Australian Data · 2026
Top 10% Net Worth in Australia —
How Much It Takes to Get There
How much household net worth puts you in Australia's wealthiest 10%? The official ABS national threshold, its 2026 estimate, and how the bar rises by age.
Published 2026-07-25 · Updated 2026-07-25 · Reading time ~6 min
Top 10% net worth in Australia: a household needs about $2,257,700 to enter the wealthiest 10% — the ABS Survey of Income and Housing 2019-20 national 90th-percentile net-worth decile (the latest official figure). Indexed to 2026 for asset-price growth, that is roughly $3.55M. The bar rises with age: by the 65–74 band the modelled top-10% threshold is around $5.88M. Net worth = all assets (home, super, property, shares, cash, business) minus all debts. Source: ABS (national figure official; 2026 and by-age figures modelled).
Short answer
The top 10% of Australian households start at a net worth of $2,257,700 — the official ABS 2019-20 national 90th-percentile threshold — or roughly $3.55M once indexed to 2026. That is about four times the median household ($911,700). By age, the modelled bar climbs from ~$1.26M at 25–34 to ~$5.88M at 65–74. Want your exact percentile? Use the net worth percentile calculator.
The national threshold — official ABS
Official (ABS 2019-20)
$2,257,700
Indexed to 2026 (modelled)
≈ $3.55M
The Australian Bureau of Statistics publishes household net-worth deciles nationally: in 2019-20 the 90th percentile — the entry point to the wealthiest 10% of households — was $2,257,700 (with the median at $579,200 and the 10th percentile at $36,900). This is the latest official ABS wealth survey: the 2021-22 cycle was cancelled and the 2023-24 survey was withheld in July 2025. Because those figures are ~6 years old, we also show a 2026 estimate — the same figure indexed forward ×1.574 by the growth in ABS household net worth per capita — which is a modelled uplift, not a new survey.
Top 10% net worth by age band
The modelled 90th-percentile (top-10%) threshold for each ABS 10-year age band, indexed to 2026, next to the median for context. These by-age figures are Richify modelled estimates — the ABS publishes net-worth deciles nationally, not by age — so read them as indicative.
| Age band | Median (typical) | Top 10% (modelled) |
|---|---|---|
| 15–24 | $54,500 | $299,500 |
| 25–34 | $276,600 | $1,259,800 |
| 35–44 | $631,200 | $2,410,000 |
| 45–54 | $1,258,600 | $3,627,100 |
| 55–64 | $1,573,800 | $5,080,900 |
| 65–74peak | $1,458,600 | $5,877,100 |
| 75+ | $1,141,300 | $3,984,600 |
Median = ABS SIH 2019-20 by age, indexed ×1.574to 2026. Top-10% (90th percentile) by age = Richify modelled estimate (lognormal fit to each band's ABS mean and median). AUD, includes super and home equity. National official 90th-percentile: $2,257,700 (2019-20). Verify current data at abs.gov.au.
What it takes to reach the top 10%
For most households, crossing into the top decile means one or more of:
- Substantial home equity — a largely paid-down home in Sydney or Melbourne can be most of the way there on its own.
- A second property or a sizeable share/ETF portfolio — investment assets on top of the family home.
- A mature super balance — superannuation is often the second-largest asset after the home, and compounds hard through the 50s and 60s, which is why the threshold peaks in the 65–74 band (~$5.88M).
- Business ownership — the other common route into the top 10%.
Remember this is a householdmeasure — a couple's combined net worth — not per person, and it counts every asset minus every debt.
See where you land
Free tools and data, no signup.
- Net worth percentile calculator — enter your age and net worth to get your exact percentile, and the distance to the top 10% and top 1%.
- Average net worth by age in Australia — median and mean by age band, the full by-age picture with commentary.
- Average salary by age in Australia — median income by age, the cash-flow side of the ledger.
- Average super balance by age — how the biggest driver of top-decile wealth builds over a career.
- Net worth calculator — add up assets and liabilities and track it over time.
Frequently asked questions
How much net worth do you need to be in the top 10% in Australia?+
About $2.26 million. The Australian Bureau of Statistics (Survey of Income and Housing 2019-20) puts the national 90th-percentile household net-worth threshold at $2,257,700 — the entry point to the wealthiest 10% of households. That is the latest official ABS figure (the 2021-22 survey was cancelled and 2023-24 was withheld). Indexed forward to 2026 for asset-price growth, the threshold is roughly $3.55M. Net worth here means all assets — home, investment property, super, shares, cash, business — minus all debts.
What net worth is the top 10% in Australia by age?+
It climbs steeply with age as super and property compound. Modelled 90th-percentile (top 10%) thresholds, indexed to 2026: 25–34 ≈ $1.26M · 35–44 ≈ $2.41M · 45–54 ≈ $3.63M · 55–64 ≈ $5.08M · 65–74 ≈ $5.88M. These by-age figures are Richify modelled estimates — the ABS publishes net-worth deciles nationally but NOT by age — so read them as indicative. The national (all-ages) official threshold is $2,257,700.
Is the top-10% net worth figure official ABS data?+
The NATIONAL figure is: $2,257,700 is the ABS Survey of Income and Housing 2019-20 national 90th-percentile net-worth decile — an official, published number. The 2026 uplift (~$3.55M) is a Richify modelled index of that figure, and the BY-AGE breakdown is a Richify model, because the ABS does not publish net-worth percentiles by age (or a top-1% at all). We label the modelled parts clearly rather than present them as ABS releases.
What does it take to reach the top 10% in Australia?+
For most households it means substantial home equity in Sydney or Melbourne, or a paid-down home plus an investment property or a sizeable share/ETF portfolio, plus a mature super balance. Because Australian net worth includes superannuation — often the second-largest asset after the family home — the threshold rises sharply through the 50s and 60s as super and property compound. Business ownership is the other common route into the top decile. The figure is a household measure (a couple's combined net worth), not per person.
How does the top 10% compare to the median and the top 1%?+
The gaps are large. Australia's median household net worth is about $911,700 (ABS 2019-20 indexed to 2026), so the top-10% threshold (~$3.55M indexed) is roughly four times the typical household. The top 1% is far higher again and rises steeply with age — but the ABS publishes no 99th percentile at all, so any "top 1%" figure by age is a model, not official data. Use the percentile calculator to see exactly where a given net worth lands.
Where does this data come from?+
Primary source: ABS Household Income and Wealth, Australia 2019-20 (cat. 6523.0) — the national net-worth deciles (P10 $36,900 / P50 $579,200 / P90 $2,257,700) and mean/median by age. It is the latest released ABS wealth survey: the 2021-22 cycle was cancelled and the 2023-24 survey was withheld in July 2025. Indexation to 2026 uses the growth in ABS household net worth per capita (cat. 5232.0), ×1.574. The by-age percentile bands are Richify modelled estimates on top of the ABS mean/median.
