An income percentile tells you, in one number, how your earnings compare to everyone else. If your percentile is 70, it means you earn more than 70% of full-time workers in Australia. The 50th percentile — the median — is the exact middle of the distribution. Half above, half below.
This calculator uses ABS Average Weekly Earnings data for full-time adults at ordinary-time rates — the cleanest comparison set. Overtime, bonuses, and part-time earners are excluded so we're comparing like for like. Below is what each band looks like, why mean and median diverge, and the limits of using percentile as a "doing well" check.
For the underlying methodology and source data, see our deep-dive on Australian income percentiles.
Australian income is right-skewed — the long tail of high earners pulls the mean (average) above the median (middle). Approximate 2024-25 figures:
When commentators or government use "average wages" they usually mean the mean — but a worker on the median is doing better than the average citation suggests. Mean is useful for talking about total wage bills; median is useful for asking "am I a typical worker?"
By state: the ACT and WA have the highest median full-time wages, driven by federal government and resources sectors. Tasmania and South Australia have the lowest. Differences range up to about 15% in either direction from the national median.
By gender: the median full-time woman earns about 88-91% of the median full-time man — the gender pay gap measured at the median. The gap is narrower at the lower percentiles and wider at the top.
By age: median earnings rise quickly through your 20s and 30s, peak in your 40s and early 50s, and drop in your 60s as people transition to part-time. A 28-year-old at $80k is in a different percentile of their age cohort than a 50-year-old at the same salary — they're doing better relative to peers.
By industry: the spread within an age cohort is larger than the spread between cohorts. A senior software engineer can out-earn a senior teacher 2-3x for the same years of experience. Industry choice swamps most demographic effects.
28-year-old graduate, $75,000 starting salary.
All-cohort percentile: ~46th — slightly below median. Within their age cohort, this is closer to the 60th percentile because under-30s typically earn less. Most graduate roles cluster in the $65-90k band, so this is roughly average for the role and above-average for the age. Lifetime trajectory matters more than today's number — a graduate at $75k who climbs to $130k by their late 30s is on a strong path.
42-year-old senior IT manager, $145,000 + super.
Approximate percentile: ~85th against all full-time workers. Comfortable upper-middle band — top 15%, but well below the "rich" thresholds people imagine. After 32% effective tax (incl. Medicare), take-home is around $100,000. In Sydney with a mortgage, this is a strong but not luxurious lifestyle. The gap between perception ("$145k must be heaps") and reality (mortgage + family + cost of living) is why income percentile alone misleads.
55-year-old doctor (specialist), $400,000.
Percentile: ~99th — top 1% of full-time earners. After tax (~42% effective), take-home is around $232k. Sounds enormous, but specialists typically train 12-15 years post-school, often carry HECS-HELP debt and education debt into their 30s, and concentrate earnings into a 25-year window. Their lifetime earnings advantage over a graduate at $75k who works 40+ years is real but not as wide as the headline number suggests.
Source data: ABS Average Weekly Earnings (May/Nov releases), ABS Employee Earnings and Hours, ATO Taxation Statistics. Percentiles in this calculator are approximations interpolated between ABS data points and updated periodically.
This calculator uses current published rates from Australian government and regulator sources. The result is an estimate for general guidance — it does not constitute personal financial advice. For decisions about your circumstances, consult a registered financial adviser, tax agent, or other professional. See editorial standards for how DecisionLab sources and updates its calculator data.