The demographics behind the Top 5 solar postcodes

The demographics behind the Top 5 solar postcodes

More than a third of Australian households now have solar installed, making it the largest generation source, ahead of coal plants. While all parts of Australia has seen growth in solar installations, in our latest Solar Report we highlighted the leading postcodes in terms of installations this year to date.

Here we take a look at the demographics behind the suburbs in Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland based on the most recent census[i].

Top 5

The top five postcodes this year, based on the number of solar systems installed[ii] to the end of October are shown below:

There are now 3.9 million homes with rooftop solar installations across Australia with a total capacity of 24.7GW. The capacity of the solar installations installed in the top five postcodes listed above to the end of October this year sit at[iii]:

3029 – 16.6 MW

2765 – 19.7 MW

4740 – 16.9 MW

4655 – 12.6 MW

3064 – 13 MW

The postcode 3029 covers Hoppers Crossing, Truganina and Tarneit on the western edge of Melbourne, which are consider growth suburbs; 2765 includes Angus, Berkshire Park, Box Hill, Gables, Grantham Farm, suburbs that are around 40km north-west of Sydney’s CBD; 4740 includes suburbs in and around Mackay in Queensland; 4655 covers Hervey Bay and surrounding areas; 3064 includes Craigieburn in Melbourne’s northern edge. A full list of all suburbs covered by each postcode are shown in the table at the end of this article.

Of the five top postcodes for solar installations three (two in Melbourne and one in Sydney) are on the edges of the metropolitan area with younger families living in larger separate houses when compared to state and national averages.

The two Queensland postcodes are in regional areas and Hervey Bay could be considered an outlier given it has a higher proportion of older, retired residents.

3029

3029 encompasses Hoppers Crossing, which is on the south western edge of Melbourne’s metropolitan area, as well as the growth suburbs of Truganina and Tarneit.  The average system size installed in these suburbs this year was just over 8 kW.

Nearly 61 per cent of the households include younger married couples with an average of two children. It has a much higher proportion of younger couples with children than the Victorian and national averages.

It also has a higher proportion of the population in the age groups of 25-29, 30-34, 35-39 and 40-44 than the State and Australian averages.

The main occupations are professionals, machinery operators and drivers and clerical and administrative workers.  

The bulk of properties are separate houses (88.3 per cent) and 54.3 per cent are larger homes with four or more bedrooms. Another 37.7 per cent have three bedrooms.  Another 9 per cent of dwellings are semi-detached, terrace house or townhouses. The majority of properties are owner occupied (68 per cent).

Around 83 per cent of households are families with a median weekly income of $2018.

2765

The Sydney postcode of 2765 includes suburbs more than 40 kms north west of Sydney’s CBD. It has newer suburbs like Marsden Park and Grantham Farm and the rapidly growing Box Hill.  Average system sizes in this area are big at around 11 kW.

This postcode, like other areason the list, has a higher proportion of younger families with children (average of two). Nearly 23 per cent of those living in the postcode are aged 30-39 years, much higher than the state and National averages. Another 7.6 per cent are 25-29 and 8.4 per cent are 40-44. Again, both age groups represented are a higher proportion than the state or national average and 87 per cent of households are families.

The postcode has a high proportion of professionals, and the median weekly family income is $2658 or around $138,000 per annum, well above the Australian average. The average weekly salary according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics is $1924 or around $100,000 per year. The top three occupations are listed as professionals, managers and clerical and administrative workers.

Nearly all residents (96.2 per cent) live in separate houses, while another two per cent live in semi-detached, terrace or townhouses.

The majority of homes in the area have four bedrooms or more (71.6 per cent), much larger than the NSW or national average. Another 19.6 per cent of houses have three bedrooms.  Nearly 74 per cent of homes are owner occupied.

4740

4740 includes areas around Mackay on Queensland’s northern coast.  Along with the Sydney postcode, residents in this area have installed the biggest system sizes amongst the top 5 post codes, with an average installation size of around 11 kW.

About 42 per cent of households are couples with children which is in line with the state average but slightly lower than the national average, and 71 per cent of dwellings accommodate families.

The vast majority of residents live in separate houses (81.2 per cent) which is above both the NSW and Australian averages, while a further 12.5 per cent live in semi-detached, town houses or terrace houses. More than 41 per cent of the houses have three bedrooms which is higher than the state average, while another 37.5 per cent of homes are bigger, having four or more bedrooms.  Around 64 per cent of homes are owner occupied. The median family income is $2,232 per week or $116,000 per annum, which is slightly above the average weekly earnings.  The top three occupations are technicians and trades workers, professionals and clerical and administrative workers.

4655

Postcode 4655 covers Hervey Bay and surrounding areas. It has a higher proportion of people in the 55-79 age brackets compared to the Queensland and national averages. The average size of solar systems installed here is 8 kW, smaller than the average of systems installed in Queensland this year, which is over 9 kW.

The post code also has lower levels of people still in the workforce and a higher proportion of people working part time (36 per cent compared to a state and national average of around 31 per cent) or not working (41.5 per cent versus 21 per cent in the state and national averages), so more retirees.  The median weekly household income is $1109.

Only around 29 per cent of households are couples with children. Residents of the postcode tend to live in separate houses (84.2 per cent) or semi-detached, terrace or townhouses (11 per cent) and 70 per cent of properties are owner occupied. More than 40 per cent of the homes have four or more bedrooms and another 39 per cent live in three-bedroom homes. There is an average of 2.3 people per dwelling.

3064

3064 includes Craigieburn, a satellite suburb on the northern fringe of Melbourne’s metropolitan area. The average system size of solar installations in this area is around 9 kW.

There is an average of 3.4 people per household and an average of two children per family group. The median weekly household income is $1822. The main occupations listed are professionals, technicians and trades workers and community and personal service workers.

It has a higher proportion of younger couples (20-39 years) than both the Victorian and Australia averages with 43 per cent of the total population falling into these age categories. The 30-34 and 35-39 age groups are the largest of all groups for this area.

The main occupations are shown below.

Of all dwellings in the area 91.3 per cent are separate houses. Another 7.7 per cent of residents live in semi-detached, terrace houses or townhouses.  Most homes are large with four or more bedrooms (53.6 per cent), while another 38.7 per cent of the houses have three bedrooms.

Nearly 72 per cent of properties are owner occupied and 85.5 per cent of households are families.

[i] The most recent census was conducted in August 2021.

[ii] Note that for all data in this article the RET legislation allows a 12 month creation period for registered persons to create their certificates. As a result the 2024 figures YTD will continue to rise given there can be a lag in reporting.

[iii] ibid