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Living in Australia community views

A prosperous economy

Probably a good indicator for how the community views the financial wellbeing of their local area, understanding ‘a prosperous economy’ - and unpacking this concept across small areas - provides a platform for us to explore the relative distance between places perceived to be the most and least prosperous, whether we are becoming more economically prosperous overall or in pockets and whether the gap between the most and least prosperous local areas is expanding or contracting.

A prosperous economy in Australia in 2025

16% of residents selected ‘A prosperous economy’ as an important attribute when considering what makes somewhere a good place to live, making it the 14th most important liveability aspect for Australia residents overall. Residents rated their experience of ‘A prosperous economy’ in their local area 5.6 out of 10, on average, making it the 12th most positively experienced attribute of 16.

Benchmarks

Importance
Experience
Australia 2025
16%
5.6
Regional Australia
17%
5.5
Metropolitan Australia
16%
5.8

Local Area

Importance
Experience
Australia
16%
5.6
Adelaide (n = 207)
19%
6.0
Central NSW (n = 198)
18%
5.9
Central QLD (n = 227)
18%
5.8
Central VIC (n = 218)
16%
5.5
Darwin (n = 199)
27%
4.3
Eastern VIC (n = 219)
16%
4.9
Far North Queensland (n = 220)
19%
4.9
Hobart (n = 168)
15%
5.2
Melbourne (n = 456)
15%
5.6
Northern NSW (n = 218)
20%
5.1
Perth (n = 333)
20%
6.3
Regional NT (n = 147)
22%
4.5
Regional SA (n = 144)
12%
5.6
Regional Tas (n = 145)
14%
5.0
Regional WA (n = 220)
24%
6.2
Rest of QLD (n = 37)
9%
5.4
South East Queensland (n = 531)
16%
5.7
Southern NSW (n = 207)
13%
5.5
Sydney (n = 430)
11%
6.1
The ACT (n = 188)
23%
6.2
Western VIC (n = 195)
14%
5.6

Gender

Importance
Experience
Australia
16%
5.6
Male (n = 1709)
24%
5.9
Female (n = 3037)
12%
5.5
Other (n = 39)
16%
4.9

Age

Importance
Experience
Australia
16%
5.6
18 - 34 (n = 593)
13%
5.6
35 - 59 (n = 1681)
17%
5.4
60 + (n = 2302)
18%
6.0

Significantly higher
Significantly lower