Personal Income in Australia is the second in a series of releases containing data from the Linked Employer-Employee Dataset (LEED). Jobs in Australia, which also contains LEED data, was released on 26 October 2021. Today the Microdata: Jobs in Australia TableBuilder product is also being released.
Personal Income in Australia
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Regional data on the number of income earners, amounts received, and the distribution of income for the 2014-15 to 2018-19 financial years
Reference period
2014-15 to 2018-19
Released
17/12/2021
Key statistics
During 2018-19:
- Total personal income was $951.4 billion
- Median personal income was $51,389, up 3.2% on 2017-18
- Employee income was the largest income category at 87.1% of total personal income
Sources of personal income
- Most persons (77.4%) received employee income as their main source of income, down slightly from 77.7% the previous year.
- Employee income recorded the highest median income ($52,425), which was 3.1% greater than the previous year.
- Superannuation income recorded the second highest median income ($22,733), which was 4.6% greater than the previous year.
- Only 1.6% of persons received superannuation income as their main source of income (unchanged from the previous year).
State comparison
- The Australian Capital Territory recorded the highest median total income ($66,594) and Tasmania the lowest ($47,352).
- Victoria recorded the fastest growth rate since 2014-15 (11.1%) and Western Australia the slowest (2.3%).
- 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 (10.8%).
A selection of income indicators are presented in the table below, providing an overview of the distribution of income across Australia.
| Median total income | Median total income growth rate | Income Share | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 | Last year | Since 2014-15 | Top 1% earners | Top 5% earners | Top 10% earners | |
| Australia | $51,389 | 3.2% | 9.7% | 9.5% | 22.4% | 33.4% |
| New South Wales | $51,818 | 3.3% | 10.5% | 10.8% | 24.1% | 35.1% |
| Victoria | $51,027 | 3.6% | 11.1% | 9.5% | 22.3% | 33.3% |
| Queensland | $50,298 | 3.0% | 9.2% | 8.2% | 20.6% | 31.6% |
| South Australia | $49,888 | 3.2% | 9.8% | 7.8% | 20.1% | 30.7% |
| Western Australia | $54,220 | 2.9% | 2.3% | 9.5% | 22.2% | 33.3% |
| Tasmania | $47,352 | 4.0% | 9.9% | 7.6% | 19.5% | 30.0% |
| Northern Territory | $61,517 | 1.5% | 6.0% | 6.4% | 17.6% | 27.8% |
| Australian Capital Territory | $66,594 | 3.5% | 8.3% | 6.5% | 18.3% | 28.8% |
Local government area median total income
In 2018-19, the three local government areas with the highest median total income in Australia were:
- Peppermint Grove in Western Australia ($101,201)
- Ashburton in Western Australia ($98,283), and
- Roxby Downs in South Australia ($95,196)
The following median personal incomes are for areas with more than 1,000 earners.
(a) Excludes local government areas with less than 1,000 earners.
(b) Parts of Australia not administered by incorporated bodies are identified as Unincorporated, for example Unincorporated NT. For further information see Australia Statistical Geography Standard, Edition 3.
(c) The Australian Capital Territory does not have local government areas.
Income inequality
Gini coefficients presented in this release are provided as complementary information. The most comprehensive estimates for calculating Gini coefficients and measuring income inequality are found in Household Income and Wealth, Australia.
The Gini coefficient is a summary indicator 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 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.
As mentioned above, data from the Survey of Income and Housing (SIH) provides the most comprehensive source of information for calculating Gini coefficients and measuring income inequality. As such, estimates from Household Income and Wealth, Australia should be used wherever possible, particularly at the Australia, State and Territory, and Greater Capital City Statistical Area levels. Gini coefficients from Personal Income in Australia should be considered complementary information, which provide insights for lower geographic levels. For more information about Gini coefficients, please see the Methodology.
In 2018-19, the following local government areas had:
The least income inequality (the lowest Gini coefficients) in Australia:
- Weipa in Queensland (0.354)
- Palmerston in Northern Territory (0.360)
- Brighton in Tasmania (0.365)
The most income inequality (the highest Gini coefficients) in Australia:
- Coonamble in New South Wales (0.872)
- Gwydir in New South Wales (0.809)
- Peppermint Grove in Western Australia (0.753)
| LGA | State/Territory | Gini coefficient | Proportion of high earners (top quartile)(a) | Income share received by top 10% of earners | Median income | Mean income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weipa | Queensland | 0.354 | 52.2% | 23.6% | $88,507 | $92,758 |
| Palmerston | Northern Territory | 0.360 | 32.5% | 24.3% | $67,479 | $72,557 |
| Brighton | Tasmania | 0.365 | 15.4% | 23.7% | $49,345 | $52,622 |
| Katherine | Northern Territory | 0.365 | 29.9% | 24.0% | $63,673 | $67,640 |
| Roxby Downs | South Australia | 0.367 | 55.3% | 22.4% | $95,196 | $99,194 |
(a) Proportion of earners in each LGA whose income is in the range of the top quartile, as calculated at the national level.
| LGA | State/Territory | Gini coefficient | Proportion of high earners (top quartile)(b) | Income share received by top 10% of earners | Median income | Mean income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coonamble | New South Wales | 0.872 | 14.4% | 39.9% | $40,111 | $37,944 |
| Gwydir | New South Wales | 0.809 | 11.4% | 39.1% | $34,191 | $35,544 |
| Cottesloe | Western Australia | 0.791 | 46.9% | 71.7% | $78,524 | $282,730 |
| Peppermint Grove | Western Australia | 0.753 | 55.8% | 65.2% | $101,201 | $289,823 |
| Mosman Park | Western Australia | 0.685 | 39.5% | 57.1% | $63,655 | $146,068 |
(a) Gini Coefficient values greater than or equal to 0.9 have been suppressed and will not appear in this table. For further information see the Methodology.
(b) Proportion of earners in each LGA whose income is in the range of the top quartile, as calculated at the national level.
Data downloads
Table 1 - Total income 2014-15 to 2018-19
Data files
Table 2 - Total income distribution 2018-19
Data files
Table 3 - Employee income 2014-15 to 2018-19
Data files
Table 4 - Employee income by age and sex 2014-15 to 2018-19
Data files
Table 5 - Investment income 2014-15 to 2018-19
Data files
Table 6 - Own unincorporated business income 2014-15 to 2018-19
Data files
Table 7 - Superannuation income 2014-15 to 2018-19
Data files
All data cubes
Data files
Previous catalogue number
This release previously used catalogue number 6524.0.55.002.