Can a Illustrator afford to live in Melbourne?

Okay9% of take-home left to save — you cover costs with a little left over.
Median salary (gross)
Illustrator · Melbourne
$57,194
Income tax (~19% effective)
Australia
– $11,118
Take-home pay
$3,840/mo
$46,076
Living costs (1 person)
$3,500/mo · derived
– $42,000
Savings potential
$340/mo · 9% of take-home
$4,076

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

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

How we calculated this

• Salary: OECD 2024 median for Illustrator, adjusted for Melbourne.

• Tax: Australia single-filer effective rate (~19%). Official calculator.

• Living costs: derived from cost-of-living index for a single professional.

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