The image of the bulging Bowral wallet in the recently published Australian Taxation Office average earnings has been stacked up against the ever-rising cost of housing in the region.

Although Bowral residents may have earned almost $10,000 more than the State average ($47,405 compared to an average of $39,693), residents no doubt paid the price for the privilege.

In the 2576 postcode, incorporating Bowral, Burradoo and Kangaloon, housing expenditure has ensured that the average wallet is undergoing a rigorous exercise program.

In the 2001 Australian Bureau of Statistics Census, out of the 950 people who are paying off a housing loan, 138 (or 14 per cent) are paying $2000 or more per month.

If all things remain equal that would mean that the average 2576 person would earn $911.63 per week and pay $461.53 per week, or just over half of their weekly wage for the privilege of owning their little piece of 2576. On the other hand, the bulk of home owners (36.69 per cent), or more correctly those striving to own their own home, pay between $1000-$1599 per month, in other words $230-$369 or about one-third of their weekly wage.

According to the statistics the rent-paying fraternity are flushed with cash in comparison, as they make up the $47,000 squad but pay less for the 2576 privilege.

For most tenants (58.36 per cent), it costs between $100-$249 per week to rent in beautiful Bowral.