$150,000 in New York City ≈ A$156,647 in Sydney
New York City vs Sydney: cost of living, compared
Equivalence is solved so household net cash matches across both cities, with taxes, housing, childcare, healthcare, food, and travel all included.
What changes: New York City → Sydney
- ▴ 5 more vacation days per year in Sydney (statutory)
- ▴ 14 more paid parental-leave weeks (22 vs 8)
- ▴ Universal healthcare in Sydney (no premium / minimal OOP)
The headline math
| New York City household gross | $150,000 |
| New York City taxes (29.3%) | −$43,896 |
| New York City living costs | −$82,241 |
| New York City net cash | $23,863 |
| ≈ | |
| Sydney household gross needed | A$156,647($108,783) |
| Sydney taxes (24.7%) | −A$38,765 |
| Sydney living costs | −A$83,520 |
| Sydney net cash | A$34,362 |
Computed at the city-median tech-worker salary, New York City (typical professional) · effective tax rates: 29.3% vs 24.7%
These numbers use one scenario's assumptions. Plug in your own salary, family size, and lifestyle.
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Moving from New York City to Sydney
$150,000 in New York City is worth A$156,647 in Sydney on a household net-cash basis. That is the equivalence figure this tool solves for: the Sydney gross salary whose take-home, after taxes and local costs, lands in the same place as your New York City take-home. Most people are surprised by how large the number is. Most of the gap is taxes.
Taxes are actually lower in Sydney (24.7%) than in New York City (29.3%). That's unusual for a country with a high-tax reputation, and worth checking the bracket structure directly.
Healthcare in Sydney is universal. New York City households pay $3,966 in premiums and out-of-pocket costs per year, and that spending disappears in Sydney. It won't show up in a take-home comparison, but it's real money.
Sydney workers get 20 vacation days per year. New York City averages 15. That 5-day gap does not appear in any salary comparison, but at a typical professional's daily rate it represents thousands of dollars of time that stays in your life rather than being bought back by your employer.
Living costs (housing, food, transit, discretionary) total $77,900 in New York City and A$78,200 in Sydney at these scenario defaults. The breakdown table shows each line item separately, with source citations and last-updated dates available on hover.
Common questions
How much do you need to earn in Sydney to match a $150,000 salary in New York City?
About A$156,647. cityparity solves for the Sydney gross salary whose net cash (after taxes, housing, childcare, healthcare, and the rest) equals what you keep in New York City. It's an equivalence, not a raw conversion.
Is healthcare free in Sydney?
Sydney has universal healthcare, so there are no US-style premiums or large deductibles. cityparity counts that as real money you don't spend, which is part of why the equivalent salary is lower than the raw number suggests.
How much vacation and parental leave do you get in Sydney?
Sydney has about 31 paid days off a year (vacation plus public holidays) and 22 weeks of parental leave. cityparity surfaces these as deltas rather than dollars, because time off is part of the real comparison.
Run your own numbers in the interactive calculator →