Same Suburb, Different Worlds: Comparing Indigenous and Non-Indigenous Outcomes in City Suburbs and Large Regional Towns

Abstract

At the national level there is a gap between the socio-economic circumstances of Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians. Some readers may imagine that this gap can be explained by the poor circumstances of the minority of the Indigenous population who live in remote areas (25.4 per cent). The author dispels this hypothesis. Using the principal components analysis approach he examines the socio -economic circumstances of Indigenous Australians in urban areas (that is cities and large regional towns). He finds that in all cases Indigenous Australians in urban areas are worse off than are non-Indigenous Australians.