Ireland vs Australia

Compare PPP-adjusted average wages, long-term wage trends and consumer price levels using consistent OECD data.

Country A

Country B

Wage data: 2025 · Price data: 2024

Comparison Overview

Ireland

Average wage (2025)

$70,113

1-year change: +1.8%
5-year change: −2.8%

Overall price level (2024)

92.2 (United States = 100)

Australia's latest PPP-adjusted average wage is approximately 2.7% higher than Ireland's.

Australia

Average wage (2025)

$72,018

1-year change: +1.1%
5-year change: −1.4%

Overall price level (2024)

92.7 (United States = 100)

Australia has the higher latest average wage of the two, by 2.7% on a PPP-adjusted basis. Over five years Australia shows the stronger change (−1.4% against −2.8%). Their overall price levels sit close together at 92.2 and 92.7 against the United States benchmark of 100, so consumer prices are broadly comparable between them. Both wage figures are for 2025 and the price levels for 2024, so the two economies are read at the same point in each series.

Wage History

See how PPP-adjusted average annual wages have changed in both economies.

PPP-adjusted annual wage (USD)

IrelandAustralia

USD PPP, constant 2025 prices

Wage Key Facts

Metric	Ireland	Australia
Latest wage	$70,113	$72,018
Latest year	2025	2025
1-year change	+1.8%	+1.1%
5-year change	−2.8%	−1.4%
10-year change	+4.6%	+2.2%
Historical peak	$72,356	$73,870
Peak year	2021	2021
Change from peak	−3.1%	−2.5%

How the Wage Trends Compare

Current Position

Australia records the higher figure: $72,018 against $70,113, a gap of 2.7%. The gap is clear enough to rank the two, though it says nothing about how the figure is distributed within either economy.

Both figures are for 2025, so this is a like-for-like comparison of the same year rather than of two different latest points.

Both use the same basis: PPP-adjusted US dollars at constant prices. That conversion strips out the price level differences between the two economies, which is what makes the two figures comparable at all — neither is a local-currency salary, and neither is what an employer in that country would write on a contract.

Recent Momentum

Ireland had the stronger latest year (+1.8% against +1.1%).

Both moved up in the latest year, which leaves the ordering between them unchanged.

Widening the window to five years, the stronger of the two is Australia: −1.4% against −2.8%.

For both, the latest year runs against the five-year direction — a short-term move that the medium-term series does not yet reflect.

Long-Term Direction

Across ten years both series are up — +4.6% for Ireland and +2.2% for Australia. Over this horizon the two share a direction, and the difference between them is one of pace.

Neither is at its peak: Ireland is 3.1% from its 2021 high and Australia 2.5% from its 2021 high. Both series have retreated from an earlier maximum.

Consumer Price Level Comparison

Compare eight consumer price categories with the United States benchmark of 100.

United States = 100
Missing values are shown as -

All differences are shown in index points. United States = 100.

Category	Ireland	Australia	Difference (IRL − AUS)	IRL vs U.S.	AUS vs U.S.
Overall	92.2	92.7	−0.5	−7.8	−7.3
Food	98.1	101	−2.9	−1.9	+1.0
Clothing	88.7	69.5	+19.2	−11.3	−30.5
Housing	104	91.8	+12.2	+4.0	−8.2
Health	84.4	86.9	−2.5	−15.6	−13.1
Transport	114	99.3	+14.7	+14.0	−0.7
Recreation	92	95.2	−3.2	−8.0	−4.8
Restaurants & Accommodation	105	115	−10.0	+5.0	+15.0

Overall
Ireland92.2
Australia92.7
Difference−0.5
IRL vs U.S.−7.8
AUS vs U.S.−7.3
Food
Ireland98.1
Australia101
Difference−2.9
IRL vs U.S.−1.9
AUS vs U.S.+1.0
Clothing
Ireland88.7
Australia69.5
Difference+19.2
IRL vs U.S.−11.3
AUS vs U.S.−30.5
Housing
Ireland104
Australia91.8
Difference+12.2
IRL vs U.S.+4.0
AUS vs U.S.−8.2
Health
Ireland84.4
Australia86.9
Difference−2.5
IRL vs U.S.−15.6
AUS vs U.S.−13.1
Transport
Ireland114
Australia99.3
Difference+14.7
IRL vs U.S.+14.0
AUS vs U.S.−0.7
Recreation
Ireland92
Australia95.2
Difference−3.2
IRL vs U.S.−8.0
AUS vs U.S.−4.8
Restaurants & Accommodation
Ireland105
Australia115
Difference−10.0
IRL vs U.S.+5.0
AUS vs U.S.+15.0

Ireland and Australia in Detail

Current Wage Position

Ireland reports a PPP-adjusted average annual wage of $70,113 for 2025, and Australia $72,018 for 2025. That puts Australia ahead by 2.7%.

Both figures are PPP-adjusted: converted using purchasing power parities rather than market exchange rates, and expressed in constant prices so different years stay comparable.

This matters for reading the gap. A market-rate conversion would move with currency markets and would not reflect what the money buys in each economy. These figures are built to compare purchasing power, not to tell you what a currency transfer would be worth.

Recent Wage Momentum

In the latest reported year Ireland changed by +1.8% and Australia by +1.1%. A single year is a narrow window, so it is worth reading alongside the five-year figure rather than on its own.

Over five years, Australia records the larger change at −1.4%, against −2.8% for Ireland. That is the difference in how far each series has travelled over the medium term, in real PPP-adjusted terms.

Short-term and five-year movement point the same way for both economies, so neither is currently being pulled against its own medium-term direction.

Long-Term Wage Direction

Across ten years the changes are +4.6% for Ireland and +2.2% for Australia. This is the longest horizon the data covers, and it is the one least affected by any single year's movement.

Ireland reached its highest recorded value of $72,356 in 2021, and the latest figure sits 3.1% from that high.

Australia peaked at $73,870 in 2021, leaving its latest value 2.5% away from that point.

Both long-term series move the same way, so the difference between these two economies is one of degree over ten years rather than of direction.

Consumer Price Profile

Against the United States benchmark of 100, overall consumption sits at 92.2 in Ireland and 92.7 in Australia — effectively level.

The categories that separate them most are Clothing (+19.2) and Transport (+14.7).

Health is where they are nearest, at 84.4 and 86.9.

Across the categories with data, Australia is the more expensive of the two more often than not.

How to Interpret the Comparison

These are average wages, not median wages, and not take-home pay. An average is pulled by the whole distribution, so it does not describe a typical individual, occupation, city or employer in either economy.

The wage figures are already PPP-adjusted and in constant prices. They are not local-currency salaries and not amounts convertible at a market exchange rate.

The price levels are relative indices against United States = 100. They describe how price levels compare, not what a household actually spends.

Wages and price levels should not be combined into a verdict on which country is better. This page is for understanding how the two wage trends and price structures differ — nothing further follows from it.