There's no single "best" place, as it depends on your priorities (lifestyle, budget, climate), but popular choices consistently praised for liveability, culture, and opportunity include Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Perth, and Adelaide, with Canberra often topping quality-of-life metrics like safety and income. Melbourne excels in culture, Adelaide in happiness/affordability, Perth in climate, Brisbane in growth, and Canberra in family-friendly amenities and low crime, notes AUM Global, St Trinity Property Group, and The Australian National University, https://study.anu.edu.au/stories/canberra-officially-australias-safest-city}.
10 Best Areas to Live in Australia
Not only did Canberra top the global list, but it also ranked as the highest Australian city across four of the six core quality-of-life indicators: income per person, income equality, housing expenditure and life expectancy. Discover more about what makes Canberra stand out.
Hobart, Tasmania, is widely recognized as the cheapest major city, but smaller regional towns in Queensland and South Australia can offer even lower living costs.
Canberra is officially Australia's #1 safest city, with a crime index rating of 26 out of 100. That places it as the 49th safest city in the world. This ranking comes from Compare the Market Australia, which analysed 6 years of public data from Numbeo's crime index.
Adelaide has been ranked Australia's happiest city in the global Happy City Index, scoring highly across 82 measures of liveability and wellbeing.
Murder - NSW recorded the lowest murder rate in Australia over the three years from 2021 to 2023, 9% below the national average. Physical assault - NSW's assault rate is among the lowest nationally, 24% lower than the national average. Robbery - NSW has the lowest rate in Australia, 67% below the national average.
Toorak – The Undisputed Richest Suburb in Melbourne
From multi-million-dollar mansions to elite private schools and exclusive shopping strips, it has long been regarded as the richest area in Melbourne. Toorak is also home to Australia's wealthiest business leaders, celebrities, and international investors.
The cheapest places to buy a house are generally remote regional towns in Australia, with suburbs like Coober Pedy (SA), Kambalda East (WA), Mount Morgan (QLD), and Rangeway (WA) frequently cited for median prices under $150,000, though specific affordability shifts constantly; you'll find significant bargains in outback areas with lower demand and less development. Globally, countries like Colombia (e.g., Cali) offer extremely low prices, though often with language barriers and safety considerations, while some US regions also provide low-cost options.
Perth, Western Australia
Perth is one of the most beautiful places to live in Australia with stunning beaches and a growing economy. It's a great choice for those looking for a laid-back yet prosperous city.
Yes, $70k is a fair salary in Australia, often near the median income, making it a decent living for a single person, especially outside major cities, but it can be tight in expensive areas or for those with high living costs like mortgages, with full-time averages now closer to $90k-$100k.
Top 10 places to retire in Australia
The Verdict: West vs. East Coast. If you're travelling to Australia for the first time, you should do the East Coast, as it's more connected, as well as populated with must-see destinations (from Byron Bay to Noosa to Cairns).
Perth has been named as the sunniest capital city in Australia with clear skies 70% of the year. The average yearly temperature is 21ºC and there are an average 24 rainy days annually. Let's take a look at what the weather is like across each season.
Top Family-Friendly Cities and Suburbs to Buy a Home in Australia
The cheapest places to buy a house in Australia are generally remote towns, with Coober Pedy (SA) often leading as the most affordable suburb (median around $78k-$85k), followed by other regional spots like Charleville (QLD), Broken Hill (NSW), and Collinsville (QLD), while Adelaide (SA) and Darwin (NT) offer the most budget-friendly options among major capital cities.
When rich-world interest rates began to surge in 2022, renting became a better deal than buying. House prices have since stagnated or slumped in many places, and rates are falling. Even so, there is reason to think that the winning streak for renters will continue.
Most Affordable Places to Live in the U.S. in 2025-2026
One of the more popular areas for China's new rich, in addition to the old money suburbs of Vaucluse, Bellevue Hill and Point Piper, is Hunters Hill.
The richest suburb in Australia, based on average taxable income, is often Double Bay, NSW (postcode 2028), known as "Double Pay," followed closely by Sydney's Eastern Suburbs and Perth's affluent western areas like Cottesloe and Peppermint Grove (6011). Other top contenders for wealth and high property values include Point Piper, Bellevue Hill, Vaucluse, Toorak (VIC), and Palm Beach (NSW), featuring high-end homes and luxury lifestyles.
Australia's Quiet Places
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But despite the economic uptick of recent years, Tasmania is still the poorest Australian state.