FairWork Mate Insights · Regional pay
Does the city really pay more?
Capital-city employees out-earn regional Australia by 19.1% on average — but the legal minimum for your job is identical in both. What the gap actually is, state by state, and what it isn't.
Sources: ATO Personal Income in Australia (FY2022-23) via ABS Data by Region; ABS Average Weekly Earnings (May 2026); ABS Wage Price Index (June quarter 2026).
How much more do capital cities pay?
In FY2022-23, the 9,958,443 employees in Australia's greater capital cities earned a mean of $78,513 a year; the 4,453,655 employees in the rest of the country earned $65,898 — a 19.1% gap (ATO tax data via the ABS). At the median, the gap runs from +10.7% in WA to +28.5% in the NT.
| State | Capital city (median) | Rest of state (median) | Gap $/yr | Gap % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NT | Greater Darwin · $72,526 | Rest of NT · $56,452 | $16,074 | +28.5% |
| NSW | Greater Sydney · $66,619 | Rest of NSW · $57,421 | $9,198 | +16% |
| SA | Greater Adelaide · $60,000 | Rest of SA · $51,827 | $8,173 | +15.8% |
| VIC | Greater Melbourne · $63,274 | Rest of Vic. · $55,741 | $7,533 | +13.5% |
| QLD | Greater Brisbane · $62,853 | Rest of Qld · $56,641 | $6,212 | +11% |
| TAS | Greater Hobart · $59,510 | Rest of Tas. · $53,722 | $5,788 | +10.8% |
| WA | Greater Perth · $66,543 | Rest of WA · $60,098 | $6,445 | +10.7% |
Median employee income per person who earned any wage or salary in the year ended 30 June 2023. The ACT is a single capital-city region, so it has no split. Part of the gap is job mix — cities concentrate higher-paid industries — not a different rate for the same work.
Employee income by capital-city and regional area
All 15 greater capital city and rest-of-state regions, FY2022-23. Greater Darwin recorded Australia's highest capital-city median outside the ACT at $72,526; Rest of SA the lowest regional median at $51,827.
| Region | Type | Median $/yr | Mean $/yr | Employee earners |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Greater Sydney | Capital city | $66,619 | $83,795 | 3,022,150 |
| Rest of NSW | Regional | $57,421 | $66,288 | 1,464,066 |
| Greater Melbourne | Capital city | $63,274 | $76,405 | 2,867,008 |
| Rest of Vic. | Regional | $55,741 | $63,830 | 822,512 |
| Greater Brisbane | Capital city | $62,853 | $74,246 | 1,507,170 |
| Rest of Qld | Regional | $56,641 | $66,837 | 1,475,014 |
| Greater Adelaide | Capital city | $60,000 | $68,201 | 762,758 |
| Rest of SA | Regional | $51,827 | $58,254 | 188,750 |
| Greater Perth | Capital city | $66,543 | $81,163 | 1,288,820 |
| Rest of WA | Regional | $60,098 | $73,056 | 300,474 |
| Greater Hobart | Capital city | $59,510 | $66,235 | 136,790 |
| Rest of Tas. | Regional | $53,722 | $59,859 | 160,488 |
| Greater Darwin | Capital city | $72,526 | $79,117 | 95,029 |
| Rest of NT | Regional | $56,452 | $65,982 | 42,351 |
| Australian Capital Territory | Capital city | $79,659 | $87,801 | 278,718 |
Average weekly earnings by state
Full-time adult ordinary time earnings averaged $2,083.70/week nationally in May 2026 (ABS Average Weekly Earnings), from $1,846.30 in Tasmania to $2,290.20 in the Australian Capital Territory. Across all employees — casuals and part-timers included — the national average was $1,579.20/week.
| State / territory | Full-time adult ordinary $/wk | All employees total $/wk |
|---|---|---|
| Australian Capital Territory | $2,290.20 | $1,862.10 |
| Western Australia | $2,227.40 | $1,692.40 |
| New South Wales | $2,108.80 | $1,616.00 |
| Victoria | $2,041.10 | $1,507.80 |
| Queensland | $2,039.70 | $1,561.40 |
| Northern Territory | $1,984.10 | $1,675.30 |
| South Australia | $1,970.20 | $1,490.90 |
| Tasmania | $1,846.30 | $1,360.70 |
Persons, all industries, private and public sectors, original series. The all-employees figure is lower because it averages in part-time and casual hours.
Where wages are growing fastest
The Wage Price Index rose 3.2% nationally in the year to the June quarter 2026 (total hourly rates of pay excluding bonuses). South Australia led at 3.6%; the Northern Territory trailed at 2.8%.
| State / territory | Annual wage growth |
|---|---|
| South Australia | 3.6% |
| Queensland | 3.4% |
| Western Australia | 3.3% |
| Australian Capital Territory | 3.3% |
| Victoria | 3.1% |
| New South Wales | 3.1% |
| Tasmania | 2.9% |
| Northern Territory | 2.8% |
What doesn't change outside the city: your minimum rate
The earnings gap above is about job mix and market pay — not the legal safety net. The national minimum wage ($26.44/hour, $1,004.90 for a 38-hour week from 1 July 2026) and every modern-award minimum rate apply Australia-wide. There is no “regional rate”: a Level 3 retail worker in Dubbo has the same award minimum as one in Bondi, and an employer cannot pay below the award because “wages are lower around here”.
What genuinely does vary by state: which days are public holidays (and so attract penalty rates), long service leave rules, and employer-side costs like payroll tax and workers compensation. Check your own numbers:
Moving for work, or hiring outside the city? Our AI advisor knows the pay data and the award rules.
Ask the advisor →FairWork Mate Insights — city vs regional pay in Australia, from ABS and ATO open data.
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