Richest Suburb in Australia by Household Income: The Real List (2026)

Search for the richest suburb in Australia by household income and you’ll get two different answers, depending on which article you land on. That’s not a mistake. Two separate measures exist, and most articles don’t say which one they’re using. Here’s the actual household-income list, and why it doesn’t match the other list you might have seen.

Quick Answer: Richest Suburb in Australia by Household Income

Longueville in NSW tops the list by median weekly household income, at $4,894, based on ABS Census data. That’s a different measure from average individual taxable income, where Portsea in Victoria currently leads at $321,988 a year according to ATO data. Household income counts everyone living in the home combined, while taxable income counts one person. Both are real, correctly sourced figures. They just answer different questions.

1. Two Different “Richest Suburb” Rankings, and Why They Disagree

• Household income adds up everyone under one roof. So a home with two high earners can rank above a suburb full of single high earners, even if those single people earn more each.
• Individual taxable income counts one person’s tax return at a time. Since the ATO reports this by postcode. It uses the average income per taxpayer, not per household.
• This is exactly why Portsea and Longueville both get called “richest.” Because each one tops a different, correctly sourced list.
• Neither ranking is wrong. So the real fix is checking which measure a story is using before you compare numbers between sources.

2. The Top 10 Suburbs by Household Income

• Longueville, NSW leads at $4,894 a week. This is median household income, sourced from ABS Census data.
• Riverview, Greenhills Beach, Balgowlah Heights, and Castlecrag round out the next four, all in NSW. So Sydney’s harbourside and northern suburbs dominate the top of this list.
• Dalkeith, WA breaks into sixth place at $4,672 a week. It’s the highest-ranked non-NSW suburb on the household-income list.
• Clontarf, Peppermint Grove, Willoughby East, and Point Piper complete the top 10. So eight of the ten are in NSW. WA holds the other two spots.

3. Why NSW Dominates the List

• NSW holds 64 of the top 100 suburbs by household income. So this isn’t just a top-10 pattern. It runs deep through the wider list too.
• Sydney’s harbourside geography puts high earners close together. Since land is limited near the water and inner suburbs, prices rise there, and so do household incomes.
• WA follows with 15 suburbs in the top 100, mostly in Perth’s western suburbs. So Dalkeith and Peppermint Grove show the same pattern as Sydney’s harbourside, just on a smaller scale.
• QLD, ACT, SA, NT, and VIC fill the rest of the top 100. But VIC holds just one spot there, even though Portsea leads the separate individual-income list.

4. What This Means If You’re Comparing Suburbs

• Check which measure a source is using before you compare figures. So a suburb full of dual-income couples can look “richer” by household income than a suburb of wealthier singles.
• Household income is the better measure for family affordability questions. Since it shows what a typical household actually brings in, not just one earner’s figure.
• Individual taxable income is the better measure for earning-power questions. So it strips out household size entirely and shows raw per-person income instead.
• Both figures update on different schedules. Because ABS Census data refreshes every five years. ATO taxable income data updates every year.

For related reading, see our guides to Sunset Clause: The Real Risk in 2026, State by State and Stamp Duty on Inherited Property NSW: The Real Rules (2026).

FAQ: Richest Suburb in Australia by Household Income

What is the richest suburb in Australia by household income?
Longueville, NSW, at a median weekly household income of $4,894, based on ABS Census data.

Is Longueville the same as Australia’s richest postcode?
No. Portsea, VIC currently has the highest average individual taxable income, a different measure using ATO data rather than household income.

Why do different articles list different suburbs as richest?
Because they’re using two different measures, household income versus individual taxable income, which rank suburbs differently.

Which state has the most high-household-income suburbs?
NSW, with 64 of the top 100 suburbs by household income, followed by WA with 15.

How often does this household income data get updated?
ABS Census data updates every five years, so the current ranking is based on the most recent Census release.

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