How much should you spend on rent?
Learn how much of the average wage you need to spend on rent in each Australian capital city.
Key takeaways
- Australians in capital cities typically spend 26% to 38% of their weekly income on rent.
- Renting a house in Sydney often consumes 38% of weekly salary, compared to 26% for Canberra unit.
- To reduce rent costs, consider a unit, regional areas or shared accommodation options.
Check out each city in the table below, broken down by rents for units and houses. Or skip ahead for advice on minimising your rent expenses.
How much do Australians spend on rent?
Methodology and data
To create this analysis we looked at the average weekly rents for houses and units in each Australian capital city and then broke them down as a percentage of the average weekly salary.
Data for rental prices comes from Cotality (formerly CoreLogic). The average weekly salary figures come from the latest Australian Bureau of Statistics' Average Weekly Earnings report.
How much rent can I afford?
You need to do your own budget based on your income, lifestyle and expenses. Even with the average figures listed above, there is a lot of variation in cities depending on housing type and location. According to Finder's Consumer Sentiment Tracker, the average household spent $1,688 per month on rent in September 2026. This is slightly higher than the September 2025 figure of $1,678 per month.
As a general rule, minimising your rental costs is probably one of the biggest ways you can save money. If you're spending more than 30% of your income then you're definitely above the Australian average.
Based on the data above, if you wanted to save on rent you could:
- Rent a unit. Units typically rent for less than houses on average, although you obviously live in a much smaller space.
- Go regional. While there's a lot of variation between regional areas of Australia, if you can get out of the big cities you will undoubtedly find cheaper places to rent.
- Share accomodation. Renting with someone else is a privacy trade-off, but will save you money on rent and utilities, too.
If you're looking to rent a place and you feel that the landlord is asking too much you could try negotiating a lower price. This can work if the property has been untenanted for a long time, or if you're willing to sign a longer lease.
Or, you may be in a position to buy a property instead of renting? With mortgage interest rates so low, mortgage repayments are likely to be cheaper than what you're paying in rent (use a loan repayment calculator and see for yourself). The biggest hurdle for many is saving a deposit, but there are grants, incentives and first home buyer discounts that can help.
Another option is rentvesting. This involves buying an investment property in a more affordable suburb and renting it out. Meanwhile, you continue renting in an area you enjoy living in. While not perfect, this strategy lets you build property wealth by buying in a cheaper area while living where you want to live.
Finder survey: How many people think taking out a home loan is an achievable goal?
| Response | Female | Male |
|---|---|---|
| I already have one | 57.29% | 50.67% |
| Yes- in a few yrs | 13.05% | 15.22% |
| Yes- very soon | 10% | 15.22% |
| Maybe- if I work really hard for it | 12.71% | 10.79% |
| No- it's not achievable | 6.95% | 8.09% |
Source: Finder survey by Pure Profile of 1112 Australians, December 2023
More helpful property resources
- The average home loan interest rate
- Renting versus buying compared
- The in-depth guide to rentvesting
- How to really save for a house deposit
- Get more savings insights with the Finder app
More resources on Finder
Ask a question