Two areas in the Hunter region have recorded average personal incomes exceeding $100,000, according to new data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics. Scone topped the list with an average income of $114,760, followed by Merewether - The Junction at $106,598 for the 2022-23 financial year. The data, broken down by statistical level 2 area (SA2), is in pre-tax dollars.
Newcastle - Cooks Hill ranked third in the region with an average income of $99,236. Business Hunter CEO Bob Hawes noted a trend in job advertisements favoring candidates with degrees or high diploma qualifications, with these higher-paid roles concentrated in the lower Hunter, particularly Newcastle and Lake Macquarie. He explained that higher-paid, higher-skilled workers tend to live near their workplaces, boosting average incomes in nearby suburbs.
While Merewether - The Junction had the highest median income in the region at $69,009, Scone ranked 39th with a median of $55,123. Hawes attributed Scone's high average income to mining and the thoroughbred industry, but noted a significant disparity between average and median incomes, suggesting a minority of very high earners are pushing up the average.
Branxton - Greta - Pokolbin saw its median income rise from $51,847 in 2018-19 to $63,614 in 2022-23, moving from 18th to ninth place. Newcastle - Cooks Hill had the second-largest median income at $67,949, followed by Thornton - Millers Forest at $66,448. Hawes highlighted growth in white-collar sectors over the past five years, including health and social assistance, education, tourism, and finance, which tend to cluster around CBDs and business centres.
Merewether - The Junction had the second-largest total income for an SA2 area despite ranking 17th in population. Four SA2 areas earned over $1 billion in total income in 2022-23: Charlestown - Dudley ($1.23 billion), Merewether - The Junction ($1.13 billion), Glendale - Cardiff - Hillsborough ($1.11 billion), and Newcastle - Cooks Hill ($1.01 billion). Wangi Wangi - Rathmines and Anna Bay had the oldest median age of earners at 49 years, while Shortland - Jesmond had the youngest at 31 years.
