Which state has Australia’s best performing economy?

It’s the first time South Australia has ever landed at the top of the economic performance leaderboard over the 15 years that the quarterly report has been in circulation, beating out the October 2023 top-ranked state of Victoria.

The southern state took out top spot on four of the eight key economic indicators considered by the report: real economic growth, unemployment, construction work and dwelling starts.

Coming in equal second place is Victoria and NSW, followed by Western Australia and Tasmania.

Coming in sixth place is the ACT, while Queensland has fallen three places (from fourth to seventh).

Rounding out the latest ranking is the Northern Territory, in eighth place.

According to CommSec chief economist Craig James, “the economic performance of Australia’s states and territories is being supported by a solid job market and strong population growth, however the economies have slowed in response to rising interest rates, higher borrowing costs and price pressures.”

He pointed out that South Australia’s taking of the lead for the first time ever in the report follows population growth across the state having “tripled over the past two years, which is showing up in a strong housing market and overall economic activity”.

“However, South Australia can’t rest easily. It is likely the state will face challenges from NSW and Victoria in the period ahead,” he tempered.

“We have also looked at annual changes in economic indicators as a useful measure of economic momentum and the report shows strong economic momentum by Western Australia, with Queensland, Victoria, NSW and South Australia not far behind.”

So who did well in which sectors?

While South Australia ranked number one on construction work, unemployment, dwelling starts and real economic growth, Victoria ranked second or third on three out of eight indicators.

NSW also ranked second or third on four of the eight indicators.

Across in Western Australia, the state took out top spot on relative population growth, followed behind by the NT, while Queensland ranked number one when it came to home loans.

Tasmania took the number one ranking when it came to equipment spending, while the ACT ranked first on retail spending.