The Big Income Divide

THE gap between the rich and poor in Melbourne is growing, with average household incomes in the wealthiest suburbs up to three times greater than those at the bottom of the heap. 
 
Leafy eastern suburb Canterbury had a median household weekly income of $2350 last year, compared to $746 for Broadmeadows and $832 in Dandenong.

Nillumbik Shire in the city's north had the second highest income of any municipality, with Eltham North households earning $2098 a week.

Eltham mother-of-five Kate Pincheira said she was surprised to hear the average household income in the area was one of the highest in Melbourne.

She and her husband Dave bought a granny flat about 10 years ago, which they have rebuilt into a townhouse-style family home.

"What appealed to us was the local environment, the hilly geography and the trees. And also the fact that it's not that far from the city," Ms Pincheira said.

Over in Sunshine in the west, the weekly income was less than $1000, according to an analysis of census data by Monash University.

Monash demographer Dr Bob Birrell said house prices rising faster in some suburbs had led to growing income disparities between rich and poor areas.

"You are getting more concentrations of affluent people in places like Boroondara and higher concentrations of less affluent people in areas such as Brimbank and Greater Dandenong," he said.

Dr Birrell said a contributing factor was the tendency of newly arrived, non-English-speaking migrants to settle in poorer suburbs.

Census data compiled by Dr Birrell's team reveals how the relative wealth of some suburbs is increasing while falling for others. In Boroondara, median household weekly income was 31 per cent higher than the Melbourne average in 2001, but grew to 42 per cent by 2011.

Conversely, Greater Dandenong's household income was 28 per cent lower than the Melbourne average last year, compared to being 24 per cent lower a decade ago.

RICH VS POOR 

Council area/median weekly household income 2001/2006/2011

RICHEST

Boroondara/1164/1460/1886

Nillumbik/1226/1491/1867

Bayside/1099/1395/1820

Stonnington/1088//1319/1718

Yarra/970/1224/1670

POOREST

Greater Dandenong/680/770/952

Brimbank/804/919/1104

Frankston/770/954/1138

Moreland/730/929/1212

Hume/872/1033/1213