The superannuation hotspots with the highest average balances

New research mapping average superannuation balances across the nation reveals a more complex picture: coastal retirement havens are rivalling capital cities, mining towns are punching above their weight, while within our major cities the retirement wealth gap has blown out. The data tells a story about how Australians are building and, increasingly, strategically positioning their wealth for retirement.

The Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia has found Canberra has the highest average super balance per person of $223,585, followed by retiree hotspot Victor Harbor and Goolwa in South Australia ($199,072) and high-paying mining town Newcastle in NSW ($198,579).

ASFA’s analysis of capital cities and towns with 25,000-plus people (50,000-plus people in NSW)found NSW and Queensland dominate the top 10 for average super balances, with five and three locations respectively.

Its examination of ATO data found specific regional areas in most states had higher balances than their capital cities.

ASFA also examined federal electorates within capital city areas and found large variations between the highest-balance and lowest-balance electorates, often close to $200,000.

The biggest discrepancy was in Sydney, where Wentworth’s average super balance per person of $378,000 was more than $300,000 higher than Blaxland’s $75,000. These wide wealth variations drag down capital city average super balances to below some regional areas.

Largest average superannuation balances

Newcastle, NSW. Picture: iStock

Amount	City/town	State/territory
$223,585	Canberra	ACT
$199,072	Victor Harbor-Goolwa	SA
$198,579	Newcastle	NSW
$191,653	Queanbeyan	NSW
$198,281	Sunshine Coast	Qld
$188,439	Wollongong	NSW
$187,881	Blue Mountains	NSW
$182,082	Port Macquarie	NSW
$178,475	Brisbane	Qld
$175,867	Townsville	Qld
$174,885	Traralgon-Morwell	Vic
$174,550	Adelaide	SA
$173,487	Hobart	Tas
$172,193	Warrnambool	Vic
$171,874	Albury	NSW
$168,923	Sydney	NSW
$167,468	Melbourne	Vic
$166,617	Wagga Wagga	NSW
$165,031	Perth	WA
$162,948	Busselton	WA

Source: ASFA, ATO

ASFA chief executive Mary Delahunty said there were two main factors driving super balances in suburbs and regions: demographics – specifically how young or old a region’s population is on average – and income levels.

“Newcastle benefits from high average wages. It’s the main centre of the Hunter Region where mining and related industries are major employers,” she said.

“Those sectors pay well, which means higher super contributions and higher balances. We see the same pattern in places like Mackay in Queensland.

“Canberra’s relatively high average super balance of around $220,000 in part reflects relatively high average incomes from work. Wages in Canberra are among the highest in the country.”

The demographics of ageing and retirement drive other areas higher, with average super balances in Queensland’s Sunshine Coast higher than in Brisbane.

Ms Delahunty said in SA’s Victor Harbor and Goolwa, the proportion of people aged 65 to 74 was about double the national average.

“These are people who’ve built up their super over entire careers and are at that point where balances peak – around retirement, before they start drawing them down,” she said.

MBA Financial Strategists director Darren James said more older people living in capital cities were selling their homes, downsizing and using the extra cash to pump up their superannuation assets.

“Typically the property they’re buying is lower in value,” he said.

Mr James said the relative wealth of retiree-heavy towns illustrated the power of compounding investment returns over a long period.

“When you’re young, small amounts in over a long time has two benefits: one is compound interest, and the other is the dollar cost averaging you get with most peoples’ super funds going into shares,” he said.

“When there’s a big downturn and everyone else panics, you have still got contributions going in, and the biggest benefits you gain are from buying shares at that point in time, which you are doing without even realising.”

“The longer you are in, the more of those downturns you get, the more upsides you get, the better it is long-term, and it just multiplies accordingly.

“What we are seeing a lot more now is downsizing. A lot of people approaching retirement or in retirement are deciding to downsize and that’s freeing up a bit of cash to put into super.”

Ms Delahunty said Australia saw “constant internal migration, particularly around retirement”.

“Some regions attract young workers: Kalgoorlie-Boulder in WA’s goldfields is a good example,” she said. “Others, like Port Macquarie on the NSW coast, draw retirees.

“Young workers are building their super from scratch, so their balances are naturally lower.

“Darwin, which has an average super balance of around $150,000, has a particularly young population – young workers simply haven’t had the time to build up substantial super balances yet.

Average super balances in capital city electorates

City	Biggest	Smallest
Sydney	Wentworth $378,000	Blaxland $75,000
Melbourne	Kooyong $369,000	Lalor $81,000
Brisbane	Ryan $272,000	Forde $99,000
Perth	Curtin $296,000	Burt $95,000
Adelaide	Sturt $224,000	Spence $93,000
Hobart	Clark $178,000	Franklin $168,000

Source: ASFA, ATO

“Income differences add another layer. Mining regions, for instance, have higher average wages, which translates directly into higher super balances.”

Ms Delahunty said retirees today had the highest super balances in history and this would only increase.

“When compulsory super started in 1992, the rate was just 3 per cent,” she said. “Now it’s 12 per cent … so future retirees will have been contributing at these higher rates for much longer periods throughout their careers.”

A separate ASFA research paper highlights how a city or town’s average balance is pulled lower by younger workers and higher by older workers and retirees. It says the average super account balances of Australians aged over 75 are almost 10 times higher than those in their early 30s – at $492,000 versus $51,190.

Younger Australians, however, are benefiting from relatively recent rule changes. ASFA’s research paper says the abolition of the $450 per month wages threshold for employers to pay compulsory super contributions took effect in 2022 and has “had a significant impact on the number of younger people working part-time who receive superannuation contributions”.