By Matt Wade and Nigel Gladstone
North-western Sydney has emerged as one of Australia’s most prosperous regions as new data shows five of the nation’s 10 most advantaged suburbs in that area.
Schofields West-Colebee, 45 kilometres north-west of Sydney’s central business district, has been ranked the city’s most advantaged suburb by a Bureau of Statistics index based on the latest census figures. Almost 65 per cent of households in that neighbourhood were in the top quarter of the index’s measure of economic advantage.
Four other suburbs in north-western Sydney were among Australia’s 10 most advantaged suburbs: Box Hill-Nelson (63.8 per cent in most advantaged category), Marsden Park-Shanes Park (62.2 per cent), North Kellyville (61.8 per cent) and Castle Hill West (61.6 per cent).
Seven localities in north-western Sydney ranked higher than suburbs in traditional hotspots of affluence on the north shore and in the eastern suburbs, although Pymble, Wahroonga East-Warrawee, Castle Cove-Northbridge and Frenchs Forest-Oxford Falls all ranked among the city’s 20 most advantaged neighbourhoods.
Two of Sydney’s five highest-ranked suburbs are within the Blacktown City Council area.
The Index of Household Advantage and Disadvantage (IHAD) rates suburbs using a range of variables including household income, home size, ownership status, educational attainment, occupational skill level, vehicle ownership, employment status, volunteering and family stability.
It does not take account of household wealth (including property values) which is not measured by the census.
Throsby in northern Canberra was ranked the most advantaged neighbourhood. Schofields West-Colebee was second and Forde in northern Canberra third.
The findings draw attention to changing patterns of prosperity in Sydney. The city’s most advantaged suburbs, on its measure, tend to have a high share of married couples with children, a high share of adults with a bachelors degree (or higher), a high rate of workforce participation and a high proportion of relatively large detached houses. They tend to have low unemployment, a low share of residents aged over 65 and a low share of single-parent households.
KPMG urban economist Terry Rawnsley said many well-educated, dual-income families had been drawn to the north-west by larger, more affordable housing, and this trend had boosted the number of highly advantaged households in that region over time.
“The north-west has good access to jobs by road, good access by rail plus lots of good jobs within a 10 or 20 minute kind of commute as well,” he said. “This is definitely showing that the advantage that existed in places like Sydney’s north shore for long time has moved to the north-west with a new generation.”
The development of transport links, especially the M7 motorway and Sydney metro, have underpinned the transformation of north-western Sydney; the city’s five most advantaged neighbourhoods are near those key road and rail corridors.
Mark McCrindle, a demographer and social researcher based in the Hills district, said the region was highly entrepreneurial. which underpinned its economic success. The Hills Shire alone has more than 24,000 businesses.
“Sydney’s north-west is very socio-economically dynamic,” he said.
Simran Dhaliwal at Rouse Hill metro station in north-western SydneyCredit: Janie Barrett
North-western Sydney also performs well on measures of education, including a high share of residents with a bachelors qualification or higher.
Simran Dhaliwal, a 28-year-old lawyer who grew up in north-western Sydney and went to school in the region, said education was highly valued in her community.
“We had good networks and role models around us because the entire community was focused on education,” she said. “These networks reinforce economic and educational advantages across generations.”
Dhaliwal’s parents, who migrated to Australia from India, hold masters degrees and her brother recently qualified as a doctor. Her family home at The Gables is within the Box Hill-Nelson neighbourhood, which was ranked Sydney’s second most advantaged.
Sydney also has many suburbs where a high share of households were in the most disadvantaged category, according to the index.
In Ashcroft-Busby-Miller near Liverpool 56.6 per cent of households were in the most disadvantaged quartile, the highest in NSW. More than half the population in the nearby suburb of Fairfield also had a high share of disadvantaged households (54.3 per cent in the most disadvantaged quartile).
The index showed some suburbs with high rates of advantage were located very close to some of the city’s most disadvantaged neighbourhoods. Marsden Park-Shanes Park was ranked Sydney’s third most advantaged neighbourhood with 62.2 per cent of households in the most advantaged quartile. Next door, Bidwill-Hebersham-Emerton was ranked the third most disadvantaged neighbourhood with 51.4 per cent in the most disadvantaged category.
The number of families in the index’s lowest quartile, earning less than $1000 per week, increased by more than 14,000 in 2021 compared to 2016 (849,632 vs 835,442).
Those in the top bracket, earning more than $8000 per week, increased by 95,906 in the five years to 2021.
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