Australia's unlikely billion-dollar suburbs

New data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics has revealed that almost two-thirds of the country's billion dollar suburbs are in Sydney.

The ABS calculated the total earnings of small localities, often combining suburbs so that the populations were comparable, as part of their newly released Estimates of Personal Income for Small Areas report.

The Sydney Morning Herald found that of the 64 Australian local areas where residents earn more than $1 billion combined, 41 of those are in Sydney.

But it turns out not all of them are the harbour-side havens the super-rich have traditionally always populated, with former working class suburbs now rising in the ranks.

It will come as no surprise that Mosman, where residents earned more than $2.7 billion between them, and Double Bay-Bellevue Hill, where residents earned more than $2.46 billion, topped the list.

But coming in at 11th was Cronulla-Kurnell-Bundeena, made famous after being featured in the in the 1979 novel and 1981 film Puberty Blues, where residents now earn a combined $1.478 billion.

Not surprisingly, Sydney's beachside communities feature, but so do a few north-western suburbs, transformed by development since the 1980s.

Castle Hill came in above Bondi-Tamarama-Bronte and Neutral Bay-Kirribilli, while Kellyville ranked higher than Pymble and Melbourne's South Yarra.

Outside of Sydney, Perth City was the third richest locality in Australia - with residents earning more than $1.85 billion combined.

Brighton in Melbourne came in fifth on the list, with residents earning more than $1.79 billion combined.

Of the 42 local areas where residents earn more than $1 billion combined, there were none in Queensland, South Australia, the Northern Territory, the Australian Capital Territory or Tasmania.