Living in Melbourne

Foreign-born residents accounted for 7.4% of the population in 2021. Melbourne, a city in Australia, had a population of 16,985 in August 2021. For Melbourne, median personal income was A$766 per week in August 2021.

Which Australia-wide rules apply when you move to Melbourne?

National rules stay on the country page instead of being relabelled as city data.

Visa and entry rulesPassport-specific entry and national residence context.BenefitsCountry-wide eligibility and official application routes.Taxes in AustraliaNational rates and thresholds that apply in Melbourne.Healthcare eligibilityCountry-wide insurance and residence conditions.

Housing and cost

Median rent was A$245 per week, and median monthly mortgage repayment was A$1,203 in August 2021.

What recurs every month6 published recurring costs, € per month

Supplemental estimate lane; these items are not official statistics.

Metric	Value	Period	Source
Fitness club membership, monthly	43.57 EUR/month	31 Dec 2022	Global Cost of Living — Kaggle snapshot v2¹¹Supplemental estimate · Supplemental context
Internet, 60 Mbps unlimited	48.7 EUR/month	31 Dec 2022	Global Cost of Living — Kaggle snapshot v2¹¹Supplemental estimate · Supplemental context
Private kindergarten, monthly	1,594 EUR/month	31 Dec 2022	Global Cost of Living — Kaggle snapshot v2¹¹Supplemental estimate · Supplemental context
Meal at an inexpensive restaurant	14.76 EUR	31 Dec 2022	Global Cost of Living — Kaggle snapshot v2¹¹Supplemental estimate · Supplemental context
Mobile plan, 10 GB	24.9 EUR/month	31 Jul 2026	Cost of Living in Melbourne. Jul 2026. Prices in Melbourne⁹Commercial estimate · Supplemental context
Monthly transport pass	102 EUR/month	31 Dec 2022	Global Cost of Living — Kaggle snapshot v2¹¹Supplemental estimate · Supplemental context
Basic utilities, 85 m² home	140.4 EUR/month	31 Dec 2022	Global Cost of Living — Kaggle snapshot v2¹¹Supplemental estimate · Supplemental context
Dwellings	7,588 dwellings	31 Dec 2021	Australian Bureau of Statistics⁴Official
G05 Main Residential Dwellings	6,953 dwellings	31 Dec 2021	Australian Bureau of Statistics⁴Official
Median Weekly Rent Aud	245 AUD/week	10 Aug 2021	2021 Census General Community Profile — Significant Urban Areas, Australia⁴Official

Work and income

The unemployment rate was 4.1% in March 2026. Median household income was A$1,347 per week in August 2021.

What is the unemployment rate in Melbourne?

The unemployment rate is 4.1 % (March 2026). Source: DEWR — Small Area Labour Markets, smoothed unemployment rate by LGA, March quarter 2026¹⁰

Unemployment across cities in AustraliaUnemployment in Melbourne is 4.1%. Of 100 cities with data, 29 have unemployment of 4 to under 5%.

Unemployment rate (%)

Metric	Value	Period	Source
Employment Full Time Count	4,634 people	31 Dec 2021	Australian Bureau of Statistics⁴Official
Employment rate	57.8 %	31 Dec 2021	Australian Bureau of Statistics⁴Official
Median Household Income Aud Week	1,347 AUD/week	10 Aug 2021	2021 Census General Community Profile — Significant Urban Areas, Australia⁴Official
Median Personal Income Aud Week	766 AUD/week	10 Aug 2021	2021 Census General Community Profile — Significant Urban Areas, Australia⁴Official
Median gross salary (regional)	1,738 EUR/month	31 Dec 2021	www.abs.gov.au⁸Official
Salary Net Avg Eur Month	3,746 EUR/month	30 Sept 2026	Numbeo city cost-of-living page — /cities/au/melbourne/¹²Community estimate · Supplemental context
Unemployment rate	4.1 %country median 4.4%	31 Mar 2026	DEWR — Small Area Labour Markets, smoothed unemployment rate by LGA, March quarter 2026¹⁰Independent

Public employment service

No exact public employment office is currently linked to Melbourne. The verified national service may still offer online registration, job search or an official office finder.

Country-level information

Workforce Australia — Public employment service

Australian Government Department of Employment and Workplace Relations

Job Search

Open official service

Open the Australia service overview

Country-level service information is not treated as proof of a physical office in Melbourne. Sources checked through 11 Aug 2026.

Family and education

Metric	Value	Period	Source
Language Other Than English At Home Share Percent	5.29 %	10 Aug 2021	2021 Census General Community Profile — Significant Urban Areas, Australia⁴Official

Language courses and integration in Melbourne

1 exact course-location record is linked to this city. Check the linked source for dates, availability and enrolment.

Verified locally

1verified local records

AMES Australia

View official record

Check courses in Melbourne How the country programme works

Exact city-linked record checked 2026-08-10. Provider-supplied records are supplemental and are not presented as official accreditation.

Climate and air quality

Is the air quality good in Melbourne?

The annual PM2.5 mean is about 8.6 µg/m³ (2024) — above the WHO 2021 guideline of 5 µg/m³ but within the EU limit of 25 µg/m³.

Annual mean at the measuring site(s) serving the city; current-day readings differ.

PM2.5 — annual mean: 8.63 µg/m³ · EPA Victoria AirWatch — validated 2024 hourly PM2.5 station observations³

Temperature through the yearAverage daytime high and night-time low, °C

Rainfall through the yearAverage monthly precipitation, mm

Sunshine through the yearAverage monthly sunshine, hours

Air quality vs health guidelinesAnnual means against WHO 2021 guidelines and EU legal limits

City values from the published air-quality observations. WHO 2021 guidelines and EU limit values are published constants.

PM2.5 across cities in AustraliaAnnual PM2.5 in Melbourne is 8.6 µg/m³. Of 25 cities with data, 7 have annual PM2.5 of 5 to under 6 µg/m³.

Annual PM2.5 (µg/m³)

Metric	Value	Period	Source
PM2.5 — annual mean	8.63 µg/m³country median 6.1	31 Dec 2024	EPA Victoria AirWatch — validated 2024 hourly PM2.5 station observations³Official
Average daytime high by month	Jan 27 · Feb 26.7 · Mar 24.4 · Apr 20.6 · May 16.7 · Jun 14 · Jul 13.4 · Aug 14.7 · Sep 17.1 · Oct 20 · Nov 22.6 · Dec 24.8 °C	31 Dec 2020	BOM monthly climate statistics — MELBOURNE AIRPORT, 1991-2020²Official
Average night-time low by month	Jan 14.2 · Feb 14.4 · Mar 12.8 · Apr 10.1 · May 8.3 · Jun 6.4 · Jul 5.8 · Aug 6 · Sep 7.2 · Oct 8.7 · Nov 10.6 · Dec 12.3 °C	31 Dec 2020	BOM monthly climate statistics — MELBOURNE AIRPORT, 1991-2020²Official
Average temperature by month	Jan 20.8 · Feb 20.9 · Mar 19.1 · Apr 16 · May 13.6 · Jun 11.4 · Jul 10.9 · Aug 11.6 · Sep 13.4 · Oct 15.2 · Nov 17.3 · Dec 19 °C	1991–2020	WMO Climatological Normals 1991-2020 — station MELBOURNE OLYMPIC PARK⁷Official · nearest-station reading
Average precipitation by month	Jan 39.3 · Feb 41.4 · Mar 37.5 · Apr 42.1 · May 34.3 · Jun 41.5 · Jul 32.8 · Aug 39.3 · Sep 46.1 · Oct 48.5 · Nov 60.1 · Dec 52.5 mm	31 Dec 2020	BOM monthly climate statistics — MELBOURNE AIRPORT, 1991-2020²Official
Average sunshine by month	Jan 8.8 · Feb 8.1 · Mar 7.3 · Apr 6.1 · May 4.7 · Jun 4.1 · Jul 4.4 · Aug 5.4 · Sep 6.2 · Oct 7.3 · Nov 7.5 · Dec 8.4 hours	31 Dec 2020	BOM monthly climate statistics — MELBOURNE AIRPORT, 1991-2020²Official

Cities of a similar size in Australia

Closest published populations, for a like-for-like comparison.

All Australia cities

Karratha17,013 residents St Georges Basin - Sanctuary Point17,018 residents Wagga Wagga17,026 residents Batemans Bay17,524 residents Broken Hill17,588 residents Port Lincoln16,307 residents

Population and city profile

The city covered 6,189.1 km² in 2016. Population density was 772 people per km² in 2021.

How many people live in Melbourne?

The published population was 16,985 people in August 2021. Source: 2021 Census General Community Profile — Significant Urban Areas, Australia⁴

Metric	Value	Period	Source
City area	6,189 km²	1 Jul 2016	Official ASGS2016 SUA area from ABS ArcGIS attributes, area_albers_sqkm. Exact queue geography; not GCCSA or LGA.⁵Official
Foreign-resident share	13 %	31 Dec 2021	Australian Bureau of Statistics¹Official
Foreign residents	1,742,428 people	10 Aug 2021	Official 2021 Census GCP G01 Birthplace_Elsewhere_P: persons born outside Australia, at exact associated 2021 SUA grain. This is foreign-born, not foreign nationality.⁴Official
Population density	772 people/km²	30 Jun 2021	Reproducible exact-ASGS2016-SUA density: ABS ERP at 30 June 2021 divided by ABS ASGS2016 SUA area. Existing local population baseline is only a recovered cross-check; no GCCSA/LGA observation.⁶Official
Population Female	8,764 people	31 Dec 2021	Australian Bureau of Statistics⁴Official
Population Male	8,217 people	31 Dec 2021	Australian Bureau of Statistics⁴Official
Population	16,985 people	10 Aug 2021	2021 Census General Community Profile — Significant Urban Areas, Australia⁴Official

Population over time25 published observations, 2001–2025

Population rose 14.3% between 2001 and 2025, from 14,767 to 16,882.

International community in Melbourne

Named groups from exact city-grain official distributions. Citizenship, birthplace, language and ancestry answer different questions and stay separate.

Country of birth

Persons usually resident in the ABS Significant Urban Area; 2021 Census G09 PERSONS total across age groups and sex · 2021 Census

Published group	People	Share
Total	16,985	100.0%
Australia	14,773	87.0%
Country of birth not stated	953	5.6%
India	176	1.0%
England	167	1.0%
Philippines	124	0.7%
Born elsewhere(d)	111	0.7%
New Zealand	74	0.4%
Myanmar	52	0.3%
Thailand	50	0.3%
Italy	49	0.3%

Show 33 more groups

Published group	People	Share
South Africa	39	0.2%
Netherlands	38	0.2%
Scotland	38	0.2%
Nepal	34	0.2%
China (excludes SARs and Taiwan)(c)	30	0.2%
United States of America	24	0.1%
Germany	21	0.1%
Turkey	19	0.1%
Ireland	17	0.1%
Vietnam	15	0.1%
Sri Lanka	14	0.1%
Bangladesh	12	0.1%
Zimbabwe	12	0.1%
Malaysia	11	0.1%
Pakistan	10	0.1%
Taiwan	10	0.1%
Canada	9	0.1%
Korea, Republic of (South)	9	0.1%
Papua New Guinea	9	0.1%
Poland	9	0.1%
Fiji	8	0.0%
Cambodia	7	0.0%
Croatia	5	0.0%
Greece	5	0.0%
France	4	0.0%
Hong Kong (SAR of China)(c)	4	0.0%
Indonesia	4	0.0%
Iraq	4	0.0%
Wales	4	0.0%
Brazil	3	0.0%
Japan	3	0.0%
Lebanon	3	0.0%
Singapore	3	0.0%

Largest published groups; zero-count groups are omitted. Dimensions are source-native and are never merged. Official source⁴

Country of birth

Persons usually resident in the ABS Significant Urban Area; 2021 Census G01 total persons denominator · 2021 Census

Published group	People	Share
Total persons	16,985	100.0%
Australia	14,773	87.0%
Elsewhere (excludes country of birth not stated)	1,260	7.4%

Largest published groups; zero-count groups are omitted. Dimensions are source-native and are never merged. Official source⁴

Citizenship

Persons usually resident in the ABS Significant Urban Area; 2021 Census G01 total persons denominator · 2021 Census

Published group	People	Share
Total persons	16,985	100.0%
Australian citizen	15,514	91.3%

Largest published groups; zero-count groups are omitted. Dimensions are source-native and are never merged. Official source⁴

Is Melbourne a good place to live?

There is no universal answer. The profile scores below show who the available published evidence may suit; they are a decision aid, not a personal recommendation.

Try your profile

Remote worker54%strong on work, weak on safety · range 45–63%

Skilled employee60%strong on work, weak on safety · range 52–68%

Student52%strong on education, weak on safety · range 44–60%

Family56%strong on family, weak on safety · range 47–65%

Retirement57%strong on legal route, weak on admin · range 46–68%

Foreign residents1,742,428 people10 Aug 2021Official source · Official 2021 Census GCP G01 Birthplace_Elsewhere_P: persons born outside Australia, at exact associated 2021 SUA grain. This is foreign-born, not foreign nationality.

Population16,985 people10 Aug 2021Official source · 2021 Census General Community Profile — Significant Urban Areas, Australia

Dwellings7,588 dwellings31 Dec 2021Official source · Australian Bureau of Statistics

Employment rate57.8 %31 Dec 2021Official source · Australian Bureau of Statistics

Median gross salary (regional)1,738 EUR/month31 Dec 2021Official source · www.abs.gov.au

Unemployment rate4.1 %31 Mar 2026Independent source · DEWR — Small Area Labour Markets, smoothed unemployment rate by LGA, March quarter 2026

Every value keeps its source, geographic scope and verification date · Last checked 2026-09-05

Additional context

Metric	Value	Period	Source
Residents born abroad	7.42 %	10 Aug 2021	2021 Census General Community Profile — Significant Urban Areas, Australia⁴Official
Households	6,953 households	31 Dec 2021	Australian Bureau of Statistics⁴Official
Labour force participation rate	59.7 %	31 Dec 2021	Australian Bureau of Statistics⁴Official
Median age	40 years	10 Aug 2021	2021 Census General Community Profile — Significant Urban Areas, Australia⁴Official
Median Monthly Mortgage Repayment Aud	1,203 AUD/month	10 Aug 2021	2021 Census General Community Profile — Significant Urban Areas, Australia⁴Official

Yes — migrants can receive medical care in Melbourne when the national insurance or residence conditions are met.

Healthcare access follows the country-wide insurance rules; local capacity facts remain city data and are not used as proof of eligibility.

Open the official coverage guide

Country rule verified 2026-08-03.

Common questions

Answered from the published values on this page, each with its source and date.

How many people live in Melbourne?

The published population was 16,985 people in August 2021. Source: 2021 Census General Community Profile — Significant Urban Areas, Australia.

Is the air quality good in Melbourne?

The annual PM2.5 mean is about 8.6 µg/m³ (2024) — above the WHO 2021 guideline of 5 µg/m³ but within the EU limit of 25 µg/m³. Source: EPA Victoria AirWatch — validated 2024 hourly PM2.5 station observations.

What is the unemployment rate in Melbourne?

The unemployment rate is 4.1 % (March 2026). Source: DEWR — Small Area Labour Markets, smoothed unemployment rate by LGA, March quarter 2026.

What is the typical salary around Melbourne?

The median gross salary is 1,738 EUR/month. Source: www.abs.gov.au.

How many foreign residents live in Melbourne?

1,742,428 people residents hold a foreign nationality. Source: Official 2021 Census GCP G01 Birthplace_Elsewhere_P: persons born outside Australia, at exact associated 2021 SUA grain. This is foreign-born, not foreign nationality..

How much is public transport in Melbourne?

A monthly transport pass is 102 EUR/month. This is a supplemental estimate, not an official municipal measurement. Source: Global Cost of Living — Kaggle snapshot v2.

Is Melbourne a good place to live?

Melbourne may suit different people for different reasons. The page's profile scores compare published cost, work, housing, safety, healthcare and other available factors; they are a decision aid, not a universal recommendation.

How many people born in Afghanistan live in Melbourne?

The official country of birth distribution records 0 people (0.0%) in the source-defined population for 2021 Census. This is a country of birth measure, not a general estimate of ethnicity or migration status.

Cite this page

Open a format to select or copy this ImmigrationDB compilation citation. The native disclosure and text fallback work without JavaScript.

APA citation

ImmigrationDB. (2026, September 12). Melbourne, Australia: rent, salary, jobs [ImmigrationDB compilation; snapshot approved-static-d7ed373c115d60d0; version approved-static-d7ed373c115d60d0]. ImmigrationDB. https://immigrationdb.com/cities/au/melbourne/ Retrieved 2026-09-12. Compilation license: CC BY 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

BibTeX citation

@misc{immigrationdb_immigrationdb_melbourne-australia-rent-salary-jobs_28c1b5514018,
  author = {ImmigrationDB},
  title = {Melbourne, Australia: rent, salary, jobs},
  publisher = {ImmigrationDB},
  year = {2026},
  date = {2026-09-12},
  version = {approved-static-d7ed373c115d60d0},
  snapshot = {approved-static-d7ed373c115d60d0},
  url = {https://immigrationdb.com/cities/au/melbourne/},
  note = {Retrieved 2026-09-12. ImmigrationDB compilation. Compilation license: CC BY 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/},
}

Markdown citation

[Melbourne, Australia: rent, salary, jobs](https://immigrationdb.com/cities/au/melbourne/) — ImmigrationDB; ImmigrationDB; snapshot approved-static-d7ed373c115d60d0; version approved-static-d7ed373c115d60d0; retrieved 2026-09-12; built 2026-09-12.

This citation identifies the ImmigrationDB compilation/page. Underlying source publishers and datasets retain their own terms; inspect the Sources section and cite those records separately. View the underlying source records.

Sources

JSON Markdown

Australian Bureau of Statistics abs.gov.au · checked 2026-08-03
BOM monthly climate statistics — MELBOURNE AIRPORT, 1991-2020 BOM monthly climate statistics · bom.gov.au · checked 2026-07-26
EPA Victoria AirWatch — validated 2024 hourly PM2.5 station observations EPA Victoria AirWatch · apps.epa.vic.gov.au · checked 2026-07-27
Official 2021 Census GCP G01 Birthplace_Elsewhere_P: persons born outside Australia, at exact associated 2021 SUA grain. This is foreign-born, not foreign nationality. abs.gov.au · checked 2021-08-10
Official ASGS2016 SUA area from ABS ArcGIS attributes, area_albers_sqkm. Exact queue geography; not GCCSA or LGA. geo.abs.gov.au · checked 2016-07-01
Reproducible exact-ASGS2016-SUA density: ABS ERP at 30 June 2021 divided by ABS ASGS2016 SUA area. Existing local population baseline is only a recovered cross-check; no GCCSA/LGA observation. abs.gov.au · checked 2021-06-30
WMO Climatological Normals 1991-2020 — station MELBOURNE OLYMPIC PARK WMO Climatological Normals 1991-2020 · ncei.noaa.gov · checked 2026-07-31
www.abs.gov.au abs.gov.au · checked 2026-08-27
Cost of Living in Melbourne. Jul 2026. Prices in Melbourne numbeo.com · checked 2026-07-27
DEWR — Small Area Labour Markets, smoothed unemployment rate by LGA, March quarter 2026 DEWR · dewr.gov.au · checked 2026-07-26

Show 2 more sources

Global Cost of Living — Kaggle snapshot v2 Global Cost of Living · kaggle.com · checked 2026-07-27
Numbeo city cost-of-living page — /cities/au/melbourne/ Numbeo city cost-of-living page · de.numbeo.com · checked 2026-09-05

Spotted a number that looks wrong? Every value here carries its source and date — tell us what you found and we will re-check it against the source.