Can a Social Worker afford to live in Sydney?

Excellent45% of take-home left to save — you can save aggressively here.
Median salary (gross)
Social Worker · Sydney
$70,097
Income tax (~22% effective)
Australia
– $15,435
Take-home pay
$4,555/mo
$54,662
Living costs (1 person)
$2,488/mo · curated
– $29,856
Savings potential
$2,067/mo · 45% of take-home
$24,806

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 Social Worker, adjusted for Sydney.

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