Can a Social Worker afford to live in Melbourne?

Comfortable20% of take-home left to save — solid margin to save and invest.
Median salary (gross)
Social Worker · Melbourne
$67,087
Income tax (~21% effective)
Australia
– $14,368
Take-home pay
$4,393/mo
$52,719
Living costs (1 person)
$3,500/mo · derived
– $42,000
Savings potential
$893/mo · 20% of take-home
$10,719

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 Social Worker, adjusted for Melbourne.

• Tax: Australia single-filer effective rate (~21%). 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.