Mapped: Surprise suburbs where Australia’s highest earners live
Rich residents are raking in a massive $177k a year in Australia’s highest income suburb but parts of the outback have emerged as major money spinning hotspots. See the map.
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Australia’s highest earning suburbs are in Sydney and Western Australia but in a surprise twist, parts of the outback have matched and exceeded salaries in the capital cities.
A News Corp analysis of recently published tax data from 2022-23 showed the country’s top average yearly wage was found in North Sydney and Hornsby, at $103,117.
Perth’s inner suburbs and the north outback in WA also ranked highly, with average salaries at about $91,000.
Brisbane’s inner city reached 11th place nationally, with an average salary of $87,220, just above Melbourne’s inner south, with its average of $86,515.
The territories followed closely behind, with Darwin and the ACT holding averages at about $81,000.
Meanwhile, large parts of the outback in WA, the NT and in regional Queensland matched or beat salaries in the capital cities - largely due to its mining workforces.
“The mining industry is the highest paying industry and it tends to be in more remote regions, especially in WA and Queensland,” said SEEK senior economist Blair Chapman.
“In addition, several government departments and agencies provide additional pay and leave for living in remote or tropical regions.”
Other regional areas, particularly in the southern states had lower averages across the board.
South Australia’s South East, next to the Victorian border, had the country’s lowest average salary of $52,857, while Victoria’s North West had a similar average of $54,793.
Dr Chapman said there were relatively lower salaries in the WA Wheatbelt, the Darling Downs in Queensland and in Victoria’s North West, where “agriculture is a big employer”.
STATE-BY-STATE INCOME ANALYSIS
NEW SOUTH WALES
Sydney had many of the country’s highest earning suburbs with the big bucks flowing into North Sydney and its northern beaches along with the eastern suburbs.
The areas around North Sydney/Hornsby, and the Eastern Suburbs were the only two regions with average wages running into six digits, with their respective average salaries of $103,117 and $101,126.
The highest-earning suburb in the country was Northbridge, on Sydney’s lower north shore, where the average wage of its residents is a whopping $177,109.
Other North Sydney suburbs of Lavender Bay, Waverton and McMahons Point earned an average $122,216.
Sydney’s highest regional averages ran far above their counterparts in the other capital cities on the Eastern Seaboard.
Hays Australia managing director Jane McNeill said many employers in Sydney weren’t competing with companies in other Australian cities, but rather the world stage.
“It’s the economic and corporate capital, it’s the primary location for a lot of Australia’s major banks, investment firms, law firms and tech companies,” she said.
“We’ve got quite a lot of regional headquarters for some of the global firms.
“There’s a higher proportion of these based in Sydney, which probably attracts premium talent and they offer more globally competitive salaries, especially in things like leadership, strategic and commercial roles.”
She added it was also the “most expensive city in Australia to live in”.
“Employers do offer higher base salaries to compensate for elevated living costs in Sydney,” she said.
The city’s lowest earning pocket was the South West, including Liverpool, Fairfield and Cabramatta, with an average salary of $68,736.
Higher average salaries could be found outside the city, in the Illawarra, Newcastle and Lake Macquarie, Hunter Valley and Central Coast regions, with their wages ranging up to almost $74,000.
However, Ms McNeill said there could be change coming for Western Sydney, with more housing and businesses developing around the new airport, scheduled to open in 2026.
NSW’s lowest earning regions were further up the coastline, from the Mid North Coast up to Coffs Harbour - Grafton and Richmond - Tweed, with average wages ranging from about $56,000 to $58,000.
VICTORIA
Melbourne’s inner south, including Brighton and Cheltenham, had the highest average salary for Victoria, at $86,512.
The inner city and inner east suburbs, including Box Hill and Doncaster East, had similar figures.
Albert Park and Middle Park, in the inner suburbs comprised the highest paid postcode for the state, with an average wage of $144,015.
Melbourne’s north west, including Glenroy and Sunbury, had the lowest average wages for the city, at $71,118.
Ms McNeill said Melbourne was investing a lot in construction and infrastructure.
Regional centres Geelong and Ballarat trailed behind, with respective average salaries of $68,520 and $64,937.
Overall, Victoria’s lowest wages were in the north west region, including towns like Horsham and Mildura, with its average of $54,793.
QUEENSLAND
Brisbane’s inner City, from Ashgrove to Bulimba, had the Sunshine State’s highest average salary of $87,220.
The city’s west region, including Indooroopilly and The Gap, recorded a similar average.
Bardon on the north side had the state’s highest paid postcode, with an average salary of $124,231.
The Mackay-Isaac-Whitsunday and Central Queensland regions beat out other suburbs in Brisbane, with their respective averages of $80,998 and $79,130.
Brisbane’s south, including Coorparoo, Mount Gravatt and Calamvale, had an average of $73,786, compared to Logan - Beaudesert with $65,127.
Ms McNeill noted Queensland’s annual wage growth of 3.6 per cent for the year to March was higher than the national average of 3.4 per cent.
“[Queensland has] a fair degree of technology, digital transformations and professional services, but their growth is underpinned by state investment.
“They’ve got the Olympics scheduled, they’ve got a big infrastructure project, they’ve got a push for digital innovation and they do have a focus on regional retention of talent,” she said.
“Their public sector offers competitive salaries to attract talent as well.”
Townsville and Queensland’s outback, including Mt Isa and the Torres Strait, had average wages about $7,000 higher than the Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast and Cairns.
Ms McNeill said much of Queensland’s mining workforce lived in local regions, rather than being FIFO workers from down south.
“A lot of the time, there’s more local drive-in, drive-out, rather than fly-in, fly-out out there,” she said.
Wide Bay was at the bottom of the state’s rung, with an average wage of $59,390.
WESTERN AUSTRALIA
Perth’s inner suburbs, including Wembley and Nedlands, had the country’s fourth highest average salary at $91,343, only beaten by Sydney.
In particular, Cottesloe and Peppermint Grove made up the state’s highest paid postcode, with an average wage of $141,336.
The north outback, with Port Hedland, Broome and Karratha, had an average of $90,069, beating other suburbs in the state’s capital.
Ms McNeill said WA was the “epicentre of Australia’s mining, oil and gas industries” and much of the state’s industry was filled with FIFO workers, many of whom were based in Perth.
“That attracts highly paid individuals, particularly due to the fairly challenging working conditions, the fly-in fly-out remote locations and extreme skill shortages in these industries.
“If you look at the northern regional WA mining sector, they receive remote location allowances, roster bonuses, that type of thing - that inflates the average salaries across WA.”
She added the WA government had invested a lot to attract workers, including a relocation bonus for construction and building labourers, up to $10,000.
Perth’s lowest average salary of $75,763 was in its South East, including suburbs such as Cannington, Armadale and Byford.
The south outback, including towns like Exmouth, Kalgoorlie and Geraldton, had an average wage of $75,280.
The state’s overall lowest average wage was in the Wheat Belt, with towns like Albany and Northam, at $57,826.
SOUTH AUSTRALIA
South Australia’s south east, which included Mt Gambier, had the country’s lowest average wage of $52,857.
The Barossa-Yorke-Mid North region had a similar average of $55,675.
The state’s highest average salary was in Adelaide’s Central and Hills region, at $68,849.
Adelaide City was the highest paid postcode for South Australia, with an average salary of $132,515.
The city’s lowest average wage of $61,664 was found in the north, including suburbs like Salisbury and Craigmore.
NORTHERN TERRITORY
Darwin had an average salary of $80,300, while the NT outback, including Alice Springs and Katherine, had an average of $72,620.
Casuarina, in Darwin’s north, had the territory’s highest paid postcode, with an average salary of $111,605.
AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL TERRITORY
The nation’s capital had an average salary of $81,771.
Barton, Yarralumba and Deakin were among the highest paid suburbs, with an average salary of $124,182.
TASMANIA
The Hobart region had Tasmania’s highest average salary of $64,059.
Hobart city was also the state’s highest paid suburb, with an average wage of $99,984.
Launceston and the north east had an average of $59,779.
Tasmania’s south east, including Port Arthur, had the state’s lowest average salary of $55,800.
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Originally published as Mapped: Surprise suburbs where Australia’s highest earners live
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