The youngest capital city in Australia is home to one of the lowest rates of older cars and our high incomes and efficient road network are the cause, a demographer said.
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Only the Northern Territory had a lower proportion than the ACT of cars 11 years or older, analysis of the Bureau of Statistics' Motor Vehicle Census data by comparison website finder.com.au found.
The ACT figure of 39 per cent was slightly lower than NSW or Victoria but a long way from old-car central, Tasmania, with 53 per cent of registered cars in the Apple Isle made before 2006.
The Australian National University's Professor Glenn Withers said Canberra's income levels, impressive road network and public transport limits made newer cars more likely.
"Canberra's average incomes are higher than other states and territories which allows us to have the purchasing power to buy newer cars, and in a spread out, planned city those cars are essential even though we're a small population," he said.
Professor Withers, from the Research School of Economics, said the city's public transport system was "complicated", and Darwin and Canberra had more in common on transport than might be expected.
"Darwin, ever since the [1974] cyclone, is a bit of a replica from Canberra in the ways it is laid out and the limited provision of public transport," he said.
He attributed economic difficulties in South Australia, particularly connected to the decline of car manufacturing, and ongoing economic challenges in Tasmania for residents' likely deferring of new vehicle purchases.
The ACT again topped the latest ABS average full-time weekly earnings figures, released on Thursday, with income of $1725.40. The Northern Territory was third on the rankings while South Australia and Tasmania had the lowest figures.
NRMA ACT and southern NSW board member Kate Lundy said Canberra's newer cars would have the benefit of improved safety features, although noted it was often younger people who were buying older cars.
Finder.com.au money and insurance commentator Bessie Hassan said the added expenses of an older car, including higher insurance, needed to be considered against the usually lower purchase price.
"Something to bear in mind is that older cars generally tend to have lower ANCAP safety ratings, which can trigger more pricey cover," she said.
She gave the example of comprehensive insurance cover by AAMI for a Mazda 2 hatchback, which would cost about $800 for the 2002 model owned by a 30-year-old man in Canberra, but just $500 for the equivalent 2012 model.
