--- title: "Household Income Across Australia’s Suburbs in 2021" url: https://australianproperty.network/apn-social-capital-index/apn-bedrock/income-velocity-wealth/household-income-across-australias-suburbs-2021/ date: 2026-10-08 modified: 2026-10-07 lang: en author: "APN National" description: "The median Australian household earned $1,746 a week at the 2021 Census. Across suburbs the median ran from about $1,000 to $2,400 or more, and where people lived on that range differed sharply by state." categories: - "Income Velocity & Wealth" tags: - "2021 Census" - "24111" - "APN Bedrock" - "household income" word_count: 997 --- # Household Income Across Australia’s Suburbs in 2021 At the 2021 Census the median Australian household had an income of $1,746 a week before tax. Across suburbs and localities the median ran from $1,025 or less in the lowest tenth of localities to $2,441 or more in the highest tenth. Where people live on that range differs by state: 99.7% of ACT residents lived in localities whose median was at or above the national figure, against 28.0% in South Australia and 20.8% in Tasmania. After the ACT, New South Wales had the largest share of residents in high-income localities: 16.6% lived where the median was $2,500 a week or more. **Data anchors** · [Income Velocity & Wealth (24111)](https://australianproperty.network/apn-codex/series-20000/series-24000/series-24100/series-24110/series-24111/): median household income in 6,782 localities, 2021 Census · national median $1,746 a week; the middle locality $1,636 · 53.1% of residents in localities at or above the national median. Incomes are before tax, in August 2021 dollars, and not adjusted for household size. #### What the measure is The Census asks each person aged 15 and over for their usual income before tax, in ranges, and the ABS derives a household total from them. For each suburb and locality it publishes the median: the household income at which half of households earn more and half less. This piece uses those medians for the 6,782 localities with more than 200 residents. They are the input to Income Velocity & Wealth (24111), one of the five parts of APN Bedrock™ (Socio-Economic Position) (24110). Household income depends on how many people live in a household and how many work, so a locality of retired couples or single people can have a low median without high hardship, and a locality of large working households a high one. The figures are in August 2021 dollars. #### How far the medians spread | State or territory | Localities | Lowest tenth | Middle locality | Highest tenth | Residents below $1,000 | | ------------------ | ---------- | ------------ | --------------- | ------------- | ---------------------- | | Australian Capital Territory | 101 | $2,043 | $2,362 | $3,117 | 0.1% | | Northern Territory | 162 | $878 | $1,794 | $2,572 | 4.8% | | Western Australia | 697 | $1,083 | $1,722 | $2,443 | 2.2% | | New South Wales | 2,085 | $1,047 | $1,696 | $2,710 | 3.2% | | Victoria | 1,229 | $1,092 | $1,682 | $2,295 | 2.1% | | Queensland | 1,493 | $972 | $1,593 | $2,357 | 4.7% | | South Australia | 692 | $970 | $1,504 | $2,220 | 7.0% | | Tasmania | 319 | $919 | $1,404 | $1,991 | 11.4% | | **Australia** | **6,782** | **$1,025** | **$1,636** | **$2,441** | **3.5%** | APN calculation based on Australian Bureau of Statistics data: Census of Population and Housing 2021, General Community Profile, August 2021, Table G02. Locality medians at the 10th, 50th and 90th percentiles of localities in each state, and the share of residents living in localities with a median below $1,000 a week. The middle locality nationally had a median of $1,636 a week, below the national household median of $1,746: localities with more residents tend to have higher medians, so the typical household sits in a higher-income locality than the typical locality. The gap between the lowest and highest tenths of localities was widest in the Northern Territory, from $878 to $2,572, and New South Wales, from $1,047 to $2,710, and narrowest in Tasmania and the ACT, where the two tenths were about $1,070 apart. In the ACT even the lowest tenth of localities had a median of $2,043. In Tasmania, 11.4% of residents lived in localities with a median below $1,000 a week, the highest share of any state. #### Living above the national median ##### Residents in localities with a median household income at or above the national median, 2021 - 0%20%40%60%80%100%Australian Capital Territory99.7%Northern Territory74.1%Western Australia57.2%New South Wales57.0%Victoria56.2%Queensland48.3%South Australia28.0%Tasmania20.8%Australia53.1% APN calculation based on Australian Bureau of Statistics data: Census of Population and Housing 2021, General Community Profile, August 2021, Table G02. Share of residents living in localities whose median household income was at or above the national median of $1,746 a week. Nationally, 53.1% of residents lived in a locality whose median household income was at or above $1,746 a week. The share was 74.1% in the Northern Territory and between 48.3% and 57.2% in Queensland, Victoria, New South Wales and Western Australia. #### High-income localities ##### Residents in localities with a median household income of $2,500 a week or more, 2021 0%10%20%30%40%Australian Capital Territory35.1%New South Wales16.6%Northern Territory13.9%Western Australia7.2%Queensland6.9%Victoria5.0%South Australia1.9%Tasmania0.7%Australia9.6% APN calculation based on Australian Bureau of Statistics data: Census of Population and Housing 2021, General Community Profile, August 2021, Table G02. Share of residents living in localities whose median household income was $2,500 a week or more. Localities with a median of $2,500 a week or more housed 9.6% of residents nationally. They were most common in the ACT (35.1%) and New South Wales (16.6%), and rare in South Australia (1.9%) and Tasmania (0.7%). How the states compare across all five measures of socio-economic position is set out in [The Socio-Economic Ladder, State by State: Where Australians Lived in 2021](https://australianproperty.network/?p=151599). $1,746National median household income, per week$1,636The middle locality’s median53.1%Residents in localities at or above the national median16.6%NSW residents in localities with a median of $2,500 or more #### What this does not show A median describes the middle household, not the range within a locality, and many localities mix high and low incomes. The figures are before tax and are not adjusted for household size or for price differences between states, which matter for comparing living standards. They describe August 2021, when lockdowns in New South Wales and Victoria were affecting work and incomes; wages and incomes have risen since, and the first results of the 2026 Census are due from mid-2027. Localities of 200 residents or fewer are excluded. **Methodology note.** Median total household income per week for each locality is from the ABS 2021 Census General Community Profile, table G02. Percentiles are across localities with more than 200 residents in each state (unweighted); shares of residents use each locality’s 2021 population. The national median of $1,746 a week is the ABS figure for Australia from 2021 Census QuickStats. Australian figures include four localities in Australia’s other territories (Jervis Bay, Norfolk Island, Christmas Island and Home Island; 4,386 residents), which are not shown separately. **Sources** Australian Bureau of Statistics (Reference period: 2021) *2021 Census QuickStats: Australia* [[https://www.abs.gov.au/census/find-census-data/quickstats/2021/AUS](https://www.abs.gov.au/census/find-census-data/quickstats/2021/AUS)], ABS Website, accessed 7 October 2026.- Australian Bureau of Statistics (Reference period: 2021) *Census of Population and Housing: General Community Profile* [[https://www.abs.gov.au/census/find-census-data/datapacks](https://www.abs.gov.au/census/find-census-data/datapacks)], ABS Website, accessed 7 October 2026. *ABS material is used under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence. Calculations, standardisations and index readings are APN’s and are not attributable to the ABS.* Findings are presented on the basis of data and evidence alone.