Top 10 richest and poorest suburbs in Australia

Image: Benny Marty/Shutterstock.com

New data shows eight of Australia’s 10 highest-earning postcodes are located in Sydney, while five of the lowest-earning postcodes are in regional New South Wales.

The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) analysed the tax returns of almost 15 million Australians from the 2019-2020 income year, finding the postcodes with the highest and lowest average taxable income.

The Perth suburbs of Cottesloe and Peppermint Grove took out the top spot. Data from the ATO found that residents in the 6011 postcode had an average taxable income of $325,343.

But the list was mostly dominated by affluent areas of Sydney. The 2027 postcode, which includes Darling Point, Edgecliff and Point Piper, came in second with $205,957. This was followed by the 2023 postcode, which includes Bellevue Hill, with an average income of $195,204.

On the other end of the scale, the New South Wales regional towns of Gurley (2398), Burren Junction, Drildool, Nowley (2386), Boomi and Garah (2405), reported the lowest incomes. In these areas, the taxable incomes were negative for the 2019-2020 income year. This may be due to farming losses in the areas.

What are the richest suburbs in Australia?

The highest-earning suburbs in Australia are Cottesloe and Peppermint Grove in Western Australia, based on the ATO’s latest taxation figures. See the full list of postcodes below.

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Postcode	Suburb and state/territory	Individuals	Average taxable income
6011	Cottesloe, Peppermint Grove – WA	6,581	$325,343
2027	Darling Point, Edgecliff, HMAS Rushcutters, Point Piper – NSW	5,910	$205,957
2023	Bellevue Hill – NSW	7,382	$195,204
2030	Dover Heights, HMAS Watson, Rose Bay North, Vaucluse, Watsons Bay – NSW	9,888	$186,025
3142	Hawksburn, Toorak – Vic	9,970	$184,939
2088	Mosman, Spit Junction – NSW	20,158	$177,645
2110	Hunters Hill, Woolwich – NSW	6,173	$175,907
2025	Woollahra – NSW	5,270	$172,600
2063	Northbridge – NSW	4,445	$170,619
2028	Double Bay – NSW	3,570	$170,051

Source: Australian Taxation Office (ATO), Taxation Statistics 2019-20, Individuals: Top 10 highest-earning postcodes by average taxable income, 2019-20 income year. Table ordered by highest to lowest average taxable income.

What are the poorest suburbs in Australia?

The lowest-earning suburb in Australia is Gurley in New South Wales, according to the ATO’s latest figures. See the full list of postcodes below.

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Postcode	Suburb and state/territory	Individuals	Average taxable income
2398	Gurley – NSW	138	-$23,484
2386	Burren Junction, Drildool, Nowley – NSW	210	-$17,794
2405	Boomi, Garah – NSW	270	-$14,763
5013	Gillman, Ottoway, Pennington, Rosewater, Rosewater East, Wingfield – SA	5,592	-$7,906
2397	Bellata, Jews Lagoon, Millie – NSW	235	-$4,645
4423	Glenmorgan, Teelba – QLD	124	-$1,172
2873	Albert, Five Ways, Miamley, Tottenham – NSW	375	$9,822
4426	Jackson, Jackson North, Jackson South – QLD	62	$9,851
5309	Borrika, Halidon, Mindarie, Sandalwood – SA	50	$11,576
4498	Kioma, Toobeah – QLD	124	$11,807

Source: Australian Taxation Office, Taxation Statistics 2019-2020, Individuals: Top 10 lowest-earning postcodes by average taxable income, 2019-2020 income year. Table ordered by lowest to highest average taxable income.

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Cover image source: Benny Marty/Shutterstock.com.

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This article was reviewed by our Sub Editor Tom Letts before it was updated, as part of our fact-checking process.

Tamika Seeto

Finance Journalist

Tamika is a former Finance Journalist at Canstar. She covered banking and general insurance. She has a Bachelor of Journalism and Bachelor of Laws (Honours) at QUT. Her work is regularly referenced by major publishers, such as The Guardian, ABC, Yahoo Finance, The Motley Fool and The Conversation.

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