Peter Siminski and Peter Saunders present regional comparisons of income both before and after housing costs, derived from the latest (1998-99) Household Expenditure Survey and from the 2001 Census. Both sources indicate that while the percentage of people in low-income households is lower in major urban locations than in the rest of Australia, these differences are much smaller when account is taken of housing costs. These results contradict other studies that show a large gap in regional living standards in Australia.