2022-23 (‘000s of people in poverty)

2,457,000 people in poverty lived in capital cities in 2022-23, reflecting the concentration of Australia’s population in our largest cities.

Poverty rates were highest in non-urban areas in Western Australia ( 120,000 people), South Australia ( 95,000 people) and Northern Territory (48,000 people).

2019-20

Poverty was somewhat higher (at 13.4%) among people living in capital cities than among those living outside them (13.3%).
Two thirds (67%) of people in poverty lived in capital cities, which is broadly equivalent to the population share living in those cities.
Poverty rates were highest in non-urban areas in the smallest States and Territories, including 17.7% outside the capital in Tasmania, 17.4% outside the capital in South Australia, and 15.8% in the Northern Territory.
The greatest reductions in poverty in the fourth quarter of 2019-20 occurred outside the capital in Victoria (by 8.9%), in Brisbane (by 7.4%), in Hobart (by 5.5%), and in the Australian Capital Territory (by 4.8%).