--- title: "The Socio-Economic Ladder, State by State: Where Australians Lived in 2021" url: https://australianproperty.network/apn-social-capital-index/apn-bedrock/socio-economic-ladder-state-by-state-2021/ date: 2026-10-07 modified: 2026-10-07 lang: en author: "APN National" description: "At the 2021 Census, more than half of ACT residents lived in Australia's most advantaged fifth of localities, and a third of Tasmanians in the least advantaged fifth. Each state's residents on the national socio-economic ladder." categories: - "APN Bedrock™" tags: - "24110" - "APN Bedrock" - "SEIFA IRSAD" word_count: 989 --- # The Socio-Economic Ladder, State by State: Where Australians Lived in 2021 Where Australians live on the national socio-economic ladder differs markedly by state. At the 2021 Census, 58.7% of residents of the Australian Capital Territory lived in localities in the most advantaged fifth nationally, and almost none in the two least advantaged fifths. The Northern Territory and Western Australia had the next largest shares in the top fifth, 18.2% and 17.1%, and outside the ACT, Victoria and Western Australia had the smallest shares in the bottom fifth, 15.7% and 16.1%. Tasmania had the largest share in the least advantaged fifth, 33.1%, followed by South Australia at 28.7%. Victoria had fewer residents than the national average at both ends of the ladder. **Data anchors** · [APN Bedrock™ (Socio-Economic Position) (24110)](https://australianproperty.network/apn-codex/series-20000/series-24000/series-24100/series-24110/): 6,782 localities, home to 22.8 million people, 2021 Census · 58.7% of ACT residents live in the most advantaged fifth of localities; 33.1% of Tasmanians in the least advantaged fifth. Readings rank each locality against other localities nationally. The figures describe August 2021. #### Measuring socio-economic position APN Bedrock™ (Socio-Economic Position) (24110) ranks each suburb and locality on five measures from the 2021 Census: median household income, the share of households that own their home, the unemployment rate, median mortgage repayments against household income, and the ABS Index of Relative Socio-economic Advantage and Disadvantage. Each measure is converted to a national percentile rank, and the reading is the average of the measures available for each locality, from 0 to 100. This piece divides the 6,782 localities with more than 200 residents into five equal groups, from the least to the most advantaged, and asks what share of each state’s residents live in each group. Because the groups contain equal numbers of localities rather than equal numbers of people, the national shares are not exactly one-fifth each: the most advantaged fifth holds 13.2% of residents, as its localities are smaller on average. #### Each state on the national ladder ##### Residents by national fifth of socio-economic position, by state and territory, 2021 - 0%20%40%60%80%100%Least advantaged fifthSecondMiddleFourthMost advantaged fifthAll residentsACTWANTVic.NSWQldSATas.Aust. Localities (ABS Suburbs and Localities, 2021) with more than 200 residents. Share of each state’s residents living in localities in each national fifth of socio-economic position; fifths are equal numbers of localities. APN Bedrock™ (Socio-Economic Position) (24110). APN calculation based on Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census data. | State or territory | Residents | Localities | Least advantaged fifth | Most advantaged fifth | Average reading | | ------------------ | --------- | ---------- | ---------------------- | --------------------- | --------------- | | Australian Capital Territory | 393,767 | 101 | 0.1% | 58.7% | 70.3 | | Western Australia | 2,414,259 | 697 | 16.1% | 17.1% | 50.2 | | Northern Territory | 216,900 | 162 | 22.3% | 18.2% | 49.2 | | Victoria | 5,810,693 | 1,229 | 15.7% | 10.0% | 48.7 | | New South Wales | 7,305,460 | 2,085 | 25.9% | 13.0% | 45.5 | | Queensland | 4,575,374 | 1,493 | 26.8% | 12.5% | 45.2 | | South Australia | 1,618,559 | 692 | 28.7% | 12.0% | 43.7 | | Tasmania | 479,020 | 319 | 33.1% | 7.7% | 41.2 | | **Australia** | **22,818,418** | **6,782** | **22.3%** | **13.2%** | **47.0** | Localities (ABS Suburbs and Localities, 2021) with more than 200 residents. Average reading weighted by residents; readings run from 0 to 100. APN Bedrock™ (Socio-Economic Position) (24110). APN calculation based on Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census data. The ACT stands apart: 92.0% of its residents lived in the two most advantaged fifths. Western Australia had 17.1% of residents in the top fifth and 16.1% in the bottom fifth. New South Wales and Queensland each had about a quarter of residents in the least advantaged fifth (25.9% and 26.8%), and New South Wales had more in the top fifth (13.0%) than Queensland (12.5%). Victoria’s residents were concentrated in the middle: 74.3% lived in the three middle fifths. The Northern Territory was spread across the ladder: 51.1% lived in the two most advantaged fifths and 22.3% in the least advantaged. #### Average position by state ##### Average APN Bedrock™ reading, weighted by residents, 2021 01020304050607080Australian Capital Territory70.3Western Australia50.2Northern Territory49.2Victoria48.7New South Wales45.5Queensland45.2South Australia43.7Tasmania41.2Australia47.0 Localities (ABS Suburbs and Localities, 2021) with more than 200 residents. Average reading weighted by residents; readings run from 0 to 100. APN Bedrock™ (Socio-Economic Position) (24110). APN calculation based on Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census data. Weighted by residents, the average reading ranged from 70.3 in the ACT to 41.2 in Tasmania, against 47.0 nationally. How socio-economic position lines up with safety, education, amenity and hazard exposure across localities is covered in [Advantage, Safety and Services: Which Neighbourhood Conditions Go Together](https://australianproperty.network/?p=151597). 58.7%ACT residents in the most advantaged fifth74.3%Victorians in the three middle fifths33.1%Tasmanians in the least advantaged fifth47.0National average reading, weighted by residents #### What this does not show The figures describe localities as they were on Census night, 10 August 2021, when parts of the country were in lockdown and interest rates were at their lowest; much has changed since, and the first results of the 2026 Census are due from mid-2027. The readings are ranks, so they show where a locality sits relative to others, not absolute living standards, and they average across everyone in a locality: advantaged and disadvantaged households live side by side in most places. The ACT and the Northern Territory are small, and the NT’s localities include remote communities alongside Darwin and Alice Springs. Localities of 200 residents or fewer are excluded. **Methodology note.** APN Bedrock™ (Socio-Economic Position) (24110) is the equal-weighted mean of up to five national percentile ranks, each from the 2021 Census, averaged over the measures available for each locality: median household income (General Community Profile table G02), home ownership share (G37), unemployment rate (G46, persons, inverted), median mortgage repayment against median household income (G02, inverted) and the ABS SEIFA 2021 Index of Relative Socio-economic Advantage and Disadvantage for Suburbs and Localities. Fifths are equal-count groups of the 6,782 localities with more than 200 residents and a reading, ranked on the composite; localities tied at a boundary between fifths are placed in the higher fifth. Population shares use each locality’s 2021 population. Australian totals 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) *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.- Australian Bureau of Statistics (Reference period: 2021) *Socio-Economic Indexes for Areas (SEIFA), Australia* [[https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/people-and-communities/socio-economic-indexes-areas-seifa-australia/2021](https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/people-and-communities/socio-economic-indexes-areas-seifa-australia/2021)], 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.