Personal Income in Australia

Latest release

Regional data on the number of income earners, amounts received, and the distribution of income

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Reference period
2022-23
Release date and time
14/11/2025 11:30am AEDT

Key statistics

During 2022-23:

  • Total personal income was $1.3 trillion.
  • Median personal income was $58,216, up 5.7% on 2021-22.
  • Employee income comprised 83.1% of total personal income.

Publications based on Linked Employer-Employee Dataset (LEED)

Personal Income in Australia (PIA), along with Jobs in Australia (JIA), is one of two releases containing data from the LEED. The Jobs and Income of Employed Persons (JIEP) TableBuilder product contains more detailed data from the LEED.

Guide to labour statistics

To learn more about our different labour measures, their purpose and how to use them, see our Guide to labour statistics. It provides summary information on labour market topics including Earnings (similar to income) data.

Sources of personal income

During 2022-23:

  • For most people (79.9%), employee income was the main source of income, down slightly from 80.1% in 2021-22.
  • Only 1.2% of people received superannuation income as their main source of income, down slightly from 1.3% in 2021-22.
  • More people (11.8%) had investment income as the main source of income, compared with 11.3% in 2021-22.
  • Less people (6.5%) had own business income as the main source of income, compared with 6.7% in 2021-22.

Median personal income by income type

During 2022-23:

  • All median incomes of different types were higher compared with 2021-22.
  • Median employee income was highest ($61,966), followed by superannuation income ($28,445) and own unincorporate business income ($11,751). Median investment income was lowest ($212).

  • Median total personal income was $58,216, compared with $55,062 in 2021-22.

     

Personal income by age and sex

  • Earners aged 45-54 years had the highest median total income ($80,926), followed by earners aged 35-44 years ($77,912).
  • Young people (aged 24 years and under) had the lowest median total income ($23,840).
  • Males had higher median income in every age group.

Income of employed persons

Employment income by industry of main job

Median employment income varied significantly across industries in 2022-23.

  • Mining had the highest median employment income ($149,362), followed by Electricity, gas, water & waste services ($105,158).
  • Accommodation & food services had the lowest median employment income ($22,270).

Employment income by occupation

Median employment income differed sharply across occupations in 2022-23.

  • Professionals had the highest median employment income ($95,657), followed by Managers ($90,000).
  • Sales workers had the lowest median employment income ($37,518).

Note: (a) Occupation of main job reported by employed persons

State and territory

  • The Australian Capital Territory recorded the highest median total income ($75,643) and Tasmania the lowest ($53,479).
  • Western Australia recorded the fastest growth rate since 2018-19 (19.9%), and the Northern Territory the slowest (15.9%).
  • Of all the states and territories, the top 1% of earners received the greatest share of the state's total personal income in New South Wales (11.2%).
Distribution indicators for total personal income
 Median total incomeMedian total income growth rateIncome Share
 2022-23Last yearSince 2018-19Top 1% earnersTop 5% earnersTop 10% earners
Australia$58,2165.7%18.6%9.9%22.8%34.0%
New South Wales$58,9096.9%19.0%11.2%24.6%35.8%
Victoria$57,9075.8%18.7%9.8%22.7%33.9%
Queensland$56,7084.9%18.4%8.4%20.9%32.2%
South Australia$55,7824.6%16.4%8.1%20.5%31.4%
Western Australia$62,2074.7%19.9%10.4%22.9%34.0%
Tasmania$53,4795.6%18.8%7.5%19.5%30.3%
Northern Territory$66,8312.3%15.9%7.1%18.2%28.6%
Australian Capital Territory$75,6434.9%16.5%7.0%18.9%29.4%

Regional areas

Change in total income earners in Local Government Areas (LGAs)

This interactive map shows percentage changes in total income earners across Local Government Areas (LGAs) between 2021-22 and 2022-23. LGAs are grouped into five data classes of growth rates:

  • 15% and higher (dark red)
  • 10% to less than 15% (light red)
  • 5% to less than 10% (dark orange)
  • 0% to less than 5% (light orange)
  • Declined (yellow)
  • Not published (grey)

The map also displays data on the number of total income earners for 2022-23 and 2021-22 and median total income for 2022-23.

Source

Personal Income in Australia 2022-23: LGA (2023) geospatial web service

The map shows that the top five LGAs (a) with the highest growth rate of total income earners between 2021-22 and 2022-23 were:

  • East Arnhem in Northern Territory (88.1%)
  • Exmouth in Western Australia (21.6%)
  • Wentworth in New South Wales (20.1%)
  • MacDonnell in Northern Territory (18.4%)
  • Melbourne in Victoria (17.5%).

The top five LGAs (a) with the highest median total income in 2022-23 were:

  • Ashburton in Western Australia ($112,881)
  • Roxby Downs in South Australia ($106,845)
  • Weipa in Queensland ($96,818)
  • Port Hedland in Western Australia ($92,947)
  • Karratha in Western Australia ($92,657).

(a) Excluding LGAs with less than 1,000 earners.

Change in total income earners in Statistical Areas Level 2 (SA2s)

This interactive map shows percentage changes in total income earners across SA2s between 2021-22 and 2022-23. SA2s are grouped into five data classes of growth rates:

  • 15% and higher (dark red)
  • 10% to less than 15% (light red)
  • 5% to less than 10% (dark orange)
  • 0% to less than 5% (light orange)
  • Declined (yellow)
  • Not published (grey)

The map also displays data on the number of total income earners for 2022-23 and 2021-22 and median total income for 2022-23.

Source

Personal Income in Australia 2022-23: SA2 (2021) geospatial web service

The map shows that the top five SA2s (a) with the highest growth rate of total income earners between 2021-22 and 2022-23 were:

  • East Arnhem in Northern Territory (110.3%)
  • Taylor in Queensland (65.7%)
  • Strathnairn in Australian Capital Authority (50.7%)
  • Wentworth in New South Wales (20.1%)
  • Tarneit - North in Northern Territory (37.6%).

The top five SA2s with the highest median total income in 2022-23 were:

  • Ashburton in Western Australia ($112,881)
  • Roxby Downs in South Australia ($106,845)
  • Barton in Australian Capital Authority ($106,019)
  • Port Hedland in Western Australia ($102,372)
  • Kingston in Australian Capital Authority ($100,871).

(a) Excluding SA2s with less than 1,000 earners.

Regional income inequality

The Survey of Income and Housing (SIH) provides the most comprehensive source of information for calculating Gini coefficients and measuring income inequality. The most recent estimates for 2019-20 are published in Household Income and Wealth, Australia. While Gini coefficients from Personal Income in Australia are calculated from gross personal income and are subject to under-coverage of certain income groups, they are derived from more recent data that reflects the economic impacts following COVID-19. They provide insights for lower geographic levels as well as Australia, State and Territory, and Greater Capital City Statistical Area levels. Results from the SIH 2025-26 are expected to be published from mid-2027. For more information about Gini coefficients, see the Methodology.

The Gini coefficient is a summary indicator, usually between 0 and 1 that indicates the degree of inequality among total incomes within a region. A value of 0 indicates that all earners reported the same amount of income in that region. Higher values represent relatively higher levels of income inequality. The income data reported in this release is market income and therefore can be negative. This is mainly due to losses for Owner Managers of Unincorporated Enterprises (OMUEs). For areas with large numbers of OMUEs reporting negative incomes, the Gini coefficients can exceed 1. The following Gini coefficients are for areas with 1,000 or more earners living within them and excludes the Australian Capital Territory, which does not have local government areas.

In 2022-23, the following Local Government Areas had the lowest income inequality (the lowest Gini coefficients) in their respective State/Territory:

  • Weipa in Queensland (0.372)
  • Roxby Downs in South Australia (0.382)
  • Palmerston in Northern Territory (0.383)

The highest income inequality (the highest Gini coefficients) in their respective State/Territory was:

  • Cottesloe in Western Australia (0.888)
  • Walgett in New South Wales (0.755)
  • Flinders in Queensland (0.632)
Local government areas with the lowest Gini coefficients for each State and Territory, 2022-23
LGAState/TerritoryGini coefficientProportion of high earners (top quartile)(a)Income share received by top 10% of earnersMedian incomeMean income
CampbelltownNew South Wales0.41820.3%26.1%$58,570$64,215
MeltonVictoria0.42021.5%26.7%$58,861$66,253
WeipaQueensland0.37248.9%23.1%$96,818$98,540
Roxby DownsSouth Australia0.38253.5%23.9%$106,845$112,675
AshburtonWestern Australia0.39654.4%22.5%$112,881$111,798
BrightonTasmania0.39414.9%24.9%$55,475$58,909
PalmerstonNorthern Territory0.38330.1%24.8%$73,312$78,675
Unincorporated ACT (b)Australian Capital Territory0.43334.4%29.4%$75,643$87,959
  1. Proportion of earners in each LGA whose income is in the range of the top quartile, as calculated at the national level.
  2. The Australian Capital Territory has no separate local governments.
Local government areas with the highest Gini coefficients for each State and Territory, 2022-23
LGAState/TerritoryGini coefficientProportion of high earners (top quartile)(a)Income share received by top 10% of earnersMedian incomeMean income
WalgettNew South Wales0.75516.2%45.0%$43,197$54,829
QueenscliffeVictoria0.60426.0%44.2%$49,539$81,394
FlindersQueensland0.65822.7%37.0%$56,165$65,192
WalkervilleSouth Australia0.59534.8%45.7%$67,816$116,135
CottesloeWestern Australia0.88844.6%84.2%$83,861$491,516
Break O'DayTasmania0.53511.2%34.3%$34,454$46,294
East ArnhemNorthern Territory0.5908.8%38.2%$17,471$32,726
Unincorporated ACT (b)Australian Capital Territory0.43334.4%29.4%$75,643$87,959
  1. Proportion of earners in each LGA whose income is in the range of the top quartile, as calculated at the national level.
  2. The Australian Capital Territory has no separate local governments. 

Migrants

In this release, 'migrants' refers to temporary visa holders, or permanent migrants who arrived in Australia since 1 January 2000. Refer to the Methodology for more information.

In 2022-23, 4.4 million migrants generated $324.7 billion in total personal income.

Most migrant taxpayers were permanent migrants (63.8% or 2.8 million people) generating $231.3 billion (71.2% of total migrant personal income). 

By permanent visa stream:

  • $153.4 billion (47.2%) was reported by skilled migrants (1.6 million people)
  • $53.1 billion (16.3%) was reported by family migrants (808,400 people)
  • $16.3 billion (5.0%) was reported by other permanent migrants (203,300 people)
  • $8.6 billion (2.6%) was reported by humanitarian migrants (170,200 people).

Over one-third of migrants (35% or 1.5 million people) were temporary visa holders generating $88.0 billion (27.1% of total migrant personal income).

Total income by visa group, 2022-23
Visa groupEarners (persons)Total income ($)
Permanent visas  
          Permanent skilled1,622,700153,350,988,300
          Family808,40053,079,468,700
          Humanitarian170,2008,567,765,900
          Permanent other203,30016,320,089,700
Total permanent 2,804,500231,318,312,600
Temporary visas  
          Temporary skilled90,0008,497,484,300
          Student349,50010,415,597,900
          Temporary graduate164,9008,681,242,400
          Working holiday maker83,8002,607,563,000
          Temporary other154,7007,497,586,500
          Bridging visas151,5008,498,607,900
          NZ citizen (subclass 444)543,00041,847,214,300
Total temporary 1,537,50088,045,296,200
Total(a)4,398,500324,671,153,600

a. Includes former visa holders who attained Australia citizenship, but their most recent visa could not be determined. Refer to the 'Australian citizen' group in the methodology page.

Across all visa groups, employee income was the main source of income in 2022-23.

For permanent migrants, of their total personal income:

  • skilled migrants had the highest proportion of employee income (90.8%)
  • humanitarian migrants had the highest proportion of own unincorporated business income (9.8%)
  • other permanent migrants had the highest proportion of investment income (15.9%).

For temporary visa holders, of their total personal income:

  • 91.3% was employee income
  • 5.3% was own unincorporated business income
  • 2.9% was investment income.

Note: These percentages do not add to 100 as total income also includes superannuation and annuities income and other income.

Data downloads

Table 1 - Total income, earners and summary statistics by geography, 2018-19 to 2022-23

Data files
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Table 2 - Total income, earners and summary statistics by age group, sex and geography, 2021-22 to 2022-23

Data files
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Table 3 - Total income distribution by geography, 2022-23

Data files
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Table 4 - Employment income, earners and summary statistics by industry and occupation of main job, 2021-22 to 2022-23

Data files
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Table 5 - Employee income, earners and summary statistics by geography, 2018-19 to 2022-23

Data files
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Table 6 - Employee income, earners and summary statistics by age group, sex and geography, 2018-19 to 2022-23

Data files
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Table 7 - Investment income, earners and summary statistics by geography, 2018-19 to 2022-23

Data files
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Table 8 - Own unincorporated business income, earners and summary statistics by geography, 2018-19 to 2022-23

Data files
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Table 9 - Superannuation income, earners and summary statistics by geography, 2018-19 to 2022-23

Data files
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Table 10 - Summary statistics by Greater Capital City Statistical Areas, 2018-19 to 2022-23

Data files
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Table 11 - Migrants, Total income by arrival group, 2018-19 to 2022-23

Data files
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Table 12 - Migrants, Employee income by arrival group, 2018-19 to 2022-23

Data files
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Table 13 - Migrants, Investment income by arrival group, 2018-19 to 2022-23

Data files
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Table 14 - Migrants, Own unincorporated business income, 2018-19 to 2022-23

Data files
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All data cubes

Data files
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Previous catalogue number

This release previously used catalogue number 6524.0.55.002.

Methodology

Personal Income in Australia methodology, 2022-23