Sydney's richest and poorest postcodes have barely changed since 2004

The richest and poorest areas in NSW are well entrenched with nine of the 10 highest and seven of the 10 lowest postcodes for average taxable income remaining the same in 2015/16 as 2014/15.

A Herald analysis of the latest Australian Taxation Office data, released on Friday, also reveals eight of the top 10 postcodes for average taxable income in the state were the same in 2015/16 as they were in 2004/05, and three of the lowest 10 average income postcodes in 2004/05 remained in the bottom 10 in 2015/16.

Sydney’s 2027 postcode, which covers Darling Point, Edgecliff and Point Piper, had the highest average taxable income in Australia with $192,500, ahead of Melbourne’s 3142 postcode,
which covers Toorak and Hawksburn.

Nationally the top 10 postcodes remained the same as the year before except for Woollahra (2025), which fell out of the top 10 and was replaced by the postcode around Double Bay (2028).

Seven of the top 10 postcodes for average taxable income are in NSW with two Victorian areas (3142) and Portsea (3944) plus the Western Australian area of Cottesloe and Peppermint Grove (6011), which moved up one place from ninth.

The lowest earning area in the country was in NSW for the second year in a row with postcode 2387, near Narrabri in the far north-east of the state, reporting an average taxable income of about $12,000, up from $8832 in 2014/15.

Victoria had five of the bottom 10 postcodes in 2015/16 with Watchem and surrounds in postcode 3482 recording the second lowest average income nationally.