For workers in Sydney, it pays to be a bloke aged between 45 and 54.
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it → pay → 45
Men in that age group have the city’s highest median income at $102,309 a year, a little more than males aged 35 to 44 at $99,906.
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Men → have → 99,906
The median is the middle value of all incomes so it includes full-time and part-time workers.
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it → include → workers
Womens’ income in Sydney also peaks between 45 and 54 years, at a median of $74,860 – about 27 per cent lower than for men in the same age group.
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income → peak → group
Analysis of official income data by this masthead reveals how earnings vary by age and sex across the city.
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earnings → reveal → city
You can search the median income for your age group and suburb here:
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You → search → group
Sydney’s highest annual median income was in the Leichhardt district, which includes Balmain, Rozelle and Annandale, at $88,888 per year.
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which → include → year
Men in Sydney had higher median incomes than women in every age cohort and every district.
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Men → have → cohort
The analysis shows male earnings rise sharply from the mid-30s, but for women, the increase at that stage of life is much more subdued.
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increase → show → life
Rae Cooper, professor of gender, work and employment relations at the University of Sydney, said women shoulder much more unpaid domestic work during “the prime working years” in the 30s and 40s when family care is most intense.
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care → say → 30s
“This can constrain their participation, working hours and career choices, contributing to a ‘motherhood penalty’ in pay,” she said.
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she → constrain → pay
“A gender income gap that persists and widens through working life leads to the gender wealth gap, affecting women’s economic security not only today but across their entire lifetime and into retirement.”
Women also tend to work in sectors with lower wages than industries favoured by men, which contributes to the gender income gap.
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which → persist → gap
In the Leichhardt district, women aged 45 to 54 had a median income of $121,019, which was the highest for any female age bracket in any locality.
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which → age → locality
The Marrickville-Sydenham-Petersham area had the smallest median income gap between all men and women at 7.6 per cent.
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area → have → cent
The highest median income for any age bracket and sex was males aged 45 to 54 in the Manly district, which includes Balgowlah and Seaforth, at $198,291 (that’s 34 per cent more than the median for women aged 45 to 54 in the area of $148,369).
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that → age → 148,369
Men aged 45 to 54 had the highest median incomes across most of Greater Sydney; in the Manly, Ku-ring-gai and North Sydney-Mosman districts, median earnings for males aged 45 to 54 were more than 20 per cent higher than for males in the 35 to 44 age bracket.
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earnings → age → bracket
But that pattern switches in a band of suburbs across Sydney’s west and south-west, where men aged 35 to 44 had the highest median incomes.
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men → switch → incomes
KPMG urban economist Terry Rawnsley said these trends reflected the high share of trades workers who live in that region of Sydney.
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who → say → Sydney
“This is a tradie story,” he said.
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he → say → ?
“When you look at your builders, electricians, carpenters and plumbers, their income profile by age is a bit flatter than the average – they tend to get to a higher level of income in that 35 to 44 age range, then it trails off a bit for many after that age.
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it → look → age
Demographer Matthew Deacon, of Demographic Solutions, said many people aged 35 to 44 who had moved into Sydney’s western suburbs had higher income levels and better job prospects than older, existing residents who were more likely to be working in declining industries such as manufacturing.
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who → say → manufacturing
The local area income analysis also draws attention to broader inequalities across Greater Sydney: median incomes in the city’s best paid districts were about 80 per cent higher than in areas with the lowest median earnings.
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incomes → draw → earnings
Separate Australian Bureau of Statistics data shows Sydney is Australia’s most unequal capital city for income: the top 1 per cent of earners received 12.1 per cent of the city’s income in 2022-23.
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cent → show → 2022
Some Sydney districts adjacent to each other have stark income differences.
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districts → have → differences
The median income in Canada Bay ($71,098) was 44 per cent higher than the neighbouring Auburn region ($49,043), while in the Parramatta district, the median income was 30 per cent higher than nearby Merrylands-Guilford ($49,043).
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income → neighbour → Guilford
The analysis draws on ABS personal income data for local area statistical districts (called Statistical Area Level 3); it does not include assets owned by individuals, such as housing and shares.
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it → draw → housing
Also, it doesn’t distinguish between part-time and full-time workers, which is one factor in the gap between men and women, since women are more likely to work part-time than men.
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women → distinguish → men
The data covers 2022-23, the most recent year for which it is available.
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it → cover → which
It covers only individual pre-tax income.
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It → cover → income
The Aporia
