The analysis draws attention to the vast spending power in some parts of Sydney; in Bellevue Hill the top 1 per cent includes only 108 earners, and they had a combined income of $812 million in 2021-22. In the large suburb of Mosman (postcode 2088), the 215 people who constituted the top 1 per cent had combined earnings of $933 million that year.

The analysis used Australian Bureau of Statistics personal income figures, which draws on Tax Office records for the 2021-22 financial year, the most recent available. The data only covers individual pre-tax income; it does not include assets owned by individuals such as housing and shares.

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Suburbs where the top 1 per cent have especially high incomes correlate closely with house prices. Bellevue Hill also had the city’s highest median house price of $9.63 million in Domain’s latest House Price Report. The Vaucluse area, which was second on the 1 per cent income list, also had the second-highest median house price at $7.3 million.

While suburbs with the highest average incomes for the top 1 per cent were mostly near Sydney harbour, several were located in the city’s north-west, including Dural-Kenthurst ($2.6m) and Glenhaven ($1.9m).

Social researcher Mark McCrindle said some high-income earners were attracted by the large residential properties available in Sydney’s north-west.

“A lot of people like the harbour and the beach, but others want space, and that acreage comes at a cost,” he said.

The personal income figures also show Sydney is Australia’s most unequal capital city: the top 1 per cent of earners received 12.8 per cent of all the city’s income in 2021-22, up from 12.2 per cent the previous year. That compares with 10.8 per cent in Melbourne and 9.1 per cent in Brisbane. Nationally, the top 1 per cent earned 10.3 per cent of all personal income.

Some regional areas of NSW also have a high concentration of income accruing to the top 1 per cent. In the Upper Hunter town of Scone, the average income of the top 1 per cent of earners was $4.2 million, the seventh highest in NSW.

Other regional areas with very high average incomes for the best-paid 1 per cent were Robertson-Fitzroy Falls ($1.6m) and the Bangalow area near Byron Bay ($1.6m).

The Australian suburb with the highest average income among its top 1 per cent was Cottesloe in Perth, at $16 million.

In some neighbourhoods, the average income among the top 1 per cent is skewed higher by a few incredibly high earners – the top 0.1 per cent – driving up the average.

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