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Sydney
#64 of 124
Oceania

Sydney

Australia

Salary & Cost of Living

View purchasing power ranking

How do salaries and expenses in Sydney compare to Mumbai?

Purchasing Power Comparison

An engineer in Sydney is 78% better off vs in Mumbai

This shows how far a software engineer's salary goes in Sydney compared to Mumbai, taking into account both salary differences and cost of living.

Median Salary
$110,107
+$89K (+421%) vs Mumbai
Based on 1016 data points from levels.fyi
Net Salary
$77,956
+$64K (+450%) vs Mumbai
Tax Rate: 29%

Community Insights

New
6.8/10

Sydney is a high-upside but high-risk move for a software engineer. Reddit sentiment is split in a very consistent way: people love the city’s beauty, safety, beaches, national parks, multicultural neighbourhoods, food, and “city of villages” feel, but many also say the economics are increasingly unsustainable. The data supports that tension: Sydney scores well on safety, environment, and overall lifestyle, while ranking poorly on affordability and purchasing power compared with other tech cities.

For software engineers, the career picture is not as effortless as the city’s global image suggests. Senior engineers can earn respectable packages, especially in fintech or larger tech firms, but commenters describe the current market as saturated and slow, with even citizens struggling and graduate hiring under pressure. A foreigner on a temporary or dependent visa may be employable, but not treated the same as someone with permanent residency or citizenship.

The biggest practical warning from residents is not to confuse holiday Sydney with living Sydney. Bondi, the harbour, and inner-city weekends can be magical; daily life may mean expensive rent, long commutes, childcare pressure, strata issues, and living far from the postcard areas. Sydney can be excellent if you arrive with a strong offer, choose your suburb around work and transport, and have enough income buffer. Without that, even a good software salary can feel surprisingly stretched.

Living Environment

Weather•Safety•Pollution•Events

A quick look at climate, safety, pollution, and tech community compared to Mumbai.

Rankings

Comfortable Weather

Top 10%

#13

of 124 cities

87/100 weather score

Current value

Pollution Score

Top 16%

#20

of 124 cities

28.7/100

Current value (lower is better)

Community Events

Top 22%

#27

of 124 cities

19 events on luma

Current value

Housing Affordability

View affordability ranking

How affordable is housing for a software engineer in Sydney compared to Mumbai?

Avg. Property Price
$10,115 / m²
121% more expensive than Mumbai
View detailed property prices on Numbeo

Salary Converter

Enter your annual gross salary (before taxes) to see what you would need to earn in Sydney to maintain the same standard of living.

$

Do you have kids?

Cost of Living
210% more expensive than Mumbai
View detailed cost breakdown on Numbeo

Top Paying Companies in Sydney

Atlassian logo
Atlassian
Canva logo
Canva
Amazon logo
Amazon

The Good

  • Exceptional quality of life if you can afford it: residents describe Sydney as one of the world’s most liveable cities, with beaches, harbour areas, national parks, and outdoor access close by.
  • Genuine multiculturalism and food variety: locals love that diverse cultures, languages, neighbourhoods, and cuisines feel normal rather than performative.
  • Strong safety and cleanliness by big-city standards: commenters say they rarely feel unsafe, and the data also places Sydney well for safety and low pollution among global tech cities.
  • Good neighbourhood variety: Sydney is repeatedly described as a “city of villages,” with walkable inner suburbs, beach areas, suburban family zones, and western centres like Parramatta offering very different lifestyles.
  • Senior tech pay can be solid: experienced engineers can target competitive senior or staff-level packages, though the benefit is heavily offset by housing and living costs.
  • Public transport and amenities can be good in the right areas: Inner West and well-connected suburbs get praise for trains, cafes, pubs, parks, schools, and walkable local centres.

The Bad

  • Housing costs dominate the decision: Redditors repeatedly warn that rent and buying are brutal, with families needing a very high combined income to avoid feeling squeezed.
  • Software job market is currently tough: locals and migrants report fewer interviews, saturated competition, and even major tech employers cutting back graduate hiring.
  • Temporary visa status can hurt your chances: even with full work rights as a partner of a student, employers may see you as a flight risk if your right to stay depends on your spouse’s course continuing.
  • Tourist Sydney is not daily-life Sydney: several residents caution that loving Bondi, the harbour, or a holiday stay does not mean you’ll enjoy ordinary suburban commutes, rents, childcare, and errands.
  • Commutes can be punishing if you choose the wrong suburb: commenters specifically warn that beach-to-western-employment commutes can become multi-hour daily slogs with multiple transfers.
  • Apartment quality and family practicality are real concerns: residents mention expensive, sometimes poor-quality apartments, strata risks, flood-prone areas, and apartment living becoming hard with multiple kids.

Moving Here

Moderate

Sydney is English-speaking, internationally minded, and has a large expat population, so the day-to-day cultural and language transition is easier than in many global tech hubs. Socially, Redditors paint it as multicultural and generally safe, though friendships and lifestyle often depend heavily on which suburb “bubble” you land in.

The harder part is immigration and employability while visa-dependent. Australia has skilled migration and employer-sponsored routes, and partner work rights can help, but commenters note that a student-dependent visa may still be treated as temporary and risky by employers. In a tighter tech market, that status can become a filtering reason.

Overall, relocation is manageable but not frictionless: bureaucracy is navigable, English removes a major barrier, and Sydney is welcoming enough, but high upfront costs, housing competition, and a cautious hiring market make it a much easier move with a secured job offer than as a speculative arrival.

Who Is This City For?

Best for senior or highly specialised engineers with strong offers, savings, and a real desire for Sydney’s outdoors/multicultural lifestyle. Avoid it if you are early-career, visa-dependent, supporting a family on one income, or expecting holiday Sydney to match everyday affordability.

Updated 6/24/2026

Weather8.7/10+480% vs Mumbai
Safety66+18%
Pollution29-66%
Events19+46%
8.7/10TechCities weather score vs 1.5/10 in Mumbai

0–10 composite (higher is better) combining temperature comfort, sunshine hours, rainy-day count, and humid days. See methodology for weighting and data sources.

Weather snapshot

Average High
22°C(vs 31°C in Mumbai)
Average Low
15°C(vs 24°C in Mumbai)
Sunshine Hours
2,468h/yr-115h/yr
Hottest Month High
26°C(vs 33°C in Mumbai)
Coldest Month Low
9°C(vs 19°C in Mumbai)
Rainy Days
85/yr-5/yr(-6%)

Community & Quality

Sydney community pulse

Sydney has 19 Luma events listed.

46% more events than Mumbai.

Safety Index

Top 31%

#38

of 124 cities

66.1/100

Current value

Net Income

Middle of the pack

#42

of 124 cities

$77,956/yr

Current value

Tax Rate

Middle of the pack

#45

of 124 cities

29%

Current value (lower is better)

Purchasing Power

Middle of the pack

#64

of 124 cities

Home Affordability

Middle of the pack

#82

of 124 cities

≈10.4 yrs to buy 80m²

Current value

Cost of Living

Bottom 14%

#108

of 124 cities

70/100

Current value (lower is better)

SWE Affordability
10.4 years
15.5 years quicker than Mumbai
Muggy Days
36/yr-218/yr(-86%)
Cloud Cover
30%(vs 43% in Mumbai)