Revealed: Australia’s 50 highest-earning suburbs

Exclusive suburbs of Sydney and Perth, and the mining towns in Western Australia and Queensland dominate the list of Australia’s highest earning suburbs, according to new data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

The data, which covers the 2007-08 year, shows the Sydney suburb of Mosman can claim the title of Australia’s richest region, the residents earning an average of $131,606, excluding government pensions and allowances.

There are two suburbs from mining capital Perth in the top five, including Peppermint Grove (average earnings of $100,075) and Cottesloe ($98,219).

Queensland also has strong representation in the top 10, with the suburbs of Ascot ($84,759) and Hamilton ($84,759) in at sixth and seventh.

Victoria’s top suburb is the trendy inner city area of Prahran, which edged out ritzy addresses such as Toorak and Brighton with average earnings of $82,910.

South Australia’s list of top suburbs is led by Walkerville ($67,690), while in the ACT the suburb of Forrest lead the way with $78,373.

Tasmania and the Northern Territory do not have the suburbs in the top 50; their top ranking suburbs were Hobart ($47,389) and the remote mining area of Alyangula ($61,327).

While the data pre-dates the depths of the GFC-related downturn, the dominance of inner city areas and mining towns, where wages have remained strong throughout the last few years is a trend that SMEs can follow.

While catering to cashed-up workers in remote mining towns is probably easier said than done, smart companies should look at ways to tap into their high levels of disposable income and particularly their recreational spending. Travel and tourism, hospitality and other leisure services are all potential growth areas.

When this earnings data is taken with recent population data from the ABS showing a continued shift towards inner city living, it is clear that businesses need to be able to cater to this trend.