Cost of Living Survey & Statistics 2022

The Australian media has taken little time in 2022 to report the rise in the cost of living. But is this just the latest media myth, or does industry data confirm their grim news?

To help us gauge how Australians feel about their costs of living, we surveyed 951 Australians 18+ through Pure Profile, and compared those findings to the latest data in Budget Direct’s Cost of Living interactive, to truly gauge the recent impacts on Australians’ costs of living.

Sydney’s high index for cost of living can largely be attributed to its overwhelmingly high rental costs. All other capitals featured in the index sit within 15% of the national average, whereas Sydney averages almost 50% higher than Australia (for comparable, inner-city 1-bedroom apartments).

Income was noticeably above the national average in Sydney, Newcastle, Darwin, Canberra and Perth. However, those working in Hobart or the Gold Coast are more likely to be earning under the national average.

More specific results on the cost of living can be found on Budget Direct’s Cost of Living calculator - which is current as of March 2022.

Overall, Australians in our survey felt the cost of groceries had increased fairly significantly in the last 12 months. Interestingly, participants in Tasmania recorded the lowest figure for grocery price changes (5.74 out of 7). This matched the data in Budget Direct’s Cost of Living tool, showing those in Hobart are paying 9.81% less than the national average for groceries.

Generally speaking, older participants felt groceries had increased in price more than younger participants. Also, respondents with children/dependents recorded higher averages, indicating they felt the increase more significantly than respondents without children or dependents.

Interestingly, South Australian respondents had the highest average response to changes in fuel prices - averaging 6.70 out of 7. Yet industry data from Budget Direct’s Cost of Living Calculator show that fuel was 1.8% less than the national average.

Again, a trend emerged whereby older participants recorded higher average responses than younger participants. Participants 18-24 recorded an average of 6.42, compared to those 65+, who averaged 6.69.

Respondents in Queensland averaged the highest responses for the cost of rent in the last 12 months. Both Brisbane (+5.02%) and the Gold Coast (+13.48%) averaged higher than the average Australian rental price, for a similar, inner-city 1-bedroom apartment.

When comparing renters and lessors (those who rent their own properties to tenants), renters felt the cost of rent had increased by a fairly high margin (averaging a response of 5.71/7). On the other hand, lessors felt the increase was less significant, averaging 5.29. Unsurprisingly, those paying rent feel it has increased by more than those making revenue from rent. In fact, the most accurate average came from those who neither lease, nor rent property (whose responses averaged 5.61).

**Respondents were given an 8th option of “NA - I don’t make income, or this doesn’t apply fairly to me”, to help exclude those who might have retired, or otherwise might unfairly skew this result.

In remarkable circumstances, the exact average of our 951 participants was an exact 4 out of 7 - reflecting absolutely no noticeable change in income over the last 12 months.

Queensland and New South Wales both averaged a positive return, meaning their average results showed an increase in income within those states. However, South Australia and Victoria both averaged decreases in income. Tasmania and Western Australia were near enough to 4.0 that no noticeable result could be drawn.

By a seemingly insignificant margin, respondents with kids/dependents felt their income had slightly increased, whereas those without felt a minor decrease in income.

Finally, younger Australians were more likely to average a positive change in income. Older Australians’ average result was decreased income.

In all of the scales we measured (such as groceries, rent and fuel), responses averaged to significant increases across the board. Meanwhile, over 70% of respondents either had no change to their income, or felt it had decreased. This puts significant pressure on the cost of living around Australia.

These results catalogue the 12 months prior to March 2022, so these rates will be compared to a similar window from April 2022 to March 2023 in next year’s update.

Based on the findings of Budget Direct’s Cost of Living tool, Sydney’s income, rental costs, groceries and other everyday living costs are wildly outside of national norms. While income might average vastly above the national average, the cost of living index of 85.5 makes it the most expensive city to live in, within Australian borders.