Want Financial Success in 2026? Here’s the Best State to Live In

If you feel like you’re working harder but getting nowhere, you’re not imagining it. But what if there’s a place in Australia where your money stretches further, your career moves faster, and your chances of building real wealth genuinely improve? Heading into 2026, one state is quietly rewriting the economic script: Western Australia.

Because when you strip away the noise and focus on the four factors that create opportunity: higher incomes, lower living costs, strong job demand, and genuine business support, Western Australia keeps coming out on top.

Western Australia is outperforming the nation

CommSec’s latest State of the States report confirms it. Western Australia isn’t just performing well; it’s outperforming the nation. It leads in employment, retail spending, and construction. While the East Coast struggles with rising unemployment, Western Australia continues to post strong job numbers, driven by mining, engineering, energy, and the massive supply chains that support them. Skilled workers are in high demand, wages remain strong, and opportunities extend to contractors, tradespeople, and service-based businesses.

But opportunity is not only about what you earn, it’s also about what you keep, and this is where Western Australia quietly crushes the competition.

Why Western Australia leads the nation

Perth’s cost of living remains significantly lower than that of Sydney and Melbourne. Median house prices remain manageable, making homeownership a realistic possibility rather than a distant fantasy. Every dollar stretches further, meaning more savings, more investing, and far less pressure on day-to-day life. It’s the combination of high-income potential with lower living costs that creates real upward mobility, and Western Australia is the only major state that delivers on all fronts.

Then there’s the sheer scale of government investment. WA’s infrastructure blitz from METRONET to major regional resource projects is injecting billions into the economy. That money flows directly into construction, logistics, engineering, transport, and professional services. For business owners, it means contracts. For job seekers, it means stability, while for investors, it means long-term economic confidence.

Unlike other states, WA has backed this with genuine business incentives: grants, local procurement programs, and streamlined pathways for businesses looking to grow or relocate. It’s becoming one of the most supportive environments in the country for entrepreneurs, startups, and small to medium-sized enterprises.

Why WA is the blueprint for sustainable growth

WA is no longer just “the mining state”. It’s a blueprint for sustainable growth, combining high wages, affordable living, and strong investment into both infrastructure and industry. Whether you’re building a career, scaling a business, or trying to get ahead financially, it’s one of the few places where the ground is moving in your favour.

So, in 2026, Western Australia isn’t just another option; it’s a strategic advantage and the people who recognise that early are giving themselves the best shot at winning.

What were the best and worst-performing sectors this week?

The best-performing sectors included Materials, up 3.77 per cent, followed by Energy, up 1.91 per cent and Utilities, up 1.16 per cent. The worst performing sectors included Information Technology, down 9.36 per cent, followed by Financials, down 4.89 per cent and Real Estate, down 2.58 per cent.

The best performing stocks in the ASX top 100 included IGO Limited, up 34.87 per cent, followed by Pilbara Minerals, up 30.38 per cent and Mineral Resources, up 19.22 per cent. The worst-performing stocks included Life360, down 20.41 per cent, followed by Xero Limited, down 13.67 per cent and Bendigo and Adelaide Bank, down 13.45 per cent

What's next for the Australian stock market?

This week, the All-Ordinaries Index staged a familiar tug-of-war around the crucial 9,000 level, but by Friday the sellers had taken control, pushing the index to a weekly loss of just over 1 per cent. That marks the third consecutive down week, but more importantly, it confirms a decisive break of the 9,000-point support zone that had held firm since August. With that floor now gone, the market has little meaningful support beneath it until the 8,800–8,600 region, where the next cluster of buyers is likely to emerge.

The standout story, however, was the Materials sector, which snapped back with an impressive 3.77 per cent surge. That strength also helped pull Energy higher. Volatility is not unusual in the Materials sector because when it turns, it often moves quickly and decisively. That’s why these sharp rebounds are exactly what you tend to see in the early stages of a strong bullish leg. 

If you’re not already scanning the top Materials stocks, now is the time, as these setups can appear suddenly, and once they run, the best opportunities often don’t come back around for a while.

For now, good luck and good trading.

Dale Gillham is the Chief Analyst at Wealth Within and the international bestselling author of How to Beat the Managed Funds by 20%. He is also the author of the award-winning book Accelerate Your Wealth—It’s Your Money, Your Choice, which is available in all good bookstores and online.

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