Most densely populated suburbs in Australia

A ranking of the top 150 most densely populated suburbs in Australia. New South Wales utterly dominates the list, with 118 of the top areas. Victoria provides 25, Queensland provides 6 and Western Australia provides 1 suburb.

The suburb with the highest population density in Australia is Elisabeth Bay in inner Sydney. Victoria's densest area is Southbank, Queensland's is Teneriffe and WA's is Highgate.

*Density = Population density measured by persons per square kilometre.

Rank	State Rank		Name	State	Persons	Area (sq. km.)	Density*
1	1		Elizabeth Bay	NSW	5093	0.253	20165
2	2		Rushcutters Bay	NSW	2372	0.156	15221
3	3		Wentworth Point	NSW	2759	0.214	12869
4	4		Ultimo	NSW	7111	0.558	12734
5	5		Pyrmont	NSW	11618	0.933	12458
6	6		Darlinghurst	NSW	10060	0.857	11738
7	7		Milsons Point	NSW	2013	0.172	11701
8	8		Surry Hills	NSW	15342	1.317	11651
9	9		Bondi	NSW	9614	0.861	11162
10	10		Potts Point	NSW	6862	0.617	11128
11	11		Redfern	NSW	12034	1.172	10269
12	12		Haymarket	NSW	5376	0.529	10169
13	13		Liberty Grove	NSW	2048	0.207	9880
14	14		Millers Point	NSW	1736	0.178	9739
15	15		Waterloo (NSW)	NSW	10657	1.134	9399
16	16		Hillsdale	NSW	4977	0.546	9110
17	17		Bondi Beach	NSW	10748	1.186	9063
18	18		Newtown (NSW)	NSW	14148	1.571	9008
19	1		Southbank	VIC	11235	1.262	8900
20	19		Chippendale	NSW	4057	0.463	8761
21	20		Allawah	NSW	5367	0.625	8591
22	21		Woolloomooloo	NSW	3716	0.434	8553
23	22		Erskineville	NSW	6848	0.814	8412
24	23		Edgecliff	NSW	1981	0.241	8217
25	24		Bondi Junction	NSW	8660	1.079	8023
26	25		Enmore (Marrickville - NSW)	NSW	3572	0.445	8022
27	2		Carlton (Vic.)	VIC	13509	1.696	7964
28	26		Harris Park	NSW	5072	0.637	7956
29	27		Kirribilli	NSW	3668	0.476	7708
30	28		Paddington (NSW)	NSW	12134	1.611	7531
31	29		Neutral Bay	NSW	9384	1.265	7421
32	30		Coogee (NSW)	NSW	14012	1.918	7304
33	31		Waverley (NSW)	NSW	4253	0.590	7206
34	32		Lakemba	NSW	15508	2.187	7091
35	33		North Bondi	NSW	8581	1.213	7076
36	34		Kingsford (NSW)	NSW	14101	2.013	7004
37	35		Wiley Park	NSW	9698	1.393	6962
38	3		Fitzroy (Vic.)	VIC	9430	1.377	6846
39	36		St Leonards (NSW)	NSW	4467	0.665	6717
40	4		Balaclava (Vic.)	VIC	5383	0.805	6686
41	37		McMahons Point	NSW	2344	0.352	6659
42	38		Kurraba Point	NSW	1702	0.258	6602
43	39		Glebe (NSW)	NSW	11123	1.688	6589
44	40		Cremorne (NSW)	NSW	11048	1.691	6534
45	1		Teneriffe	QLD	4699	0.721	6518
46	41		Balmain East	NSW	1866	0.289	6454
47	42		Balmain	NSW	9783	1.523	6422
48	43		Wollstonecraft	NSW	8012	1.255	6383
49	5		Windsor (Vic.)	VIC	7069	1.111	6364
50	44		Ashfield (NSW)	NSW	22189	3.495	6348
51	45		Waitara	NSW	5370	0.847	6337
52	46		Dulwich Hill	NSW	12981	2.052	6326
53	47		Campsie	NSW	21218	3.370	6295
54	48		Dee Why	NSW	19838	3.152	6293
55	49		Queenscliff (NSW)	NSW	3208	0.512	6268
56	50		Stanmore (NSW)	NSW	7702	1.259	6115
57	51		Fairlight	NSW	5489	0.902	6087
58	52		Hurstville	NSW	26040	4.281	6082
59	53		Summer Hill (Ashfield - NSW)	NSW	6587	1.092	6032
60	54		Forest Lodge	NSW	2722	0.452	6019
61	55		Dolls Point	NSW	1784	0.298	5991
62	56		Tamarama	NSW	1450	0.243	5967
63	6		Prahran	VIC	11191	1.901	5887
64	57		Darlington (Sydney - NSW)	NSW	2243	0.381	5883
65	58		Newington (NSW)	NSW	5320	0.908	5860
66	59		Clovelly	NSW	4581	0.782	5858
67	60		Annandale (NSW)	NSW	8669	1.489	5823
68	61		Petersham	NSW	7529	1.298	5801
69	62		Rockdale	NSW	14036	2.424	5790
70	7		Elwood	VIC	14638	2.554	5732
71	63		Double Bay	NSW	4687	0.819	5725
72	64		Darling Point	NSW	3919	0.687	5703
73	65		Rhodes	NSW	5679	1.006	5645
74	66		Cremorne Point	NSW	1978	0.352	5618
75	67		Woollahra	NSW	7180	1.279	5615
76	8		St Kilda (Vic.)	VIC	17795	3.179	5597
77	9		St Kilda East	VIC	12576	2.256	5575
78	2		New Farm	QLD	11330	2.055	5513
79	68		Birchgrove	NSW	3107	0.576	5397
80	10		St Kilda West	VIC	2845	0.529	5381
81	3		Kangaroo Point (Qld)	QLD	7000	1.301	5379
82	69		Lavender Bay	NSW	852	0.159	5357
83	11		Richmond (Vic.)	VIC	23814	4.476	5321
84	70		Meadowbank (NSW)	NSW	3667	0.691	5303
85	71		Crows Nest (NSW)	NSW	4048	0.765	5293
86	72		Camperdown (NSW)	NSW	7866	1.491	5276
87	12		South Yarra	VIC	19134	3.649	5243
88	73		Breakfast Point	NSW	2744	0.524	5232
89	74		Randwick	NSW	27740	5.309	5225
90	13		Glen Huntly	VIC	4658	0.894	5212
91	75		Leichhardt (NSW)	NSW	13520	2.612	5176
92	14		Ripponlea	VIC	1478	0.286	5168
93	76		Beaconsfield (NSW)	NSW	906	0.176	5147
94	77		Burwood (NSW)	NSW	12466	2.425	5140
95	15		Collingwood (Vic.)	VIC	6467	1.267	5104
96	16		Seddon (Vic.)	VIC	4851	0.955	5078
97	78		Bronte	NSW	6827	1.347	5069
98	79		Sydney	NSW	14308	2.840	5039
99	80		Abbotsford (NSW)	NSW	5112	1.018	5022
100	1		Highgate (WA)	WA	1941	0.388	5004
101	81		Maroubra	NSW	29594	5.924	4996
102	82		Drummoyne	NSW	11378	2.279	4992
103	83		Kogarah	NSW	12764	2.589	4930
104	17		North Melbourne	VIC	11755	2.389	4920
105	84		Carlton (NSW)	NSW	9808	1.995	4916
106	85		Penshurst (NSW)	NSW	11692	2.386	4901
107	86		Brighton-le-Sands	NSW	8003	1.636	4893
108	87		Westmead	NSW	14171	2.903	4882
109	88		Bankstown	NSW	30572	6.290	4861
110	18		Kingsville	VIC	3509	0.725	4841
111	89		Kensington (NSW)	NSW	12776	2.643	4835
112	4		Highgate Hill	QLD	5824	1.210	4812
113	90		Chiswick	NSW	2470	0.513	4812
114	19		Princes Hill	VIC	2075	0.433	4790
115	20		Middle Park (Vic.)	VIC	4058	0.848	4788
116	91		Zetland	NSW	3812	0.804	4742
117	92		North Strathfield	NSW	4441	0.939	4731
118	93		Cooks Hill	NSW	3621	0.767	4720
119	94		Russell Lea	NSW	4780	1.020	4685
120	95		Freshwater (NSW)	NSW	8252	1.763	4681
121	96		Wareemba	NSW	1474	0.317	4652
122	97		Belmore	NSW	12574	2.731	4605
123	98		Cabramatta	NSW	20780	4.535	4582
124	21		Fitzroy North	VIC	11473	2.505	4580
125	99		Cammeray	NSW	6784	1.487	4561
126	22		Melbourne	VIC	28371	6.232	4552
127	100		Dawes Point	NSW	544	0.120	4539
128	23		Kensington (Vic.)	VIC	9719	2.147	4527
129	101		Fairfield Heights	NSW	6649	1.474	4510
130	102		Lewisham (NSW)	NSW	2927	0.650	4506
131	103		South Coogee	NSW	5076	1.132	4483
132	104		Bellevue Hill	NSW	10765	2.405	4476
133	105		Rozelle	NSW	7919	1.777	4457
134	5		Spring Hill (Qld)	QLD	5259	1.184	4440
135	24		Brunswick (Vic.)	VIC	22764	5.142	4427
136	106		Cronulla	NSW	17042	3.875	4397
137	107		Rosebery (NSW)	NSW	8479	1.928	4397
138	108		South Hurstville	NSW	4928	1.121	4395
139	109		Waverton	NSW	2807	0.639	4392
140	110		Punchbowl (Canterbury - NSW)	NSW	18429	4.243	4344
141	111		North Sydney	NSW	6258	1.441	4341
142	112		Naremburn	NSW	5474	1.261	4341
143	113		Bexley	NSW	19067	4.399	4335
144	114		Bardwell Valley	NSW	2205	0.510	4320
145	25		Carnegie	VIC	16299	3.805	4284
146	115		Chatswood	NSW	21194	4.961	4272
147	116		Croydon (NSW)	NSW	10381	2.451	4236
148	117		Marrickville	NSW	24613	5.813	4234
149	6		Auchenflower	QLD	5352	1.270	4213
150	118		Croydon Park (NSW)	NSW	10742	2.564	4189

A look at indigenous areas in Australia

This post examines the differences in areas with a high number of indigenous residents. The figures are derived from assigning an indigenous percentage to each ABS Statistical Area Level 1.

Household Size

Average household size by percentage indigenous Australian in area

Household sizes are significantly larger in areas with 80-100% indigenous Australians, compared with those in areas with 0-60%.

Age

Median age of persons by percentage indigenous Australian in area

Highly indigenous areas have much younger residents than non-indigenous areas. Areas with 90% or more indigenous residents have an average age 14 years younger than areas with no indigenous residents.

Monthly Mortgage Repayment

Median monthly mortgage repayment ($AUD) by percentage indigenous Australian in area

Mortgage repayments decrease steadily from $1868 each month in areas with 0% indigenous residents to a mean value of $4.95 for areas with 100% indigenous residents.

Weekly Rent

Median weekly rent ($AUD) by percentage indigenous Australian in area

Weekly rents are at a median of $303 for areas with no indigenous residents, and reduce to around $50 per week for areas with 90-100% indigenous residents.

Family Income

Median weekly family income ($AUD) by percentage indigenous Australian in area

Areas with no indigenous residents have a median family income of $1,602 per week. This is significantly more than areas with only 10% indigenous residents. Families in areas with 100% indigenous residents earn $583 per week.

Household Income

Median weekly household income ($AUD) by percentage indigenous Australian in area

This is a chart with some stark contrasts. Areas with no indigenous residents earn $1,390 per week. Beyond that, most areas have median household incomes of around $1,000 per week. The key exception is areas with 100% indigenous residents, where the households have a median income of $829.

Personal Income

Median weekly personal income ($AUD) by percentage indigenous Australian in area

Again, areas with no indigenous residents are significantly wealthier than other areas. Individuals in areas with 10-60% indigenous residents earn a fairly consistent amount of around 500$ per week. Beyond that level, individual incomes decrease significantly. People in areas with 100% indigenous residents earn around half of those in areas with 0-60% indigenous residents.

The gender pay gap

It is hardly revelatory that men earn higher incomes than women than women in Australia. The 2011 Australian census confirms this, and provides the opportunity to break down the salary gap by geographical area.

The income difference between males and females, by geographical area

The chart above looks at ABS Statistical Area Level 4 (SA4) regions in Australia, and provides a visual representation of the equivalent salaries in each. So, for example, where males in the Latrobe - Gippsland area earn an average of $771 each week, women earn $500 per week.

The top five and bottom five areas by male-to-female income ratio. Inner city Sydney has the closest gap between males and females, and the area around Mackay in Queensland has the largest gap.

The chart above shows the top five and the bottom five areas in Australia for the ratio of male-to-female incomes. Male residents in inner city Sydney earn 1.23 times the income compared with females in the same area. Inner city Melbourne has a similarly close ratio at 1.25. Two other areas of inner Sydney plus the New South Wales Mid North Coast complete the five most balanced areas in Australia. The clear trend here is that most of the areas here are highly urbanised, high density areas. These are also areas generally dominated by service sector work.

At the other end of the scale, the area around Mackay in Queensland has the largest ratio. Men earn 1.87 times the income compared with women in this area. Mandurah, Bunbury and the Outback areas of Western Australia and the Fitzroy region of Queensland round out the top five areas by gender income inequality. The main trait shared by these areas is that most have significant mining activities occurring within their boundaries.

The cities vs regional Australia: How do earnings compare?

Regional Australia is a term coined by the Australian government to describe areas of Australia outside of the big four cities (well not quite this definition, but it's close enough). Successful, modern cities such as Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth are magnets for productive, educated labour from all over the world. The magnetic appeal of Regional Australia to skilled labour is, in contrast, limited. In order to satisfy labour requirements, the Australian government entices suitably skilled labour to Regional Australia through fast-track visas and other incentives. The 2011 Australian census presents an opportunity to partition data by geographical area and therefore allow us to perform a comparison between Regional Australia and its state capitals.

I recently posted about income distribution across Australian states, which included income equality analysis based on standard deviation measurements. The logic behind this approach is that a wider spread of incomes indicates a higher degree of income inequality. The chart below shows relative standard deviation, i.e. the spread of incomes relative to the mean value. This relative figure solves the problem where a lower average income compresses the spread, making lower income regions appear more equal.

Relative standard deviation i.e. the spread of incomes relative to the mean income. This is an indicator of income inequality where the larger the percentage, the greater the inequality.

As can be seen above, regional Western Australia appears to have the highest degree of income inequality in the country, when measured by relative standard deviation. It even surpasses Northern Territory, the state/territory with the highest level of inequality covered in my previous post. The Western Australia section below covers the issue of regional WA income inequality in more detail..

New South Wales

Australia's most populous state exhibits a stark contrast between Sydney and the rest of the state. Household income in regional New South Wales rises sharply to form a tall spike with a mode around $900 per week, then tapers away to almost zero by the $2,200 point. Sydney forms an entirely different income profile, with a more even spread across a range of income levels, with the most common income bracket being $1,300 per week.

Income distribution in Sydney vs the rest of New South Wales

The mean Sydney weekly income is $1,556 per week, equivalent to $81,203 per year, whereas regional NSW residents earn a mean $1,051 each week ($54,829 per annum), which is equivalent to 48% less than in the city. 

Queensland

Queensland is unique among Australian states in that its state capital, Brisbane, does not dominate quite to the same extent as capitals in other states. The second city in Queensland, Gold Coast, also doubles as Australia's fifth largest city, albeit one that is slowly merging with the capital over time. The Gold Coast is not classified as Regional Australia and if it was measured simply as 'non-Brisbane Queensland' then it could skew the results for regional Queensland significantly. It is for these reasons that both Brisbane and the Gold Coast are separately assessed for Queensland.

Income distribution in Brisbane vs the Gold Coast vs the rest of New South Wales

What we see in Queensland is that the Brisbane is significantly wealthier than regional Queensland, and the Gold Coast sits somewhere in between the two. When measured by relative standard deviation, regional Queensland has higher levels of income inequality than the cities of South-East Queensland.

The Gold Coast and Brisbane have a fairly similar profile, and this may be expected given that the two cities are within commuting distance and therefore share significant portions of their economies with each other. There are two key differentiators between the two cities however. The Gold Coast has a bimodal profile in that there are spikes around both the $1,000 and the $1,400 per week bracket. Brisbane follows a more typical profile of having a single peak around $1,400 per week. The second key difference is that there are far more high earners in Brisbane than in the Gold Coast. For example, only around 0.5% of Gold Coast residents indicated that their household earned $2,300 per week ($120,000 per year). Of the Brisbane-based respondents, approximately 2.3% indicated that they earned this amount i.e. 4-5 times the frequency.

Victoria

Regional Victoria stands out as having the most extreme spike around a single income bracket. Around 16% of regional Victorians - around 1 in 6 - indicated a household income of $900 per week. This can be interpreted as indicating a high degree of income equality. Regional Victoria ranks third lowest in terms of relative standard deviation, further supporting its claims to higher income equality.

Melbourne-based residents earn significantly more than those in the regional areas. For example, only 6% of Melbourne households earn $900 per week and the most frequent income bracket is $1,400 per week.

Income distribution in Melbourne vs the rest of Victoria

Victoria is the only state in Australia where its capital has higher inequality than its regions. This can perhaps be attributed to a lack of mining activity in the state relative to other states.

Western Australia

Western Australia - the primary recipient of mining boom economic effects - appears to have the closest correlation between its capital, Perth, and the rest of the state. With a mean household income of $1,520, Perth households earn approximately $200 more than their regional counterparts. As a key base for FIFO mine workers, and the location of many mining offices, Perth is a city that is reaping the benefits of the growth in the resource sector.

Income distribution in Perth vs the rest of Western Australia

Two characteristics stand out for regional Western Australia. One is the quantity of households earning no income each week, and the other is the significant spike at the $2,800 per week mark ($146,000 per year). Over 2% of regional Western Australian households report no weekly income. This is approximately double the rate seen in other areas measured here and many times the frequency seen in Perth.

At the other end of the income spectrum, almost 3.5% of regional Western Australians report an annual household income of over $146,000 each year. Of the areas measured here, only Sydney-based residents come remotely close to this, with around 2% reporting incomes at this level.

Regional Western Australia has the highest income inequality in Australia, when measured by relative standard deviation. Its relative standard deviation of 53% is thanks to a standard deviation of $690, and a mean income of $1,305. In comparison, the Northern Territory's relative figure is 47%, Perth and Brisbane's is 39% and the figure for the Australian Capital Territory is 34%.