Can a Air Traffic Controller afford to live in Sydney?

Excellent69% of take-home left to save — you can save aggressively here.
Median salary (gross)
Air Traffic Controller · Sydney
$141,504
Income tax (~32% effective)
Australia
– $45,169
Take-home pay
$8,028/mo
$96,335
Living costs (1 person)
$2,488/mo · curated
– $29,856
Savings potential
$5,540/mo · 69% of take-home
$66,479

Single professional, after-tax. Salary − tax − living costs = what you could save each year.

Monthly cost breakdown · Sydney

Rent (1-bed)$1,584
Groceries$297
Dining out$231
Transport$106
Utilities$86
Entertainment$132

Medicare reduces healthcare costs. Beach lifestyle premium.

Full salary breakdown →Is this a good salary in Sydney? →Compare Sydney with another city →

How we calculated this

• Salary: OECD 2024 median for Air Traffic Controller, adjusted for Sydney.

• Tax: Australia single-filer effective rate (~32%). Official calculator.

• Living costs: hand-curated local budget for a single professional.

Planning estimates, not financial or tax advice. Updated 2026. Your situation will differ.