Households in regional Western Australia are streaking ahead of Perth residents when it comes to financial well-being, according new data released today.

The latest quarterly ING Direct financial well-being index revealed despite earning lower incomes, households in the bush have the backing of higher personal savings, greater satisfaction with their home loan and lower credit card debt.

Regional households rate their comfort with credit card debt at 5.13 compared to 5.11 by Perth residents -- out of a possible 7. With fewer credit cards held by regional households -- 1.7 compared to 2.0 in Perth -- median card debt is also lower in the bush - $2,005 compared to $2,451.

ING Direct chief executive Don Koch said, "Many regional Australians are enjoying improved financial well-being as a consequence of the state's mining boom. Perth residents may earn more, but higher property values and rising interest rates are putting metropolitan households under financial pressure.:

The annual median household income in Perth is $73,667, and although this compares favourably to regional WA, where the median is $64,704 regional households have 50 per cent more in average personal savings than Perth residents.

Home loan dissatisfaction is rife among Perth households - only 52 per cent are happy with their mortgage compared to 71 per cent of regional home owners. Reflecting this, one in four Perth home owners are thinking about refinancing.

The quarterly financial well-being index rates comfort levels across six key aspects of household finance including credit card and mortgage debt, savings, investments, household income and ability to pay bills. Respondents rated their comfort level from 1 'very uncomfortable' to 7 'very comfortable'.

In the fourth quarter of 2010, the index for Western Australia fell to 104, down from 108 in Q3. WA is the only state where financial well-being is below the national Index score of 108.