The latest Hilda report tells us wages have become more equal, but comparing living standards gives a better understanding of households’ wealth.
T he latest Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia Survey released on Thursday provides details on the lives of Australians.
The Hilda survey by the Melbourne Institute is a longitudinal study that follows the same group of about 17,000 people to get a sense of how Australia is changing across a range of economic and social measures.
For example, the latest survey found there has been a slight decrease in the share of Australian households made up of couples with either dependent or adult children, but an increase of couples without children:.
The survey also found households now spend more on childcare than they did in 2002 – but the costs have stabilised over the past decade.
The Hilda survey found that in 2024 the median income across every household in Australia was $103,166.
Yes, if the total disposable income in your household is more than $103,166 you can say you have more income than half of Australian households, but that says nothing about your living standards.
If you are a single person with a disposable income of $103,166 you are much better off than if that is the income for a family of four.
By contrast someone in the 90th percentile had an income of $122,675, and someone in the bottom 10% earned just $30,842 after taxes:.
Because most people think about gross income, this means that for a single person to have median living standards they need to earn $83,969 before taxes.