The area containing Forrest, Griffith, Manuka and Red Hill has the highest average taxable income in the ACT. Photo: Michelle Kroll.
Earlier this month, one of the questions in our weekly quiz was about Canberra’s wealthiest postcode area.
Just over half of you got it right – 57 per cent of people correctly guessed that 2603 is the ACT’s top-earning postcode. The area containing Forrest, Griffith, Manuka and Red Hill had a median taxable income of $84,044 in 2020-21, according to the most recent Australian Taxation Office data.
That places it as the 11th wealthiest postcode in Australia.
Given the area’s average taxable income is much higher, at $130,993, this disparity is likely caused by some very high-earning residents skewing the results.
The ACT’s second wealthiest postcode was 2600 (which includes Barton, Deakin, Parkes, Russell and Yarralumla among its residents) with a median taxable income of $82,568 and an average taxable income of $122,533.
2604 (Kingston, Causeway and Narrabundah) was next with $81,052, followed by 2605 (Curtin, Garran and Hughes, $73,539) and 2911 (Crace, Mitchell and Kenny, $73,016) to round up the top five.
Unsurprisingly, these suburbs are also where you can find some of the ACT’s most expensive homes. Some of the highest median home values can be found in Griffith, Red Hill, Deakin, Campbell and Yarralumla, according to CoreLogic.
These are also the suburbs that are becoming increasingly exclusive to live in, as research conducted by the Australian Urban Observatory reported earlier this year by looking at census data between 2016 and 2021. The study found Kingston, Barton and Forrest were classed as areas that remained ‘exclusive’ to high-income households throughout the five-year period.
On the other end of the scale, the Canberra postcode with the lowest median taxable income was 2601 (Acton and City) at $46,744, likely because of the large number of students living in the area.
It’s followed by 2609 (Fyshwick, Majura, Pialligo and Symonston) with a median income of $52,354; 2912 (Gungahlin, $54,429); 2617 (Belconnen, $57,674); and 2902 (Kambah, $61,971).
Canberra has long been known for its high median incomes. The most recent Australian Bureau of Statistics data found that the ACT’s median total income was $68,325 in 2019-20, putting it far ahead of the national median of $52,338.
According to that data, 29 per cent of people living in the ACT are in the top 10 per cent of earners, and 6.8 per cent are in the top 1 per cent.
The most up-to-date ABS data looks at weekly earnings, which suggests that in April 2023, people working full-time in the ACT earned an average of $2,022.90 per week, well above the national average of $1,838.10. It was second only to WA, with average weekly ordinary time earnings of $2,039.30.
*This article has been corrected for an error. Crace, Mitchell and Kenny is 2911 not 2611 as previously stated.
Original Article published by Lizzie Waymouth on Riotact.
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