Six-figure salary needed to afford average rent
South Australia is the second-least affordable state for renters, as $130,000 becomes the annual income to comfortably afford the national median rate.
The 2025 Priced Out report by national housing campaign Everybody’s Home, released this week, highlights the worsening rental crisis.
It reveals that many middle-income Australians are spending well over 30 per cent of their earnings on rent, a threshold that defines rental stress.
According to the report, a single person earning $130,000 a year can just afford the national median unit rent. Those on lower incomes face even greater challenges.
A person earning $70,000 annually would need to allocate more than half of their income just to cover rent, placing immense financial strain on everyday Australians.
Even individuals earning $100,000, significantly above the median income of $72,592, are experiencing rental stress across many parts of the country.
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Our latest Priced Out report is out and the findings are alarming and grim. The housing crisis has been smashing those on low incomes but it’s also hitting people who’re earning middle and even higher incomes. It’s time for real action on housing! pic.twitter.com/oE4lsC751n
— Everybody's Home (@_EverybodysHome) March 18, 2025
Rental stress reaches crisis levels
Everybody’s Home spokesperson Maiy Azize said the findings highlighted a major shift in Australia’s housing market, with rental stress no longer limited to lower-income earners but increasingly also affecting professionals, essential workers, and middle-class families.
She warned that those on lower incomes were in an even worse position, with renters earning $40,000 a year facing extreme financial distress.
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In some cases, rent is consuming more than their entire income, making stable housing virtually impossible.
With a federal election on the horizon, the report urges the next government to prioritise housing affordability.
Everybody’s Home wants an urgent increase in social housing and low-cost rentals aimed at those in severe housing stress.
The campaign group is also pushing to remove tax concessions – such as negative gearing and capital gains tax discounts – for property investors. It argues these policies drive up rental prices and leave lower- and middle-income Australians behind.
“Housing must be a top priority for the federal government. Without action, more Australians will continue to be priced out of safe, decent, and affordable homes,” Azize said.
This article first appeared in View.com.au. Read the original here.
Source: PopTrack, ABS
It comes as the REA Group Rental Affordability Report named South Australia the second-least affordable state for renters.
REA Group executive manager of economics Angus Moore said relative to March 2020, rents in Adelaide have surged 55%, far outstripping growth in incomes.
The numbers represent a sharp change, as South Australia was the second-most affordable state in the years before the pandemic.
