idc-logo
svg rectangle color
AustraliaCommunity profile

Australia

Equivalised household income

Assuming all households were the same size, the 'lowest' quartile was the largest income group in Australia in 2021.

While Household Income is a useful measure, it is difficult to tell if changes over time and between geographic areas are due to actual changes in income levels, or due to changes in household size and composition. For example, an increase in lower income households could be due to job losses in key economic sectors, or simply due to decreasing household size as adult children leave home.

Equivalised Household Income puts all households on an equal footing independent of household size and composition to enable a true comparison between areas and over time. It is an indicator of the income resource available to a household of standard size and is the best measure of the changing economic fortunes of households living in Australia.

A detailed explanation of how Equivalised Household Income quartiles are calculated and interpreted is available in specific data notes.

Learn more about the characteristics of low-income households here.

Q:

Derived from the Census question:

'What is the total of all wages/salaries, government benefits, pensions, allowances and other income the person usually receives?'

Equivalised household income quartiles
Australia - Households (Enumerated)20212016Change
Quartile groupNumber%Regional Australia %Number%Regional Australia %2016 to 2021
Lowest group2,158,32125.030.51,860,58825.029.9+297,733
Medium lowest2,158,32025.028.81,860,58725.028.9+297,733
Medium highest2,158,32125.024.31,860,58825.024.5+297,733
Highest group2,158,32125.016.41,860,58825.016.6+297,733
Total Households8,633,285100.0100.07,442,353100.0100.0+1,190,932
Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Census of Population and Housing 2016 and 2021. Compiled and presented by .id (informed decisions).
Please refer to specific data notes for more information
Equivalised household income - Quartile group dollar ranges
Calculated from income data for AustraliaWeekly income by Census year
Equivalised household income ranges20212016201120062001
Lowest group$0 to $598$0 to $497$0 to $432$0 to $353$0 to $282
Medium lowest$599 to $1,069$498 to $877$433 to $763$354 to $607$283 to $482
Medium highest$1,070 to $1,706$878 to $1,420$764 to $1,230$608 to $982$483 to $773
Highest group$1,707 and over$1,421 and over$1,231 and over$983 and over$774 and over

Dominant groups

Equivalised income quartiles allow us to compare relative income-earning capabilities across time. Because the data is equivalised, households of different size and composition are placed on an equal footing.

Analysis of the distribution of households by income quartile in Australia compared to Regional Australia shows that there was a greater proportion of households in the highest equivalised income quartile, and a lesser proportion in the lowest equivalised income quartile.

Emerging groups

The most significant change in Australia between 2016 and 2021 was in the lowest quartile which showed an increase of 297,733 households.

DISCLAIMER: While all due care has been taken to ensure that the content of this website is accurate and current, there may be errors or omissions in it and no legal responsibility is accepted for the information and opinions in this website.

Please view our Privacy Policy, Terms of use and Legal notices.

ABS Data and the copyright in the ABS Data remains the property of the Australian Bureau of Statistics. The copyright in the way .id has modified, transformed or reconfigured the ABS Data as published on this website remains the property of .id. ABS Data can be accessed from the Australian Bureau of Statistics at www.abs.gov.au. ABS data can be used under license - terms published on ABS website. intermediary.management@abs.gov.au if you have any queries or wish to distribute any ABS data.