HATS Lab · UNSW Sydney · 2026

Priced out of
the classroom

Housing affordability for NSW teachers across 35 years of rental and sales data. Supplementary interactive material for Eacott, Garg & Lin (2026).

35yrs
of rental &
sales data
139
NSW LGAs
tracked
108
KDE
animations
—
of NSW LGAs where a
graduate teacher cannot
afford a 1-bed flat
2025 · Q4
01 — Statewide distributions

Jellyfish animations

Animated KDE distributions showing housing cost distributions relative to teacher salary thresholds, 1990–2025. Each frame is one quarter across 42 consistent LGAs.

Market
Income scenario ?Graduate: entry-level NSW teacher (~$87k/yr).
Top scale: most experienced classroom
teacher salary (~$126k/yr).
Combined: both thresholds shown together.
Household type ?Solo: one teacher's income only.
Dual income: teacher + partner's
income combined (LGA median).
Dwelling
Bedrooms
▶ KDE Animation —
Select options above to load animation
02 — Local detail

LGA time-series explorer

Track rent or sales prices for any NSW LGA across time, with teacher affordability threshold lines overlaid. Pre-2017 data covers 42 consistent metro LGAs; post-2017 covers all 139 LGAs.

Market
Dwelling
Bedrooms
Threshold lines ?Dashed lines showing the max affordable rent
(30% of salary) or purchase price (3× salary).
Graduate: entry-level teacher (~$87k/yr).
Top scale: most experienced teacher (~$126k/yr).
Household type ?Solo: one teacher's income only.
Dual income: teacher + partner's
income combined (LGA median).
· Pre-2017: 42 metro LGAs
· Post-2017: all 139 LGAs
Select an LGA
Choose from the list on the left to view its history
Select an LGA to view its price history
03 — Spatial overview

NSW affordability map

Affordability by LGA for 2017–2026, coloured by SGS/Demographia severity zones. Select a year and quarter, then click any LGA to jump to its time-series in the explorer above.

Market
Dwelling
Bedrooms
Income scenario ?Graduate: entry-level NSW teacher (~$87k/yr).
Top scale: most experienced classroom
teacher salary (~$126k/yr).
Household type ?Solo: one teacher's income only.
Dual income: teacher + partner's
income combined (LGA median).
Year
Quarter
Colours show affordability as a multiple of income threshold. Click any LGA to explore its history.
—
—
—
—
Affordability zones
Hover each zone to see threshold ranges
Research team

Get in touch

For questions about this research, data, or methodology.

Scott Eacott
Principal Investigator
Scott Eacott
Professor of Education
HATS Lab, UNSW Sydney
LinkedIn ORCID UNSW
Pushkal Garg
Research Assistant
Pushkal Garg
Master of Data Science
UNSW Sydney
LinkedIn ORCID
Zih-Hong Lin
Research Associate
Zih-Hong Lin
Research Associate
HATS Lab, UNSW Sydney
LinkedIn ORCID UNSW