WHERE DO BUSINESS OWNERS LIVE?


There were clear regional differences in proportions of business owners in states and territories in 2009-10, with lower proportions in capital cities than in the rest of the states and territories.

In capital cities, business owners made up the largest proportions of income earners in Greater Hobart and Greater Perth (both just over 14%). In the rest of state regions, South Australia (25%) had the highest proportion of business owners, followed by Western Australia (22%) and Victoria (20%). The Northern Territory provided an exception to this regional pattern, with a greater proportion of business owners in Greater Darwin (12%) than in the rest of the Northern Territory (almost 10%).

BUSINESS OWNERS IN SA4s

This section provides further breakdown of the capital city and rest of state regions, by presenting the proportions of business owners in SA4s throughout Australia.

In 2009-10, proportions of business owners varied considerably among SA4s, as shown in the map below. All states had at least one SA4 with a high proportion of business owners (20% or higher), and these can be seen in much of south-eastern Australia outside of the capital cities, as well as central Queensland and the southern part of Western Australia. (For further detail, see the maps provided for each state and territory, available at the links to the left of the page.)
Darling Downs - Maranoa (Qld.), a rural region in south-eastern Queensland, had the highest proportion of business owners, with almost a third (32%) of income earners receiving income from an unincorporated business in 2009-10. Like Darling Downs - Maranoa (Qld.), many of the regions with the highest proportions of business owners were rural in nature, such as Western Australia - Wheat Belt (WA), Barossa - Yorke - Mid North (SA), New England and North West (NSW) and North West (Vic.).

Although Northern Territory - Outback (NT) had the lowest proportion of business owners, with 10%, most of the SA4s with the lowest proportions of business owners were located in greater capital cities, including regions in greater Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne. Illawarra, which encompasses the city of Wollongong, and Newcastle and Lake Macquarie, both in New South Wales, were other regions outside the greater capital cities with low proportions of business owners.

Top 10 SA4s(b)	%
Darling Downs - Maranoa (Qld.)	32
Western Australia - Wheat Belt (WA)	31
Barossa - Yorke - Mid North (SA)	27
New England and North West (NSW)	27
South Australia - South East (SA)	27
North West (Vic.)	27
Warrnambool and South West (Vic.)	26
Far West and Orana (NSW)	24
Richmond - Tweed (NSW)	24
Central West (NSW)	24
Bottom 10 SA4s
Brisbane - South (Qld.)	12
Moreton Bay - South (Qld.)	12
Brisbane - West (Qld.)	12
Illawarra (NSW)	12
Melbourne - West (Vic.)	11
Brisbane - North (Qld.)	11
Sydney - Outer South West (NSW)	11
Newcastle and Lake Macquarie (NSW)	11
Sydney - Blacktown (NSW)	10
Northern Territory - Outback (NT)	10
(a) Persons who earned income from an Own Unincorporated Business as percentage of total income earners from all sources.
(b) Statistical Areas level 4 are defined in the Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS): Volume 1 - Main Structure and Greater Capital City Statistical Areas, 2011. See explanatory notes for more information. Source: ABS, Estimates of Personal Income for Small Areas, 2009-2010.