The Burrow
Oct 19, 2026
For generations, the Australian Dream promised that hard work would eventually lead to home ownership. But new analysis suggests that promise is becoming increasingly tied to what job you do.
The home loan comparison experts at Compare the Market had a look at the most common jobs across the country, to see how many capital region suburbs these jobs could afford – based on their average pay packet.
These occupations have the greatest choice when it comes to buying a home in and around Australia’s capital cities and can access large portions of Australia’s capital city housing market, giving them significantly greater choice for where they can buy.
Housing affordability is defined as housing costs being 30% or less than your income. Anyone paying more than 30% on a mortgage is classed as experiencing “mortgage stress.”
| Occupation | Median annual income | Number of affordable suburbs (All capitals) | Number of affordable suburbs Greater Sydney | Number of affordable suburbs Greater Melbourne | Number of affordable suburbs Greater Brisbane | Number of affordable suburbs Greater Perth | Number of affordable suburbs Greater Adelaide | Number of affordable suburbs ACT | Number of affordable suburbs Greater Hobart | Number of affordable suburbs Greater Darwin |
| Construction Managers | $195,052 | 1,494 | 262 | 442 | 221 | 176 | 197 | 79 | 61 | 56 |
| ICT Managers | $172,120 | 1,042 | 161 | 368 | 118 | 104 | 127 | 61 | 50 | 53 |
| University Lecturers and Tutors | $152,048 | 696 | 106 | 270 | 46 | 63 | 81 | 44 | 40 | 46 |
| Drillers, Miners and Shot Firers | $151,216 | 685 | 105 | 266 | 44 | 60 | 81 | 44 | 40 | 45 |
| Finance Managers | $151,008 | 628 | 104 | 265 | 44 | 60 | 81 | 44 | 40 | 45 |
| Other Specialist Managers | $147,940 | 621 | 95 | 244 | 40 | 54 | 72 | 43 | 37 | 43 |
| Supply, Distribution and Procurement Managers | $147,368 | 570 | 93 | 243 | 39 | 51 | 72 | 43 | 37 | 43 |
| Human Resource Managers | $143,936 | 493 | 85 | 226 | 31 | 46 | 66 | 42 | 34 | 40 |
| Advertising, Public Relations and Sales Manager | $139,204 | 423 | 71 | 203 | 25 | 31 | 58 | 41 | 29 | 35 |
| Financial Investment Advisers and Managers | $134,264 | 419 | 60 | 182 | 17 | 24 | 43 | 36 | 27 | 34 |
Construction managers have the greatest housing choice of any occupation analysed, with access to 1,494 capital-city suburbs nationwide. They can afford 262 suburbs in Greater Sydney and 442 suburbs in Melbourne.
ICT managers were the only other occupation of those analysed to afford more than 1,000 capital-city suburbs across Australia, including 161 in Sydney, 368 in Melbourne and over 100 in Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth.
University lecturers and tutors rank third nationally, with 696 suburbs being affordable with their income, followed closely by drillers, miners and shot firers (685 suburbs), and finance managers (628).
The data was set on wide areas capturing the ‘greater area’ of the capital city (for example, Greater Sydney or Greater Brisbane). This means that larger capital regions like Sydney and Melbourne have more suburbs overall, so they have more suburbs that fit within the affordability of more occupations than smaller capitals with fewer overall suburbs. The full methodology is below.
There were a number of jobs that didn’t have any capital suburbs where the monthly repayments would cost less than 30% of someone’s monthly income. While it’s still possible for people in these occupations to buy property, they would likely be classed as experiencing mortgage stress.
Those jobs were:
Out of this list of essential workers, Police officers had the highest number of suburbs where average house prices matched their borrowing power at 378 across the country. Specifically, Police could afford 58 of Sydney’s suburbs, 174 of Melbourne, and 16 suburbs in the Greater Brisbane area.
Primary school teachers could afford 171 suburbs across all capitals, while secondary school teachers had a few more options at 217 suburbs, with 25 in Sydney, 82 in Melbourne and 20 in the Australian Capital Territory.
| Occupation | Median annual income | Number of affordable suburbs (All capitals) | Number of affordable suburbs Greater Sydney | Number of affordable suburbs Greater Melbourne | Number of affordable suburbs Greater Brisbane | Number of affordable suburbs Greater Perth | Number of affordable suburbs Greater Adelaide | Number of affordable suburbs ACT | Number of affordable suburbs Greater Hobart | Number of affordable suburbs Greater Darwin |
| Police | $133,120 | 378 | 58 | 174 | 16 | 23 | 42 | 34 | 26 | 32 |
| General Practitioners and Resident Medical Officers | $127,192 | 309 | 45 | 133 | 13 | 16 | 27 | 28 | 20 | 30 |
| Secondary School Teachers | $120,744 | 217 | 33 | 104 | 10 | 9 | 12 | 25 | 16 | 27 |
| Primary School Teachers | $115,752 | 171 | 25 | 82 | 4 | 3 | 6 | 20 | 11 | 24 |
| Registered Nurses | $113,984 | 159 | 24 | 74 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 17 | 11 | 23 |
| Truck Drivers | $101,920 | 67 | 7 | 27 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 11 | 3 | 16 |
| Early Childhood (Pre-primary School) Teachers | $99,112 | 55 | 3 | 22 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 3 | 16 |
| Welfare Support Workers | $95,888 | 45 | 2 | 20 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 15 |
| Aged and Disabled Carers | $91,572 | 29 | 1 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 12 |
| Child Carers | $69,732 | 17 | 1 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6 |
Inner-city suburbs are ritzy and expensive, and thus some of the least affordable areas for home buyers in the country. While inner city areas are business hubs where many people work, the places they can afford to buy are moving further and further away from the city centre.
For example, the most affordable suburbs in Sydney were out west, such as Fairfield, Liverpool, Blacktown and Parramatta. With Melbourne, there are units that are more affordable closer to Melbourne, but for people wanting a house the lowest prices are in Melton, the Yarra Ranges and Wyndham Vale. Brisbane might be the best example. The cheapest places are in Logan, Ipswich or islands such as Russell Island and Macleay Island. These islands are only accessible by ferry or boat, which makes commuting to the mainland difficult.
Stephen Zeller, General Manager at Compare the Market, says this analysis reveals the scale of the uphill battle prospective homeowners face if they want to buy a house.
“With house prices in capitals being so high, many occupations are effectively priced out of those areas, limiting where they can afford to buy. This is a major issue for filling staff shortages in critical roles, as these workers often can’t afford to live close to where they work,” says Mr Zeller.
“It also highlights that affording a home loan on a single income is practically impossible no matter where you go, and most people really need two solid incomes to buy a house.
“It can be so demoralising for anyone wanting to live in our major capitals, with those who can’t afford to buy a home faced with renting (which is another kettle of fish), moving back in with parents, or moving out further away and facing long commutes to get to work.
“The Australian Dream feels like an impossible goal for many new entrants to the housing market, but it’s a problem with no simple fix. There are multiple issues facing the Australian Government’s efforts to increase housing affordability, such as supply, building costs, and demand continuing to grow and outpace what’s available.”
Compare the Market provides a free home loan comparison service that can help you compare home loans, apply for available options, and get access to property reports and credit checks, so you can be supported at every step of the home buying journey.
Average annual income was sourced for the top 71 jobs in terms of the number of employed Australians, based on median weekly earnings. Median weekly earnings were multiplied by 52 to calculate median annual earnings, then divided by 12 to calculate monthly earnings. This figure was then multiplied by 0.3 to calculate 30% of monthly income.
The median property value for each suburb was multiplied by 0.2 to calculate a 20% deposit against this median value. The deposit was then subtracted from the median property value, providing the median loan size. This loan size was then used to produce a monthly repayment for that suburb’s median property value, based on a 30-year loan at a 6.17% interest rate.
If the suburb’s median monthly repayment was lower than 30% of the monthly income of an occupation, then it was listed as affordable for that occupation based on its median salary. If the repayment was higher than 30% of the occupation’s monthly income, then it was listed as unaffordable for that occupation.
Each occupation then had a tally of how many suburbs were listed as affordable across all Australian capital city regions. In the case of Canberra, the entire Australian Capital Territory was included due to its size.
Average annual income was sourced for the top 71 jobs in terms of the number of employed Australians, based on median weekly earnings. Median weekly earnings were multiplied by 52 to calculate median annual earnings, then divided by 12 to calculate monthly earnings. This figure was then multiplied by 0.3 to calculate 30% of monthly income.
The median property value for each suburb was multiplied by 0.2 to calculate a 20% deposit against this median value. The deposit was then subtracted from the median property value, providing the median loan size. This loan size was then used to produce a monthly repayment for that suburb’s median property value, based on a 30-year loan at a 6.17% interest rate.
If the suburb’s median monthly repayment was lower than 30% of the monthly income of an occupation, then it was listed as affordable for that occupation based on its median salary. If the repayment was higher than 30% of the occupation’s monthly income, then it was listed as unaffordable for that occupation.
Each occupation then had a tally of how many suburbs were listed as affordable across all Australian capital city regions. In the case of Canberra, the entire Australian Capital Territory was included due to its size.
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