Civil Engineer Salary: Melbourne vs Sydney
Annual median salary comparison (2024). All figures include local currency, USD equivalent, and PPP-adjusted purchasing power.
🇦🇺 Melbourne
Australia
A$94K AUD
$61K USD
$83K PPP
VS
USD Difference
-4%
Melbourne vs Sydney
🇦🇺 Sydney
Australia
A$98K AUD
$63K USD
$87K PPP
Higher Purchasing Power
Detailed Comparison
| Metric | Melbourne | Sydney | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Local Currency Salary | A$94K AUD | A$98K AUD | — |
| USD Equivalent | $61K | $63K | -4% |
| PPP-Adjusted SalaryWINNER | $83K | $87K 🏆 | -4% |
| 25th Percentile | A$75K AUD | A$78K AUD | — |
| Median | A$94K AUD | A$98K AUD | — |
| 75th Percentile | A$117K AUD | A$122K AUD | — |
| Annual Mean | A$101K AUD | A$105K AUD | — |
What Does This Mean?
Melbourne offers a Civil Engineer salary of $61K USD, while Sydney offers $63K USD — a difference of -4% in raw terms.
After adjusting for purchasing power parity (PPP), Melbourne's salary is worth $83K in US purchasing power terms, versus $87K for Sydney. This means Sydney offers better real purchasing power for this role.
PPP adjustment accounts for differences in local prices — for example, housing costs 3x more in San Francisco than in Warsaw, so a San Francisco salary needs to be much higher to provide an equivalent standard of living.