Measuring socio-economic outcomes in Sydney: An analysis of census data using a general deprivation index

Abstract

The release of the ABS 2001 census data has allowed renewed analysis of the spatial patterns of social phenomena to be reviewed with up-to-date data. This paper adopts a methodology first outlined in Canadian studies to calculate several measures of deprivation across Sydney suburbs. The methodology uses principal components analysis and develops measures of deprivation across various socio-economic and demographic aspects. The paper also calculates a general deprivation index based on weighted factor scores. The analysis illustrates that significant spatial variations exist across different aspect of urban deprivation, but that generally urban deprivation is concentrated in the western suburbs of Sydney with smaller pockets in suburbs located in the inner-city and towards the New South Wales central coast. The analysis provides further support for the methodology and points to several avenues of future research.