Australia
Latest Average Wage
−1.4% · 5 years
$72,018
Country Comparison
Australia vs Norway
Compare average wages, long-term wage changes and eight consumer price categories using OECD data.
At a Glance
Australia
vs
Norway
$72,0182025
Latest Average Wage
Norway +2.0%
(vs Australia)
$73,4622025
−1.4%2025
5-Year Wage Change
Norway +7.4 pts
(vs Australia)
+6.0%2025
+2.2%2025
10-Year Wage Change
Norway +7.2 pts
(vs Australia)
+9.4%2025
92.72024
Overall Price Level
Australia +2.7 index points
(vs Norway)
902024
Wages are PPP-adjusted average annual wages; price levels use the United States reference of 100. Years shown are each country's latest reported observation.
How Wages Have Changed
Follow PPP-adjusted average annual wages in constant prices across both economies.
USD PPP, constant prices · missing years shown as gaps, never interpolated
Norway
Latest Average Wage
+6.0% · 5 years
$73,462
Wage Milestones
Australia
10 Years Ago
$70,450 (2015)
Historical Peak
$73,870 (2021)
Latest Wage
$72,018 (2025)
Norway
10 Years Ago
$67,127 (2015)
Historical Peak
$73,462 (2025)
Latest Wage
$73,462 (2025)
Compare Everyday Price Levels
See how eight consumer price categories compare with the United States reference value of 100.
United States = 100 · Differences shown in index points
Australia (AUS)Norway (NOR)
Overall
+2.7 index points
100
92.7vs90
Food
−12.0 index points
100
101vs113
Clothing
−35.5 index points
100
69.5vs105
Housing
+31.4 index points
100
91.8vs60.4
Health
+6.3 index points
100
86.9vs80.6
Transport
−26.7 index points
100
99.3vs126
Recreation
−23.8 index points
100
95.2vs119
Restaurants & Accommodation
+1.0 index points
100
115vs114
What Stands Out
01
Latest Wage Gap
Norway's latest average wage is $73,462 for 2025, about 2.0% higher than Australia's $72,018 for 2025 — a percentage worked out directly from the two reported figures. That is roughly $1,443 a year on the same PPP basis.
02
Stronger Recent Trend
On the latest one-year change, Norway shows the stronger movement at +1.6%, against +1.1% for Australia. The five-year horizon keeps the same ordering: +6.0% against −1.4%. Both percentages are real, PPP-adjusted changes from the reported wage series.
03
Largest Price Gap
Clothing shows the widest price gap of the comparable categories in 2024: 69.5 for Australia against 105 for Norway. That is a separation of 35.5 index points on the US=100 scale, with Norway on the higher side and Australia on the lower one. Index points are not percentages; the two scales answer different questions.
04
Closest Price Category
The closest category is Restaurants & Accommodation: Australia reads 115 and Norway 114 for 2024, just 1.0 index points apart on the US=100 scale. The next closest is Overall at 2.7 index points apart. Two readings this close mean the category sits at nearly the same point of the US=100 scale for both.
Understanding the Comparison
Wage Position
Australia and Norway report nearly the same PPP-adjusted average annual wage: $73,462 for 2025, against $72,018 for 2025. The difference is 2.0% in relative terms — a percentage calculated from the two reported values — or roughly $1,443 a year, which is small next to either figure. Both figures are expressed in USD PPP at constant 2025 prices, so they can be set side by side without any further conversion. Over ten years Australia recorded +2.2% and Norway +9.4%, so the two series have been moving in the same long-term direction. For most side-by-side readings the two wage levels can be treated as equivalent within this dataset.
Wage Direction
This pairing shows two wage paths pulling apart rather than tracking each other. Australia shows no single direction across horizons: +1.1% over one year against −1.4% over five. Norway sits at the highest point of its series — $73,462 in 2025 is also the historical peak, with a ten-year change of +9.4%. With Norway gaining in real terms at +6.0% over five years and Australia at −1.4%, the five-year measures move away from each other rather than closing in. All changes here are measured in real, PPP-adjusted terms, so they describe purchasing-power movement rather than nominal pay increases.
Price Profile
Australia's overall consumer price level for 2024 reads 92.7, and Norway's reads 90, each measured against the United States reference of 100. Neither country is uniformly higher: Australia leads in 4 of the 8 comparable categories and Norway in 4, so the profile splits by category rather than by country. The widest separation is in Clothing: 69.5 for Australia against 105 for Norway, a gap of 35.5 index points. At the other end, Restaurants & Accommodation brings the two closest — 115 versus 114, a gap of just 1.0 index points. Relative to the US benchmark, Australia reads above 100 in 2 of its 8 reported categories, and Norway in 5 of its 8.
Wage and price data should not be combined into a verdict on which country is better to live in.
