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Cooper vs Higgins

Federal Electorate comparison ≈ 16 km apart · Cooper profile · Higgins profile

Cooper Higgins

Cooper and Higgins are two nearby areas of Greater Melbourne with very different housing and income profiles. Higgins is a high-earning area where the typical personal weekly income is $1,218, far higher than the $888 seen in Cooper. Education levels are also higher in Higgins, where 52.4% of adults hold a bachelor degree or higher compared to 40.0% in Cooper. While Cooper is more likely to have separate houses (56.6% versus 33.6% in Higgins) and larger homes, Higgins has a much higher share of flats and apartments. Cooper is also more linguistically diverse, with 31.9% of people using another language at home, which is well higher than the 24.6% in Higgins.

Everyday life in both areas shares several similarities, including a typical resident age of 37 and a 14-minute drive to the city. They are also effectively alike in the share of homes owned outright and the number of people providing unpaid care. Since 2011, the gap in typical weekly incomes has widened significantly, and the difference in the share of separate houses has grown as the lead flipped. Both areas remain well above the national figure for university qualifications and typical incomes.

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Where they differ most

Separate houses: 23.0 pts higher in Cooper Needs assistance: 2.5 pts higher in Cooper Bachelor+: 12.4 pts higher in Higgins Year 12: 10.9 pts higher in Higgins 3+ bedrooms: 10.7 pts higher in Cooper

Demographics & Identity

Population in Cooperin Higgins +1,217 larger in Cooper gap narrowing
156,279 31st pct 155,062 29th pct
Median age in Cooperin Higgins even gap narrowing
37 yrs 30th pct 37 yrs 30th pct
First Nations in Cooperin Higgins +0.6 pts higher in Cooper gap steady
1.0% 25th pct 0.3% 3rd pct
Aged 65+ in Cooperin Higgins +1.9 pts higher in Higgins gap widening
14.6% 34th pct 16.6% 48th pct
Under 15 in Cooperin Higgins +2.0 pts higher in Cooper gap steady
15.1% 16th pct 13.1% 12th pct
De facto in Cooperin Higgins +1.4 pts higher in Cooper gap widening
15.3% 90th pct 14.0% 85th pct

Age structure

35.3% Young adults (25–44) ◂ +0.5 pts 34.8%
24.1% Older adults (45–64) ◂ +0.9 pts 23.2%
14.6% Seniors (65+) +1.9 pts ▸ 16.6%
15.1% Children (0–14) ◂ +2.0 pts 13.1%
10.8% Youth (15–24) +1.4 pts ▸ 12.3%

Marital status

47.5% Never married ◂ +1.3 pts 46.2%
37.6% Married +2.8 pts ▸ 40.3%
7.2% Divorced ◂ +0.1 pts 7.1%
5.0% Widowed ◂ +0.8 pts 4.2%
2.7% Separated ◂ +0.7 pts 2.1%

Age & sex structure

Cooper Higgins

Bars show the share of each area's own population, so differently sized areas stay comparable.

Ancestry & Birthplace

Born overseas in Cooperin Higgins +1.4 pts higher in Higgins gap steady
31.1% 65th pct 32.5% 70th pct

Country of birth

64.6% Australia ◂ +1.2 pts 63.5%
2.6% China +1.7 pts ▸ 4.3%
3.4% Italy ◂ +2.8 pts 0.6%
2.5% India +0.9 pts ▸ 3.4%
2.3% England +1.0 pts ▸ 3.3%
1.7% New Zealand +0.3 pts ▸ 2.0%
1.6% Vietnam ◂ +0.9 pts 0.7%
0.3% South Africa +0.6 pts ▸ 0.9%
0.7% Nepal ◂ +0.4 pts 0.3%
0.7% Philippines ◂ +0.1 pts 0.6%

Ancestry

25.2% English +5.6 pts ▸ 30.8%
22.3% Australian +2.1 pts ▸ 24.4%
13.8% Italian ◂ +8.6 pts 5.2%
11.2% Irish +0.9 pts ▸ 12.1%
6.0% Chinese +4.1 pts ▸ 10.1%
8.4% Scottish +1.7 pts ▸ 10.1%
8.2% Greek ◂ +3.0 pts 5.2%
2.8% Indian +1.2 pts ▸ 4.0%
3.1% German +0.6 pts ▸ 3.7%
2.2% Vietnamese ◂ +1.2 pts 1.0%
1.3% Dutch +0.2 pts ▸ 1.5%
1.0% Filipino ◂ +0.2 pts 0.9%

Language

Other language in Cooperin Higgins +7.3 pts higher in Cooper gap widening
31.9% 76th pct 24.6% 67th pct
Limited English in Cooperin Higgins +2.9 pts higher in Cooper gap steady
5.9% 86th pct 3.0% 65th pct

Language used at home

63.7% English only +7.5 pts ▸ 71.2%
5.6% Greek ◂ +2.3 pts 3.3%
3.1% Mandarin +2.2 pts ▸ 5.3%
5.2% Italian ◂ +4.3 pts 0.9%
2.5% Arabic ◂ +2.1 pts 0.3%
2.0% Vietnamese ◂ +1.3 pts 0.7%
1.1% Cantonese +0.4 pts ▸ 1.5%
0.7% Hindi +0.2 pts ▸ 0.9%
0.5% Punjabi ◂ +0.3 pts 0.2%
0.3% Tagalog ◂ +0.1 pts 0.2%

Religion

No religion in Cooperin Higgins +1.5 pts higher in Cooper gap narrowing
45.8% 77th pct 44.3% 69th pct

Religious affiliation

45.8% No religion ◂ +1.5 pts 44.3%
38.1% Christianity even 38.1%
5.9% Not stated +0.1 pts ▸ 6.0%
0.2% Judaism +3.9 pts ▸ 4.2%
4.1% Islam ◂ +3.0 pts 1.1%
2.5% Hinduism +1.0 pts ▸ 3.4%
2.6% Buddhism ◂ +0.2 pts 2.4%
0.8% Other religions ◂ +0.3 pts 0.5%

Education & Qualifications

Year 12 in Cooperin Higgins +10.9 pts higher in Higgins gap steady
70.8% 81st pct 81.7% 99th pct
Bachelor+ in Cooperin Higgins +12.4 pts higher in Higgins gap widening
40.0% 86th pct 52.4% 100th pct
Schools/1k kids in Cooperin Higgins +0.17 more in Cooper
1.94 56th pct 1.77 43rd pct
Schools ≤3 km in Cooperin Higgins +10 more in Cooper
46 23rd pct 36 7th pct
Students in Cooperin Higgins +5,793 more in Cooper
24,265 28th pct 18,472 11th pct
Avg size in Cooperin Higgins +26 larger in Cooper
539 57th pct 513 53rd pct
ICSEA in Cooperin Higgins +77 higher in Higgins
1,087 78th pct 1,164 100th pct

Highest year of school

70.8% Year 12 +10.9 pts ▸ 81.7%
10.7% Year 9 or below ◂ +7.0 pts 3.7%
6.5% Year 10 ◂ +2.2 pts 4.3%
6.4% Year 11 ◂ +1.2 pts 5.2%

Highest qualification level

36.4% Bachelor degree +7.8 pts ▸ 44.2%
16.8% Postgraduate degree +2.4 pts ▸ 19.2%
14.2% Certificate III / IV ◂ +6.4 pts 7.9%
13.1% Advanced diploma / diploma ◂ +1.2 pts 11.9%
6.3% Graduate diploma / certificate ◂ +0.7 pts 5.7%
1.1% Certificate I / II ◂ +0.4 pts 0.7%

Field of qualification

17.4% Management & commerce +9.0 pts ▸ 26.4%
15.6% Society & culture ◂ +1.3 pts 14.3%
9.8% Health +1.6 pts ▸ 11.3%
9.8% Creative arts ◂ +2.9 pts 6.9%
9.3% Engineering & related ◂ +1.4 pts 7.9%
7.5% Education ◂ +1.0 pts 6.5%
4.5% Information technology +0.3 pts ▸ 4.8%
4.5% Natural & physical sciences +0.2 pts ▸ 4.7%
4.6% Architecture & building ◂ +0.7 pts 3.9%
3.8% Food, hospitality & personal services ◂ +0.9 pts 2.9%
1.4% Agriculture & environment ◂ +0.5 pts 0.8%

Income

Personal income in Cooperin Higgins +$330 higher in Higgins gap widening
$888 70th pct $1,218 89th pct
Household income in Cooperin Higgins +$356 higher in Higgins gap widening
$1,845 59th pct $2,201 86th pct
Family income in Cooperin Higgins +$789 higher in Higgins gap widening
$2,390 75th pct $3,179 98th pct
High earners in Cooperin Higgins +10.7 pts higher in Higgins gap widening
15.3% 75th pct 25.9% 95th pct
High-income homes in Cooperin Higgins +9.1 pts higher in Higgins gap widening
25.9% 71st pct 35.0% 89th pct

Household income distribution

29.4% $1,500–$2,999 ◂ +1.5 pts 27.9%
14.6% $4,000 or more +10.1 pts ▸ 24.7%
23.0% $650–$1,499 ◂ +3.6 pts 19.4%
16.2% Under $650 ◂ +3.6 pts 12.6%
11.3% $3,000–$3,999 ◂ +1.0 pts 10.3%

Personal income distribution

37.4% Under $650 ◂ +8.5 pts 29.0%
29.3% $650–$1,499 ◂ +2.7 pts 26.6%
21.3% $1,500–$2,999 +3.3 pts ▸ 24.6%
6.0% $3,000 or more +8.2 pts ▸ 14.3%

Health & Disability

Health condition in Cooperin Higgins +3.5 pts higher in Cooper
28.2% 54th pct 24.7% 29th pct
Mental health in Cooperin Higgins +2.8 pts higher in Cooper
11.1% 82nd pct 8.3% 38th pct
Needs assistance in Cooperin Higgins +2.5 pts higher in Cooper gap widening
6.5% 72nd pct 4.1% 13th pct

Long-term health conditions reported

11.1% Mental health ◂ +2.8 pts 8.3%
8.7% Other condition ◂ +1.2 pts 7.4%
8.5% Asthma ◂ +0.9 pts 7.6%
7.2% Arthritis ◂ +1.3 pts 5.9%
4.2% Diabetes ◂ +1.3 pts 2.9%
3.1% Heart disease even 3.1%
2.3% Cancer +0.5 pts ▸ 2.9%
1.1% Lung condition ◂ +0.2 pts 0.9%
0.8% Stroke ◂ +0.1 pts 0.7%
0.8% Dementia ◂ +0.1 pts 0.7%

Number of long-term health conditions

65.1% None +3.9 pts ▸ 69.0%
20.1% One condition ◂ +1.8 pts 18.3%
5.6% Two conditions ◂ +1.0 pts 4.6%
2.5% Three or more ◂ +0.7 pts 1.8%

Community Participation

Volunteering in Cooperin Higgins +3.2 pts higher in Higgins gap narrowing
12.7% 38th pct 15.9% 67th pct
Unpaid carers in Cooperin Higgins +0.9 pts higher in Cooper gap steady
13.0% 73rd pct 12.1% 55th pct
Unpaid child care in Cooperin Higgins +1.8 pts higher in Cooper gap steady
23.1% 22nd pct 21.3% 14th pct
Defence service in Cooperin Higgins +0.4 pts higher in Higgins
1.0% 8th pct 1.4% 16th pct
Housework 15h+ in Cooperin Higgins +1.1 pts higher in Cooper gap steady
18.0% 24th pct 16.9% 16th pct

Family & Households

Household size in Cooperin Higgins +0.2 larger in Cooper gap widening
2.4 29th pct 2.2 11th pct
One-parent in Cooperin Higgins +3.4 pts higher in Cooper gap widening
13.1% 36th pct 9.7% 2nd pct
Living alone in Cooperin Higgins +5.6 pts higher in Higgins gap widening
30.5% 86th pct 36.2% 100th pct

Family composition

57.4% Couples with children ◂ +2.2 pts 55.2%
27.6% Couples without children +5.6 pts ▸ 33.3%
13.1% One-parent families ◂ +3.4 pts 9.7%
1.8% Other families ◂ +0.1 pts 1.8%

Household size

30.5% 1 person +5.6 pts ▸ 36.2%
32.4% 2 people +1.8 pts ▸ 34.1%
16.2% 3 people ◂ +3.5 pts 12.8%
14.7% 4 people ◂ +2.7 pts 12.1%
4.4% 5 people ◂ +0.4 pts 4.0%
1.8% 6 or more ◂ +0.9 pts 0.9%

Housing & Dwellings

Rent in Cooperin Higgins +$39 higher in Higgins gap steady
$381 54th pct $420 78th pct
Mortgage in Cooperin Higgins +$350 higher in Higgins gap widening
$2,100 68th pct $2,450 87th pct
People / bedroom in Cooperin Higgins even gap steady
0.90 86th pct 0.90 86th pct
Renting in Cooperin Higgins +3.6 pts higher in Higgins gap narrowing
38.0% 82nd pct 41.6% 88th pct
Owned outright in Cooperin Higgins +0.2 pts higher in Cooper gap steady
29.3% 40th pct 29.2% 39th pct
Separate houses in Cooperin Higgins +23.0 pts higher in Cooper gap widening
56.6% 16th pct 33.6% 6th pct
3+ bedrooms in Cooperin Higgins +10.7 pts higher in Cooper gap widening
56.0% 10th pct 45.3% 3rd pct

How homes are owned or rented

38.0% Rented +3.6 pts ▸ 41.6%
29.9% Owned with a mortgage ◂ +3.2 pts 26.7%
29.3% Owned outright ◂ +0.2 pts 29.2%
1.4% Other tenure +0.1 pts ▸ 1.5%
1.4% Not stated ◂ +0.3 pts 1.1%

Types of homes

56.6% Separate house ◂ +23.0 pts 33.6%
15.7% Flat or apartment +29.4 pts ▸ 45.1%
27.1% Townhouse / semi-detached ◂ +6.5 pts 20.6%
0.6% Other dwelling even 0.6%

Bedrooms per home

39.4% 3 bedrooms ◂ +12.8 pts 26.5%
32.8% 2 bedrooms +3.4 pts ▸ 36.2%
9.6% 1 bedroom +7.1 pts ▸ 16.7%
13.7% 4 bedrooms +0.6 pts ▸ 14.2%
3.0% 5 or more +1.5 pts ▸ 4.5%
0.4% Studio / none +0.4 pts ▸ 0.8%

Weekly rent distribution

45.5% $350–$549 ◂ +1.5 pts 43.9%
25.6% $200–$349 ◂ +3.6 pts 22.0%
12.1% $550–$749 +3.2 pts ▸ 15.3%
4.0% $750 or more +6.3 pts ▸ 10.2%
9.6% Under $200 ◂ +3.6 pts 5.9%

Monthly mortgage distribution

25.0% $3,000 or more +13.8 pts ▸ 38.8%
32.2% $1,800–$2,999 ◂ +7.6 pts 24.6%
23.2% $1,000–$1,799 ◂ +5.3 pts 18.0%
13.6% Under $1,000 ◂ +1.6 pts 12.0%

Transport & Vehicles

No car in Cooperin Higgins +2.2 pts higher in Higgins gap steady
12.2% 88th pct 14.4% 92nd pct
Work from home in Cooperin Higgins +6.9 pts higher in Higgins gap widening
36.3% 86th pct 43.2% 92nd pct
PT commute in Cooperin Higgins +0.9 pts higher in Higgins gap narrowing
4.9% 79th pct 5.8% 86th pct
PT stops in Cooperin Higgins +248 more in Cooper
903 71st pct 655 28th pct
Stops/1k in Cooperin Higgins +1.55 more in Cooper
5.78 81st pct 4.22 37th pct
Departures/1k in Cooperin Higgins +378.6 more in Cooper
2,241.4 89th pct 1,862.8 82nd pct
PT routes in Cooperin Higgins +13 more in Higgins
39 26th pct 52 47th pct
Stop walk in Cooperin Higgins +5 longer in Higgins
1 7th pct 6 46th pct
Drive to city in Cooperin Higgins even
14 14th pct 14 14th pct

How people get to work

36.3% Worked at home +6.9 pts ▸ 43.2%
36.2% Car (driver) ◂ +5.8 pts 30.3%
2.7% Train +1.2 pts ▸ 3.9%
1.7% Walked +1.9 pts ▸ 3.7%
2.4% Bicycle ◂ +1.2 pts 1.2%
2.2% Car (passenger) ◂ +0.5 pts 1.8%
0.8% Bus ◂ +0.4 pts 0.4%

Motor vehicles per home

46.6% 1 vehicle +0.7 pts ▸ 47.3%
30.2% 2 vehicles ◂ +1.4 pts 28.7%
12.2% No vehicle +2.2 pts ▸ 14.4%
7.4% 3 vehicles ◂ +0.9 pts 6.5%
3.6% 4 or more ◂ +0.5 pts 3.1%

Migration & Movement

Recent movers in Cooperin Higgins +6.4 pts higher in Higgins gap narrowing
40.7% 58th pct 47.1% 83rd pct
Recent arrivals in Cooperin Higgins +5.5 pts higher in Higgins gap narrowing
15.0% 62nd pct 20.4% 85th pct

Jobs & Industry

Unemployment in Cooperin Higgins +1.1 pts higher in Cooper gap steady
5.2% 58th pct 4.2% 22nd pct
Participation in Cooperin Higgins +2.7 pts higher in Higgins gap steady
66.3% 82nd pct 68.9% 93rd pct
Full-time in Cooperin Higgins +5.0 pts higher in Higgins gap widening
59.2% 57th pct 64.1% 89th pct

Industries people work in

11.4% Professional & technical +4.9 pts ▸ 16.3%
14.8% Health care & social assistance ◂ +0.8 pts 14.0%
11.0% Education & training ◂ +2.0 pts 9.0%
8.4% Retail trade +0.5 pts ▸ 8.9%
4.5% Finance & insurance +3.2 pts ▸ 7.7%
7.5% Public administration & safety ◂ +2.7 pts 4.8%
7.0% Construction ◂ +1.5 pts 5.4%
6.3% Accommodation & food ◂ +0.3 pts 6.0%
5.2% Manufacturing ◂ +1.3 pts 3.9%
3.6% Transport & warehousing ◂ +1.2 pts 2.4%
3.2% Other services ◂ +0.7 pts 2.5%
3.1% Administrative & support even 3.1%

Occupations people work in

34.6% Professionals +5.6 pts ▸ 40.2%
14.2% Managers +5.1 pts ▸ 19.3%
11.9% Clerical & administrative ◂ +0.1 pts 11.7%
10.2% Technicians & trades ◂ +3.9 pts 6.3%
10.1% Community & personal service ◂ +2.2 pts 7.8%
7.1% Sales workers +0.7 pts ▸ 7.8%
6.4% Labourers ◂ +2.9 pts 3.6%
3.8% Machinery operators & drivers ◂ +2.1 pts 1.7%

Walkability

Walk score in Cooperin Higgins +0.3 higher in Higgins
8.4 93rd pct 8.8 96th pct
Types ≤15 min in Cooperin Higgins +0.2 more in Higgins
7.7 95th pct 7.9 100th pct
15-min city in Cooperin Higgins +0.9 pts higher in Higgins
98.8% 96th pct 99.6% 99th pct
Walk to shops in Cooperin Higgins even
98.9% 99th pct 98.7% 98th pct
Walk to transit in Cooperin Higgins even
99.8% 97th pct 99.9% 97th pct
Walk to school in Cooperin Higgins +1.2 pts higher in Higgins
98.2% 94th pct 99.4% 99th pct
Walk to a park in Cooperin Higgins even
100.0% 100th pct 100.0% 100th pct
Walk to health in Cooperin Higgins +5.9 pts higher in Higgins
92.4% 94th pct 98.3% 100th pct
Amenities/1k in Cooperin Higgins +3.3 more in Cooper
15.1 54th pct 11.8 23rd pct
Intersections/km² in Cooperin Higgins +6 higher in Higgins
446 100th pct 451 100th pct
Mean slope in Cooperin Higgins +0.7 pts higher in Higgins
3.6% 11th pct 4.3% 22nd pct

Compare Cooper with nearby areas

Wills Melbourne Scullin Kooyong Macnamara Jagajaga Maribyrnong Higgins

Compare Higgins with nearby areas

Kooyong Goldstein Chisholm Macnamara Melbourne Hotham Menzies Cooper

Cite this page

Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2021). Cooper vs Higgins [Census of Population and Housing]. CensusAtlas, used under CC BY 4.0. https://censusatlas.au/compare/ced/CED208/cooper/vs/CED220/higgins