How Does Your Income Compare? Australians Earned $1.3 Trillion in a Year, ABS Data Reveals

New data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) reveals how personal income is distributed across Australia in the 2022-23 financial year, highlighting major differences across industries, regions, age groups, and gender.

National Snapshot: $1.3 Trillion in Total Income

Australians earned a combined $1.3 trillion in pre-tax personal income.
Most of this came from regular employment, while income from investments continued to rise — with nearly 12% of Australians now earning from investments, up from 11% the previous year.
Meanwhile, those earning through their own businesses dropped slightly to 6.5%.

Industry Differences Are Stark

There is a wide gap between the top-earning and lowest-earning industries:

• Mining workers had the highest median employment income at $149,362.

• Accommodation and food services workers had a median income of just $22,270.

• Arts and recreation services workers earned around $37,057.

Age, Gender & Income Inequality

• Australians aged 45–54 recorded the highest median income at $80,926, followed by the 35–44 age group at $77,912.

• Australians aged 24 or under had the lowest median income at $23,840.

• Across all age brackets, men earned more than women.

  • For ages 35–44, men earned a median of $92,266, while women earned $64,602.

By State: Where Incomes Are Highest

• The Australian Capital Territory (ACT) had the highest median income at $75,643.

• This was followed by the Northern Territory with $66,831, and Western Australia with $62,207.

• Tasmania recorded the lowest median income at $53,479.

• National median personal income stood at $58,216.

Income Inequality Across Local Areas

Some regions show extreme concentration of income among top earners:

• In Cottesloe (Perth), 84% of total income went to the top 10% of earners; the local median income was $83,861.

• In Walgett (northern NSW), the top 10% earned 45% of the area’s income; median income was $43,197.

• In Flinders (north-west Queensland), the top 10% earned 37% of total income; the local median was $56,165.

Migrants’ Economic Contribution

• Australia’s 4.4 million migrants (temporary and permanent) earned a combined $324.7 billion.

• Skilled migrants (1.6 million people) earned nearly $153.4 billion.

• Migrants on humanitarian visas earned $8.6 billion.