By Ashley Nickel,Editor

Copyright dailymail

Young woman exposes bleak reality for millions of Australians

Young Perth woman was ‘middle class’

She now believes she’s ‘working poor’

READ MORE: Millions of Australians expected to retire while renting

By ASHLEY NICKEL, NEWS REPORTER, AUSTRALIA

Published: 08:03 BST, 16 September 2025 | Updated: 08:03 BST, 16 September 2025

A young Australian woman earning the highest salary of her career has explained why she is actually considered ‘working class poor’.

Shannon McCullough, 35, shared a video last week about her fall from the ‘middle class’ to ‘working poor’ due to high rental prices in Perth.

‘Even if you earn an average income, if your rent consumes more than 50 to 60 per cent of your take-home wage, you are working poor,’ she said.

‘This is the highest salary I’ve ever had, but it’s also the highest rent I’ve ever paid.

‘It’s ridiculous that so many other Australians will find that they’re in the exact same situation.’

Ms McCullough added that three years ago she was considered ‘middle class’.

‘If things don’t change, the middle class in Australia will completely disappear within the next couple of years,’ she said.

Despite earning more, dozens of Australians agreed they felt more broke than three years ago.

@shannon_mc89
The rise of the “working poor” 🐀 #costofliving #costoflivingcrisis #costoflivingaustralia
♬ original sound – Shannon Mc

Shannon McCullough (pictured) explained how she dropped from ‘middle class’ to ‘working poor’ in just three years

Many also blamed their financial woes on the property market.

‘I earn $120k and about to move into a caravan on a friend’s property because that is my best option, as I don’t want to pay 70 per cent of my wage to rent,’ one wrote.

‘Millionaires are middle class at this point,’ another said.

‘I am 60, I look at how young people are burdened and I feel sick. This country is a disgrace,’ a third shared.

‘The bigger worry is how many regular Australians are living paycheck to paycheck with no savings. So easy for that to tip into a really distressing situation if they experience any kind of job or health issues,’ another said.

‘I’ve never worked so hard to have absolutely nothing left at the end of each week with no light at the end of the tunnel,’ another wrote.

The median weekly rent for a two-bedroom home in Greater Perth has jumped from $500 in September 2020 to $742 in September 2024, according to realestate.com.au.

The average two-bedroom house spends just 16 days on the market.

Ms McCullough, and hundreds of other Australians, blamed their financial troubles on high rental prices

Only 11 two-bedroom houses were listed in the last month for the 118 renters searching for one in the major city.

Apartments have similarly surged in price, with the median weekly rent of a one-bedroom unit increasing from $350 in September 2020 to $600 September 2025.

Just under 90 one-bedroom apartments were listed in the last month, compared to 1,373 who searched for the same type of property.

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Young woman exposes bleak reality for millions of Australians

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