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Rising rents and tight vacancy rates have pushed the income needed to rent a typical home to record highs, leaving lower-income and single earners with fewer options, the latest data has shown.
According to the latest Domain data, the income required to rent a typical capital city house has climbed from $74,533 in 2019 to $112,667 in 2025.
Using the affordability benchmark that rent should not exceed 30 per cent of pre-tax income as a guideline, Domain found that the earnings required to meet the standard have soared by over 50 per cent since 2019.
A two-person household spends around 21 per cent of its average wage on renting a typical home in 2025, compared with 19.5 per cent in 2019.
In 2025, Sydney-siders spend almost a quarter of their annual wage on rent, while at the lowest end of the range, Melbourne spends 19.4 per cent.
Domain senior economist Joel Bowman said that while it is encouraging that no capital cities were officially under rental stress, the market remained “incredibly tough” heading into 2026.
“Rents are still rising faster than wages, vacancy rates are at record lows, and as analysis shows, the gap is widening between where renters want to live and what they can actually afford,” Bowman said.
“Households on lower incomes may secure more affordable dwellings below the median, but often with trade-offs in location, size or quality.”
On average, Sydney renters spend almost a quarter of their income on the typical home, making it the most expensive city in the nation among 500 suburbs analysed.
Sydney’s eastern suburb of Vaucluse was the most expensive nationwide, requiring residents to earn over $500,000 annually to consider it affordable, with an average weekly rent of $2,950.
Darwin was the second-most expensive city nationally for house rentals, requiring $124,800 annually, while unit renters needed $100,533 to live without financial stress.
Canberra and Perth tied for the third-most expensive house rentals at $121,333 annual income, but Perth units commanded more, at $104,000, compared with Canberra’s $100,533.
Melbourne ranked among the more affordable capitals, with $100,533 enough to buy a typical house and $99,667 enough to rent a unit comfortably.
Bowman said the $900 gap between house and unit rents reflects how Melbourne’s abundant modern inner-city apartments have brought unit prices closer to house rents.
Data found a sweet spot in combining distance from the CBD and affordability, between approximately 30-40km, before prices begin to rise again.
The analysis also found that there were pockets of affordability in suburbs further out from the city's CBD, such as Melton in Melbourne’s west, Willmot in Sydney’s outer west, and Russell Island in Brisbane’s bayside.
Bowman said the rapid rise in property prices had placed a significant strain on average renters and limited their options when securing a property in a preferred location.
“With individual earnings sitting around $80,200 on average, this puts enormous pressure on single-income renters and shuts many average earners out of most inner and middle-ring suburbs entirely,” Bowman concluded.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Mathew Williams
Born in the rural town of Griffith NSW, Mathew Williams is a graduate journalist who has always had a passion for storytelling. Having graduated from the University of Canberra with a Bachelor of Sports Media in 2023, Mathew recently made the move to Sydney from Canberra to pursue a career in journalism and has joined the Momentum Media team, writing for their real estate brands. Outside of journalism, Mathew is an avid fan of all things sports and regularly attends sporting events across Sydney. Get in touch at
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