Wealth and income percentiles in Australia
How much net worth or income does it take to be in the top 10% or top 1% in Australia? Model estimates for 20.6 million adults aged 20+, reference level 2025.
Net worth thresholds in Australia
Net worth is private assets (property, deposits, securities, business ownership) minus debt, per adult. Thresholds show the minimum net worth needed to belong to each group.
| Group of adults | Threshold, AUD | Threshold, USD |
|---|---|---|
| Median (top 50%) | AUD 227,000 | USD 152,000 |
| Top 10% | AUD 1,390,000 | USD 928,000 |
| Top 5% | AUD 2,580,000 | USD 1,730,000 |
| Top 1% | AUD 6,810,000 | USD 4,550,000 |
| Top 0.1% | AUD 26,000,000 | USD 17,400,000 |
| Average (mean) | AUD 748,000 | USD 500,000 |
Income thresholds in Australia
Income is a harmonized pre-tax economic income per adult used for cross-country comparison. It is broader than wages and includes capital income, pensions and some imputed components.
| Group of adults | Threshold, AUD | Threshold, USD |
|---|---|---|
| Median (top 50%) | AUD 70,300 | USD 47,000 |
| Top 10% | AUD 197,000 | USD 132,000 |
| Top 5% | AUD 276,000 | USD 185,000 |
| Top 1% | AUD 611,000 | USD 408,000 |
| Top 0.1% | AUD 1,890,000 | USD 1,260,000 |
| Average (mean) | AUD 110,000 | USD 73,500 |
Australia in a global context
Australia has 0.37% of the world’s adults. About 48.7% of them are in the world’s top 10% by net worth and 7.9% are in the global top 1%. By income, the shares are 57.2% and 5.6%.
The median adult in Australia is in the global top 10.5% by net worth and the global top 8.6% by income. Australia is home to about 2.95% of the world’s top 1% by net worth.
Data quality and sources
Scores run from 1 (strong direct national source coverage) to 5 (mainly modelled).
| Measure | Score | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Net worth | 3 | Country-specific WIR/WID estimates with broad wealth shares and means. Not a complete national individual distribution; large parts of the curve and extreme tail are modelled. |
| Income | 3 | Country-specific WIR/WID estimates with broad income shares and means. Not a direct official national wage/register distribution; thresholds between groups are modelled. |
- World Inequality Report 2026: Country Sheets
- World Inequality Lab TN 2026/04: Global Inequality Update
- World Inequality Report 2026: Country Sheets
- World Inequality Lab TN 2026/04: Global Inequality Update
Amounts are converted at fixed exchange rates of 2025-12-31; they do not adjust for purchasing power. Thresholds in the extreme top are modelled and uncertain.
Frequently asked questions
How much net worth do you need to be in the top 1% in Australia?
About AUD 6,810,000 in net worth (assets minus debt) per adult, according to the WealthPercentile model for 2025. The top 10% starts at about AUD 1,390,000.
What is the median income in Australia?
The median adult in Australia has a broad pre-tax economic income of about AUD 70,300 a year. This measure is broader than wages: it includes capital income and some imputed components, so it is higher than a typical payslip.
How many adults in Australia are in the global top 1%?
About 7.9% of adults in Australia are in the world’s top 1% by net worth, and 5.6% by income.
How reliable are these numbers?
They are model estimates. The data-quality score for Australia is 3/5 for net worth and 3/5 for income, where 1 means strong direct source coverage and 5 means mainly modelled.