Inner metro and mining areas richest
PEOPLE in Central Queensland were among the top earners in the state, data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics revealed on Wednesday.
Among the local government areas in Queensland with the biggest pay cheques were Isaac, Mount Isa, Central Highlands, Gladstone, Mackay and Banana.
The Isaac, Mt Isa and Central Highlands region all recorded median incomes of $55,000 to $75,000, with Gladstone, Mackay and Banana incomes between $46,600 and $54,999.
Across the nation, some of the biggest earners were from the Pilbara mining region in Western Australia and Sydney's well-off suburbs such as Mosman, Ku-ring-gai and Woollahra.
While Central Queensland held a lot of the high earners, the region's indigenous community Woorabinda made the bottom 10 earners' category, with just 203 people on a median income of $30,333.
The local government areas with the highest incomes were generally inner metropolitan areas in the capital cities or mining areas, while areas reliant on agriculture dominated the bottom 10 income earners.
In contrast with New South Wales and Victoria, Queensland and WA recorded the most areas with considerable growth in incomes between 2003-04 and 2008-09.
Council areas in Queensland with more than 6.1% growth in incomes were: Barcoo, Diamantina, Mt Isa, Winton, Paroo, Maranoa, Western Downs, Rockhampton, Central Highlands, Banana and Whitsunday.
Most other council areas in Queensland had between 4.8% and 6% growth, while on the NSW north coast, most incomes rose by only 3.8% to 5.7% between 2003-04 and 2008-09.
