Sydney has the longest commutes to work and longest peak-hour delays of any Australian city, according to the National Cities Performance Framework, a first-ever comparative report on Australian cities.

Only 58 per cent of Sydneysiders can drive to work in less than 30 minutes.

Sydney commutes are also 68 per cent longer during peak-hour than they would be otherwise.

Scott Menck, 27, owns a home in Willoughby with his girlfriend and he says the commute to work does impact on their work-life balance.

"In terms of lifestyle it has an impact. It takes 45 minutes to get to work in the morning or an hour in [my girlfriend's] case then you have to work around that and plan in advance what everyone else is doing," he told SBS News.

"It's hard to fit everything in obviously, because we spend so much time at work, and it's back to trying to pay the mortgage off as well."

When considering where to buy, Mr Menck said price was a major factor in the couple's decision.

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Housing affordability

According to National Cities Performance Framework, the median annual household income in Sydney is $90,800.

Meanwhile the median dwelling price for a house was $929,000 and $769,000 for a unit.

"I love living in Sydney, I've always lived here, wanted to live here, but when it came to looking to buy a place and where we were going to live, based on affordability, that's what dictated that," Mr Menck said.

Experts suggest establishing areas outside of traditional CBDs would alleviate the house price problem and the commuting issue.

The Demographics Group's Simon Kuestenmacher said it was a logical sea change.

"I think that's a very healthy idea, a very strong idea, because ultimately house prices become cheaper once you move away from the CBD," he told SBS News.

Canberra's advantages

If Sydney's commuter and affordability woes are getting you down, there is some good news - Canberra is a commuter's dream.

Ninety-nine per cent of Canberra residents can drive to work in less than half hour and peak hour traffic delays their journeys to work by just 35 per cent.

Workers in the nation's capital are also the most likely to walk or cycle to work.

More than seven per cent of Canberrans opt for active commutes while less than two per cent of Western Sydney workers do the same.

If you needed more reasons to move to Canberra, the report also says the capital has the most greenspace, the lowest greenhouse gas emissions and some of the cleanest air of any Australian city.

It found Australians were the most likely to own their homes outright if they lived in Wollongong or Geelong, and people most likely to have a mortgage lived in Perth.

Meanwhile Perth and Darwin have seen the highest average population growth of any Australian cities in the last 10 years while Mackay is the only Australian city to have seen its population get smaller in the last year.

You can read the full report here: https://smart-cities.dashboard.gov.au/all-cities/overview.

- with additional reporting from Matt Connellan