Forget Joburg And Cape Town: This Small Town Has South Africa's Highest Average Incomes

Gamagara (https://iol.co.za/business/jobs/2024-12-13-small-town-deep-pockets-residents-in-this-northern-cape-town-are-raking-in-the-bucks/), a small Northern Cape municipality that includes the mining town of Kathu, has the highest average taxable income per assessed taxpayer in South Africa, outranking Johannesburg, Stellenbosch and Tshwane. Taxpayers in Gamagara had an average taxable income of R508,901 in the 2024 tax year, compared with R480,318 in the City of Johannesburg and R451,052 in Stellenbosch, according to an analysis of the latest available tax statistics by playcasino.com. The national average was R351,128. The analysis ranked more than 150 local and metropolitan municipalities with at least 5,000 assessed individual taxpayers, by municipality of residence. The figures exclude people who earn below the income tax threshold (../jobs/2026-11-09-shoprite-ceo-pay-policy-faces-shareholder-backlash-as-almost-half-vote-against-it/), as well as those whose income is not captured through the assessed taxpayer data. A spokesperson for playcasino.com said the numbers showed where taxpayers earned the most, not who was rich or poor overall. Iron, copper and coal Kathu began as a farm and grew around the Sishen mine, which Anglo American Kumba describes as its flagship operation and one of the largest open-pit mines in the world. As Sishen expanded, Kumba relocated residents of nearby Dingleton to a new suburb in Kathu, Anglo American said. Sishen is also the starting point of the railway line that carries iron ore to Saldanha Bay. Tsantsabane, which ranked (../jobs/2026-10-28-take-home-pay-rises-but-south-africans-are-still-losing-spending-power/) eighth at R390,815, covers Postmasburg, where Kumba’s Kolomela mine and the Beeshoek iron ore mine operate in an area also known for manganese. The municipality describes itself as driven by mining and solar investments. Ba-Phalaborwa in Limpopo, fourth at R420,075, is home to Palabora’s copper mine and Foskor’s phosphate operation, and its main town, Phalaborwa, borders the Kruger National Park. Thabazimbi, sixth at R403,069, has a name that means “mountain of iron” and is surrounded by platinum mines, including Amandelbult and Northam. Emalahleni, ninth at R385,579, means “place of coal” and sits in an area with more than 20 collieries and a cluster of Eskom power stations. Vines, sugar and cities Thaba Chweu in Mpumalanga, seventh at R394,243, has a mixed economy. Its integrated development plan lists forestry, agriculture, mining, business services and tourism, with Sabie and Graskop on the Panorama Route. Stellenbosch (../savings/2026-11-10-payday-loans-surge-as-debt-stretched-south-africans-struggle-to-make-ends-meet/), third at R451,052, is a wine-farming municipality about 50km from Cape Town and home to Stellenbosch University. KwaDukuza, which completed the top 10 at R374,350, is sugar-cane country, with the upmarket coastal estates of Ballito on the Dolphin Coast. Johannesburg, second at R480,318, had 970,892 assessed taxpayers, almost 90 times Gamagara’s 10,979. Tshwane ranked fifth at R412,120 and Cape Town 11th at R370,992. Gauteng, at R413,712, was the only province above the national average of R351,128, while the Eastern Cape had the lowest at R292,061. Top and bottom Among the ranked municipalities, the Eastern Cape’s best was Nelson Mandela Bay at R312,909, still below the national average. It is a car-making metro, home to Volkswagen’s plant at Kariega, Isuzu’s bakkie plant in Gqeberha and a BAIC plant in the Coega Special Economic Zone, with two ports at Gqeberha and Ngqura. In the Free State, Metsimaholo (../jobs/2026-10-27-arm-ceo-pay-rises-29-to-r281-million-as-headline-earnings-increase/) led at R343,482. Its main town, Sasolburg, is home to Sasol’s operations and the Natref refinery, the country’s only inland refinery, and a study of its economic contribution published by Sasol says the company’s operations support more than 80% of the municipality’s GDP. Rustenburg topped North West at R364,921 and is in the province known as the Platinum Province. Mining makes up about 61% of its economy, according to the municipality. At the other end, Sundays River Valley in the Eastern Cape had the lowest average at R184,664, just over half the national average, followed by Kai !Garib in the Northern Cape at R185,809. Three Western Cape municipalities, Theewaterskloof, Witzenberg and Beaufort West, were also among the 10 lowest. The figures are SARS and National Treasury’s 2025 Tax Statistics for the 2024 tax year. IOL BUSINESS Get your news on the go. Download the latest IOL App for Android (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.iol.news.prod&hl=en_ZA&pli=1) and IOS (https://apps.apple.com/za/app/iol-news/id479535200) now.