Crossing the ‘Latte Line’: western Sydney in four charts

Jun 22, 2026 – 5.00amDemographer and columnist Bernard Salt first popularised the term “Latte Line” when describing the movement of Melbourne’s upper and middle classes westward in the early 2010s.Several years later the term would become synonymous with another city: Sydney. But rather than being used to trace the ebb of higher socio-economic markers towards the city’s traditionally lower socio-economic environs, it has instead become a catch-all term for the opposite.Subscribe to gift this articleGift 5 articles to anyone you choose each month when you subscribe.Subscribe nowAlready a subscriber? Fetching latest articles