The 2021 Australian Census collected data from every household in the country. When it comes to choosing a business location, it is one of the most powerful and underused datasets available to Australian founders.
What the Census actually tells you about a suburb
The Census collects data across hundreds of variables at the suburb level (Statistical Area Level 2). For business location analysis, the variables that matter most are: median household income, age distribution, household type, employment type and population density. Each tells you something different about whether a suburb can support your business.
$95K
Australian median household income (ABS 2021)
$140K+
Income in premium suburbs (Mosman, Toorak, Cottesloe)
$62K
Income in lower-income outer suburbs
Why median household income is the most important single variable
Median household income predicts discretionary spend more reliably than almost any other variable. For cafes, specialty retail, gyms and restaurants, above-average income means customers with the means to spend regularly at your price point. This does not mean low-income suburbs cannot support businesses — it means you must align price point and model accordingly.
What age distribution predicts
Suburbs skewed 25–40 predict strong demand for cafes, casual dining, gyms, childcare and convenience retail. Suburbs skewed 60+ predict demand for health services, lower-price dining and service businesses — not boutique coffee or spin studios. This is why the same business can thrive in one suburb and fail 2km away with similar rent.
Suburb-level demographic data reveals customer profiles that shift dramatically within just a few kilometres.
Demographic profiles by business type
Cafes & specialty coffee: 25–45 professional demographics. Gyms & boutique fitness: 22–42, higher income, high apartment density. Family restaurants: 30–45, family households, suburban areas. Premium retail: 30–55, above-median income, owner-occupiers. Quick service takeaway: works across most demographics.
Population density and catchment size
Raw population within your catchment matters alongside demographics. A suburb with 7,000 residents within 500m gives a much larger potential customer pool than one with 2,000 — even with identical demographics. High-density residential areas (apartment precincts) are particularly valuable for destination businesses like gyms and specialty retail.
How Locatalyze combines these into a suburb score
Each suburb gets a demand score based on a weighted combination of median income relative to the national median, age profile match for the business type, household density within 1km, and employment concentration within 500m. This demand score is then combined with competition, rent affordability and projected profitability to produce the final GO / CAUTION / NO verdict.
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