Can a Journalist afford to live in Melbourne?

Comfortable21% of take-home left to save — solid margin to save and invest.
Median salary (gross)
Journalist · Melbourne
$68,206
Income tax (~22% effective)
Australia
– $14,761
Take-home pay
$4,454/mo
$53,445
Living costs (1 person)
$3,500/mo · derived
– $42,000
Savings potential
$954/mo · 21% of take-home
$11,445

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 Journalist, adjusted for Melbourne.

• Tax: Australia single-filer effective rate (~22%). 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.