Median Wage in Australia

Also see: ../average-wages-in-australia

The most commonly shown average wage or salary figure shown in Australia is the normal average, but there are some figures that are shown using the Median wage, although they tend to be a few years out of date.

• The median is the mid value which divides a population distribution into two, with half of the observations falling below it and half above it.
• The normal average is the sum of all figures dived by the number of figures.

The last Median figures for wages in Australia, that I have found, are for the 2002-03 financial year, based on tax records.

2002-2003 Median Annual Wage and Salary Income for Australia

• All Australian Median wage, for all employees 15 years of age or over, was $32,697
• Age 15-24 $16,501 = 50.5% of National Median Wage
• Age 25-34 $35,605 = 108.9% of National Median Wage
• Age 35-44 $37,991 = 116.2% of National Median Wage
• Age 45-54 $38,616 = 118.1% of National Median Wage
• Age 55+ $34,410 = 105.2% of National Median Wage

The above %’s were also very similar in the previous years that were checked, giving confidence to use them for further calculations.

From my comparisons of these Medians, and the ABS issued Averages, I have seen that the overall individuals Median Income has been about 87%-90% of the average, for the full seven years between 1996 and 2003.

The following actual and calculated/estimated Median wage and salary figures for May 2009 have their full calculations shown at the end of this page.

Based on the above, the May 2009 Median wages for these age groups would be:

All Median wages for May 2009

• Australian Median wage for all employees, Full time or Part time, 15 years of age or over, would be  $40,775
• Age 15-24 All workers median wage would be $20,577
• Age 25-34 All workers median wage would be $44,401
• Age 35-44 All workers median wage would be $47,376
• Age 45-54 All workers median wage would be $48,156
• Age 55+ All workers median wage would be $42,911

Male Full Time Median wage for May 2009

• Male median wage, for all FULL TIME employees, 15 years of age or over, would be  $59,532
• Age 15-24 Male median wage would be $30,044
• Age 25-34 Male median wage would be $64,827
• Age 35-44 Male median wage would be $69,171
• Age 45-54 Male median wage would be $70,309
• Age 55+ Male median wage would be $62,651

Female Full Time Median wage for May 2009

• Female median wage, for all FULL TIME employees 15 years of age or over, would be  $47,479
• Age 15-24 Female median wage would be $23,961
• Age 25-34 Female median wage would be $51,702
• Age 35-44 Female median wage would be $55,167
• Age 45-54 Female median wage would be $56,074
• Age 55+ Female median wage would be $49,967

Calculations:

My calculations for the above are based on these actual figures for 1996 to 2003:

• In 1996-1997 the median Australian wage was $26,919 and the average Australian wage was $30,077. This calculates the median at about 90% of the average wage.
• In 1997-1998 the median Australian wage was $27,775 and the average Australian wage was $31,008. This calculates the median at about 90% of the average wage.
• In 1998-1999 the median Australian wage was $28,705 and the average Australian wage was $31,772 . This calculates the median at about 90% of the average wage
• In 1999-2000 the median Australian wage was $29,509 and the average Australian wage was $32,978 . This calculates the median at about 89% of the average wage
• In 2000-2001 the median Australian wage was $30,470 and the average Australian wage was $34,414 . This calculates the median at about 89% of the average wage
• In 2001-2002 the median Australian wage was $31,483 and the average Australian wage was $35,667 . This calculates the median at about 88% of the average wage
• In 2002-2003 the median Australian wage was $32,698 and the average Australian wage was $37,632 . This calculates the median at about 87% of the average wage

Followed by these calculations, using the conservative estimated median wage as 85% of the average, ie a little bit lower than the above suggests, to  produce the following figures for the years between 2003 and 2009:

• In 2003-2004 the median Australian wage would be $32,911 if we took the average Australian wage of $38,719 and estimated that 85% of this was the median
• In 2004-2005 the median Australian wage would be $34,812 if we took the average Australian wage of $40,955 and estimated that 85% of this was the median
• In 2005-2006 the median Australian wage would be $36,377 if we took the average Australian wage of $42,796 and estimated that 85% of this was the median
• In 2006-2007 the median Australian wage would be $38,096 if we took the average Australian wage of $44,819 and estimated that 85% of this was the median
• In 2007-2008 the median Australian wage would be $39,281 if we took the average Australian wage of $46,212 and estimated that 85% of this was the median
• In 2008-2009 the median Australian wage would be $40,775 if we took the average Australian wage of $47,970 and estimated that 85% of this was the median

Using the same calculations we can then calculate the following median wages for 2009, based on known Average wages.

• Full Time Male median Australian wage would be $59,532 based on 85% of the average wage for this group of $70,038
• Full Time Female median Australian wage would be $47,479 based on 85% of the average wage for this group of $55,858

The same calculations used on the August average wages, released 19th November 2009, would show the following:

Australian Median wages for August 2009

Australian Median wage for all employees, Full time or Part time, 15 years of age or over, would be  $42,380

• Age 15-24 All Full Time and part time over 15 $21,387
• Age 25-34 All Full Time and part time over 15 $46,149
• Age 35-44 All Full Time and part time over 15 $49,241
• Age 45-54 All Full Time and part time over 15 $50,051
• Age 55 + All Full Time and part time over 15 $44,600

Australian Median wage for all Full time workers age 15 years of age or over, would be  $56,394

• Age 15-24 All Full time workers $28,460
• Age 25-34 All Full time workers $61,410
• Age 35-44 All Full time workers $65,525
• Age 45-54 All Full time workers $66,603
• Age 55 + All Full time workers $59,349

Australian Median wage for all Male Full time workers age 15 years of age or over, would be  $60,990

• Age 15-24 All Male Full Time workers $30,779
• Age 25-34 All Male Full Time workers $66,414
• Age 35-44 All Male Full Time workers $70,864
• Age 45-54 All Male Full Time workers $72,030
• Age 55 + All Male Full Time workers $64,185

Australian Median wage for all Female Full time workers age 15 years of age or over, would be  $48,560

• Age 15-24 All Female Full Time workers $24,507
• Age 25-34 All Female Full Time workers $52,879
• Age 35-44 All Female Full Time workers $56,423
• Age 45-54 All Female Full Time workers $57,351
• Age 55 + All Female Full Time workers $51,104

Sources:

Actual Median wages have been obtained from

• www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/0/A8775332423EC0C6CA256E4D0074347D?OpenDocument

Actual Average wages have been obtained from

• 6302.0 Average Weekly Earnings, Australia. Table 2. Average Weekly Earnings, Australia (Dollars) – Seasonally Adjusted