 20+ in Australia (World Inequality Database 2026 update).
How A$100,000 compares in Australia
Thresholds for income per year, per adult. The last column shows A$100,000 relative to each level.
| Group | Starts at | A$100,000 is |
|---|---|---|
| Median adult | A$85,900 | 1.2× this level |
| Top 25% | A$143,000 | 70% of this level |
| Top 10% | A$217,000 | 46% of this level |
| Top 5% | A$280,000 | 36% of this level |
| Top 1% | A$570,000 | 18% of this level |
What A$100,000 means in Australia
A$100,000 is just above the middle: a little over half of adults in Australia have less. This is the broad middle of the distribution, where many full-time earners sit.
On the broad model measure, the 43% of adults in Australia with more than A$100,000 hold 77% of all pre-tax income.
The average (mean) pre-tax income per adult in Australia is about A$113,000 on the model measure, so A$100,000 is 88% of the average — the largest amounts pull the mean well above the median.
The next step up is the top-25% line at A$143,000: that is about A$42,600 (43%) more than A$100,000.
A$100,000 by global standards
Compared with all 5.5 billion adults in the world, A$100,000 is in the top 5.1%. The world median income is about A$6,010, and the global top 1% starts near A$256,000. Living costs differ a lot between countries, so a global rank says more about purchasing power abroad than about comfort at home.
The same A$100,000 in other countries
Ranks within each country, converted at ECB exchange rates. Countries with official person-level statistics use those; the rest use the model.
| Country | Rank | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| India | top 0.2% | model |
| China | top 2.1% | model |
| South Africa | top 2.5% | model |
| Brazil | top 3.1% | model |
| Japan | top 6.8% | model |
| Sweden | top 9.6% | national statistics |
| United Kingdom | top 12% | national statistics |
| France | top 19% | model |
| Germany | top 25% | model |
| United States | top 29% | national statistics |
| Canada | top 29% | model |
| Norway | top 34% | Statistics Norway |
| Switzerland | bottom 34% | model |
Other amounts in Australia
- A$100,000 — top 43%
Frequently asked questions
What percentile is A$100,000 income in Australia?
A$100,000 is in the top 43% of adults in Australia: about 57% have less.
What income puts you in the top 1% in Australia?
About A$570,000 a year per adult.
How is this calculated?
WealthPercentile model for adults aged 20+ in Australia (World Inequality Database 2026 update). Amounts are per adult; couples’ wealth is split equally. Exchange rates are ECB reference rates of 2026-10-09.
Read more
- What it takes to join the global top 1% in 2026
- Average versus median wealth — where the gap is largest
- Why the same salary ranks differently depending on who measures it
Estimates for education and curiosity, not financial advice. Read the methodology.