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Other Urban vs Rural Balance

Section of State comparison ≈ 630 km apart · Other Urban profile · Rural Balance profile

Other Urban Rural Balance

Other Urban and Rural Balance are far apart and offer very different ways of living. Other Urban is far more walkable, with 60.4% of homes having a 15-minute-city walkshed and a walkability score that is somewhat walkable. In contrast, Rural Balance is car-dependent, with only 3.4% of homes in a walkshed. This divide is clear in the essentials: 62.5% of Other Urban residents can walk to groceries in 15 minutes, compared to just 5.2% in Rural Balance. Other Urban also has a higher share of renters at 24.9%, while Rural Balance sees more homes owned outright at 46.2%.

Both areas are almost identical in their typical weekly household incomes, which sit around $1,400. While they share similar earnings, other gaps have grown since 2011. The typical resident in Rural Balance is now five years older than in Other Urban. The difference in language diversity has also increased, with Other Urban now well higher at 9.4% compared to 3.2% in Rural Balance. Meanwhile, the proportion of people with no religion is well higher in Rural Balance at 51.4%.

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Where they differ most

Population: 891,652 larger in Other Urban Renting: 13.7 pts higher in Other Urban One-parent: 6.1 pts higher in Other Urban Separate houses: 9.4 pts higher in Rural Balance Limited English: 1.2 pts higher in Other Urban

Demographics & Identity

Population in Other Urbanin Rural Balance +891,652 larger in Other Urban gap steady
999,013 86th pct 107,361 59th pct
Median age in Other Urbanin Rural Balance +5 yrs older in Rural Balance gap widening
41 yrs 50th pct 46 yrs 79th pct
First Nations in Other Urbanin Rural Balance +3.5 pts higher in Rural Balance gap widening
2.2% 24th pct 5.7% 53rd pct
Aged 65+ in Other Urbanin Rural Balance +1.6 pts higher in Other Urban gap narrowing
21.8% 82nd pct 20.2% 69th pct
Under 15 in Other Urbanin Rural Balance +2.0 pts higher in Other Urban gap widening
18.7% 76th pct 16.7% 42nd pct
De facto in Other Urbanin Rural Balance +2.3 pts higher in Rural Balance gap steady
12.5% 42nd pct 14.8% 82nd pct

Age structure

24.4% Older adults (45–64) +7.6 pts ▸ 32.1%
24.5% Young adults (25–44) ◂ +3.4 pts 21.1%
21.8% Seniors (65+) ◂ +1.6 pts 20.2%
18.7% Children (0–14) ◂ +2.0 pts 16.7%
10.5% Youth (15–24) ◂ +0.7 pts 9.9%

Marital status

45.7% Married +5.7 pts ▸ 51.4%
33.9% Never married ◂ +2.3 pts 31.6%
10.0% Divorced ◂ +0.1 pts 9.9%
6.6% Widowed ◂ +2.6 pts 4.0%
3.8% Separated ◂ +0.7 pts 3.1%

Age & sex structure

Other Urban Rural Balance

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

Ancestry & Birthplace

Born overseas in Other Urbanin Rural Balance +2.9 pts higher in Other Urban gap widening
14.6% 46th pct 11.6% 28th pct

Country of birth

79.3% Australia +1.8 pts ▸ 81.1%
2.8% England +1.5 pts ▸ 4.3%
1.6% India ◂ +1.4 pts 0.2%
1.2% New Zealand +0.1 pts ▸ 1.4%
0.8% Philippines ◂ +0.6 pts 0.2%
0.5% Italy ◂ +0.4 pts 0.1%
0.3% South Africa +0.1 pts ▸ 0.4%
0.3% China ◂ +0.1 pts 0.2%
0.3% Vietnam ◂ +0.2 pts 0.1%
0.1% Nepal even 0.1%

Ancestry

39.5% English +5.8 pts ▸ 45.3%
38.2% Australian +4.9 pts ▸ 43.1%
11.9% Irish ◂ +1.6 pts 10.3%
10.8% Scottish ◂ +0.7 pts 10.1%
4.4% German ◂ +0.4 pts 4.0%
4.3% Italian ◂ +3.1 pts 1.2%
2.1% Dutch +0.2 pts ▸ 2.4%
1.6% Indian ◂ +1.3 pts 0.3%
1.1% Chinese ◂ +0.6 pts 0.6%
1.1% Filipino ◂ +0.7 pts 0.4%
0.8% Greek ◂ +0.5 pts 0.3%
0.3% Vietnamese ◂ +0.2 pts 0.1%

Language

Other language in Other Urbanin Rural Balance +6.3 pts higher in Other Urban gap widening
9.4% 48th pct 3.2% 0th pct
Limited English in Other Urbanin Rural Balance +1.2 pts higher in Other Urban gap steady
1.4% 59th pct 0.3% 10th pct

Language used at home

84.6% English only +6.1 pts ▸ 90.7%
1.1% Punjabi ◂ +1.1 pts 0.0%
0.6% Italian ◂ +0.5 pts 0.1%
0.5% Mandarin ◂ +0.3 pts 0.2%
0.4% Arabic ◂ +0.3 pts 0.0%
0.3% Tagalog ◂ +0.3 pts 0.1%
0.3% Vietnamese ◂ +0.3 pts 0.1%
0.3% Hindi ◂ +0.3 pts 0.0%
0.3% Greek ◂ +0.2 pts 0.1%
0.1% Cantonese ◂ +0.1 pts 0.0%

Religion

No religion in Other Urbanin Rural Balance +7.1 pts higher in Rural Balance gap widening
44.3% 68th pct 51.4% 100th pct

Religious affiliation

44.3% No religion +7.1 pts ▸ 51.4%
43.5% Christianity ◂ +5.1 pts 38.4%
7.5% Not stated +1.1 pts ▸ 8.7%
1.4% Islam ◂ +1.1 pts 0.3%
1.3% Other religions ◂ +0.9 pts 0.4%
1.0% Hinduism ◂ +0.7 pts 0.2%
0.9% Buddhism ◂ +0.4 pts 0.5%
0.1% Judaism even 0.1%

Education & Qualifications

Year 12 in Other Urbanin Rural Balance +4.4 pts higher in Other Urban gap steady
46.0% 71st pct 41.7% 47th pct
Bachelor+ in Other Urbanin Rural Balance +0.5 pts higher in Rural Balance gap steady
16.8% 66th pct 17.4% 71st pct

Highest year of school

46.0% Year 12 ◂ +4.4 pts 41.7%
18.1% Year 10 +14.5 pts ▸ 32.6%
15.0% Year 11 ◂ +6.2 pts 8.8%
13.2% Year 9 or below ◂ +3.8 pts 9.5%

Highest qualification level

34.4% Certificate III / IV +1.7 pts ▸ 36.1%
19.3% Bachelor degree +0.2 pts ▸ 19.5%
16.1% Advanced diploma / diploma ◂ +1.8 pts 14.3%
5.3% Postgraduate degree +0.6 pts ▸ 5.9%
4.1% Graduate diploma / certificate ◂ +1.0 pts 3.2%
2.1% Certificate I / II +0.6 pts ▸ 2.7%

Field of qualification

14.0% Engineering & related +2.3 pts ▸ 16.3%
14.1% Management & commerce ◂ +1.1 pts 13.0%
12.3% Society & culture ◂ +1.4 pts 10.9%
11.4% Health ◂ +1.0 pts 10.3%
9.7% Education ◂ +1.5 pts 8.2%
6.6% Architecture & building +0.2 pts ▸ 6.8%
2.7% Agriculture & environment +3.3 pts ▸ 6.1%
6.0% Food, hospitality & personal services ◂ +1.1 pts 5.0%
2.8% Creative arts +0.3 pts ▸ 3.1%
2.0% Natural & physical sciences +1.0 pts ▸ 3.0%
1.8% Information technology ◂ +0.4 pts 1.4%

Income

Personal income in Other Urbanin Rural Balance +$21 higher in Other Urban gap steady
$711 44th pct $690 37th pct
Household income in Other Urbanin Rural Balance +$42 higher in Rural Balance gap widening
$1,384 30th pct $1,426 35th pct
Family income in Other Urbanin Rural Balance +$64 higher in Other Urban gap widening
$1,800 43rd pct $1,736 35th pct
High earners in Other Urbanin Rural Balance +0.3 pts higher in Other Urban gap steady
7.8% 42nd pct 7.5% 38th pct
High-income homes in Other Urbanin Rural Balance +0.2 pts higher in Rural Balance gap steady
14.3% 36th pct 14.5% 37th pct

Household income distribution

30.6% $650–$1,499 +0.4 pts ▸ 31.0%
28.7% $1,500–$2,999 +0.4 pts ▸ 29.0%
19.5% Under $650 ◂ +2.4 pts 17.0%
7.9% $3,000–$3,999 +0.2 pts ▸ 8.0%
6.4% $4,000 or more even 6.4%

Personal income distribution

42.8% Under $650 +1.4 pts ▸ 44.2%
32.6% $650–$1,499 ◂ +0.8 pts 31.9%
14.2% $1,500–$2,999 ◂ +0.1 pts 14.1%
2.5% $3,000 or more even 2.5%

Health & Disability

Health condition in Other Urbanin Rural Balance +2.1 pts higher in Other Urban
33.5% 86th pct 31.4% 71st pct
Mental health in Other Urbanin Rural Balance +1.4 pts higher in Other Urban
11.0% 77th pct 9.6% 59th pct
Needs assistance in Other Urbanin Rural Balance +2.2 pts higher in Other Urban gap steady
7.4% 95th pct 5.2% 54th pct

Long-term health conditions reported

11.1% Arthritis +0.9 pts ▸ 12.1%
11.0% Mental health ◂ +1.4 pts 9.6%
10.1% Asthma ◂ +1.8 pts 8.4%
8.8% Other condition ◂ +0.7 pts 8.1%
5.6% Diabetes ◂ +1.1 pts 4.5%
5.0% Heart disease ◂ +0.7 pts 4.3%
3.5% Cancer ◂ +0.1 pts 3.4%
2.5% Lung condition ◂ +0.2 pts 2.3%
1.3% Stroke ◂ +0.3 pts 1.0%
0.9% Dementia ◂ +0.6 pts 0.3%

Number of long-term health conditions

57.8% None +2.1 pts ▸ 59.9%
21.5% One condition ◂ +0.4 pts 21.1%
7.6% Two conditions ◂ +0.6 pts 7.0%
4.4% Three or more ◂ +1.0 pts 3.4%

Community Participation

Volunteering in Other Urbanin Rural Balance +4.3 pts higher in Rural Balance gap widening
15.3% 45th pct 19.6% 77th pct
Unpaid carers in Other Urbanin Rural Balance +0.2 pts higher in Other Urban gap steady
13.8% 90th pct 13.6% 87th pct
Unpaid child care in Other Urbanin Rural Balance +1.0 pts higher in Other Urban gap steady
26.7% 75th pct 25.7% 62nd pct
Defence service in Other Urbanin Rural Balance +1.1 pts higher in Rural Balance
3.1% 39th pct 4.2% 81st pct
Housework 15h+ in Other Urbanin Rural Balance +4.5 pts higher in Rural Balance gap narrowing
22.5% 71st pct 27.0% 100th pct

Family & Households

Household size in Other Urbanin Rural Balance +0.1 larger in Rural Balance gap narrowing
2.4 29th pct 2.5 57th pct
One-parent in Other Urbanin Rural Balance +6.1 pts higher in Other Urban gap narrowing
16.2% 72nd pct 10.1% 18th pct
Living alone in Other Urbanin Rural Balance +7.0 pts higher in Other Urban gap steady
29.4% 72nd pct 22.4% 23rd pct

Family composition

53.6% Couples with children +0.4 pts ▸ 54.0%
29.2% Couples without children +6.1 pts ▸ 35.3%
16.2% One-parent families ◂ +6.1 pts 10.1%
1.0% Other families ◂ +0.4 pts 0.6%

Household size

35.0% 2 people +6.0 pts ▸ 41.0%
29.4% 1 person ◂ +7.0 pts 22.4%
14.0% 3 people +0.2 pts ▸ 14.2%
13.2% 4 people +0.1 pts ▸ 13.3%
5.8% 5 people +0.1 pts ▸ 5.9%
2.6% 6 or more +0.6 pts ▸ 3.2%

Housing & Dwellings

Rent in Other Urbanin Rural Balance +$50 higher in Other Urban gap narrowing
$300 58th pct $250 30th pct
Mortgage in Other Urbanin Rural Balance +$150 higher in Other Urban gap widening
$1,500 40th pct $1,350 22nd pct
People / bedroom in Other Urbanin Rural Balance +0.10 higher in Rural Balance gap widening
0.70 0th pct 0.80 29th pct
Renting in Other Urbanin Rural Balance +13.7 pts higher in Other Urban gap widening
24.9% 39th pct 11.1% 3rd pct
Owned outright in Other Urbanin Rural Balance +10.0 pts higher in Rural Balance gap steady
36.3% 60th pct 46.2% 93rd pct
Separate houses in Other Urbanin Rural Balance +9.4 pts higher in Rural Balance gap narrowing
89.0% 50th pct 98.4% 100th pct
3+ bedrooms in Other Urbanin Rural Balance +2.2 pts higher in Other Urban gap steady
80.8% 78th pct 78.6% 66th pct

How homes are owned or rented

36.3% Owned outright +10.0 pts ▸ 46.2%
35.5% Owned with a mortgage +2.4 pts ▸ 37.9%
24.9% Rented ◂ +13.7 pts 11.1%
1.5% Other tenure +1.8 pts ▸ 3.2%
1.9% Not stated ◂ +0.4 pts 1.5%

Types of homes

89.0% Separate house +9.4 pts ▸ 98.4%
7.9% Townhouse / semi-detached ◂ +7.5 pts 0.4%
2.3% Flat or apartment ◂ +2.1 pts 0.2%
0.7% Other dwelling +0.1 pts ▸ 0.8%

Bedrooms per home

47.8% 3 bedrooms ◂ +0.5 pts 47.2%
29.0% 4 bedrooms ◂ +4.5 pts 24.4%
14.5% 2 bedrooms +0.1 pts ▸ 14.7%
4.1% 5 or more +2.8 pts ▸ 7.0%
2.6% 1 bedroom +1.6 pts ▸ 4.3%
0.2% Studio / none +0.7 pts ▸ 0.9%

Weekly rent distribution

47.4% $200–$349 ◂ +3.5 pts 43.9%
28.2% $350–$549 ◂ +8.8 pts 19.4%
18.3% Under $200 +8.0 pts ▸ 26.3%
1.7% $550–$749 +0.1 pts ▸ 1.8%
0.5% $750 or more ◂ +0.2 pts 0.4%

Monthly mortgage distribution

40.1% $1,000–$1,799 ◂ +1.4 pts 38.7%
22.2% Under $1,000 +5.6 pts ▸ 27.8%
24.9% $1,800–$2,999 ◂ +3.3 pts 21.6%
6.9% $3,000 or more even 6.8%

Transport & Vehicles

No car in Other Urbanin Rural Balance +3.8 pts higher in Other Urban gap narrowing
5.2% 47th pct 1.3% 13th pct
Work from home in Other Urbanin Rural Balance +1.1 pts higher in Other Urban gap narrowing
13.6% 69th pct 12.5% 64th pct
PT commute in Other Urbanin Rural Balance +0.1 pts higher in Other Urban gap steady
0.8% 25th pct 0.7% 22nd pct

How people get to work

63.2% Car (driver) +1.3 pts ▸ 64.5%
13.6% Worked at home ◂ +1.1 pts 12.5%
4.7% Car (passenger) ◂ +0.9 pts 3.8%
2.7% Walked +0.4 pts ▸ 3.1%
0.3% Bus +0.4 pts ▸ 0.6%
0.6% Bicycle ◂ +0.4 pts 0.2%
0.5% Train ◂ +0.5 pts 0.0%

Motor vehicles per home

39.2% 2 vehicles even 39.2%
36.0% 1 vehicle ◂ +14.6 pts 21.4%
12.8% 3 vehicles +8.4 pts ▸ 21.2%
6.8% 4 or more +10.0 pts ▸ 16.8%
5.2% No vehicle ◂ +3.8 pts 1.3%

Migration & Movement

Recent movers in Other Urbanin Rural Balance +9.5 pts higher in Other Urban gap steady
40.0% 61st pct 30.5% 27th pct
Recent arrivals in Other Urbanin Rural Balance +5.1 pts higher in Other Urban gap narrowing
12.8% 50th pct 7.8% 29th pct

Jobs & Industry

Unemployment in Other Urbanin Rural Balance +0.2 pts higher in Other Urban gap steady
4.5% 34th pct 4.4% 30th pct
Participation in Other Urbanin Rural Balance +2.5 pts higher in Rural Balance gap steady
56.7% 50th pct 59.3% 61st pct
Full-time in Other Urbanin Rural Balance +2.1 pts higher in Other Urban gap steady
56.8% 43rd pct 54.8% 27th pct

Industries people work in

15.7% Health care & social assistance ◂ +2.9 pts 12.9%
3.1% Agriculture, forestry & fishing +11.3 pts ▸ 14.4%
11.1% Construction ◂ +1.0 pts 10.1%
10.1% Retail trade ◂ +2.9 pts 7.2%
8.8% Education & training ◂ +0.6 pts 8.2%
7.8% Manufacturing ◂ +0.6 pts 7.2%
6.7% Accommodation & food ◂ +0.7 pts 6.0%
6.6% Public administration & safety ◂ +0.9 pts 5.7%
4.9% Transport & warehousing ◂ +0.8 pts 4.2%
4.4% Professional & technical +0.1 pts ▸ 4.5%
3.9% Other services ◂ +0.3 pts 3.6%
3.0% Administrative & support ◂ +0.3 pts 2.8%

Occupations people work in

11.4% Managers +6.8 pts ▸ 18.1%
17.8% Professionals ◂ +1.6 pts 16.2%
15.4% Technicians & trades +0.3 pts ▸ 15.7%
13.4% Community & personal service ◂ +2.6 pts 10.8%
12.1% Labourers +0.4 pts ▸ 12.5%
11.7% Clerical & administrative ◂ +1.4 pts 10.3%
9.1% Sales workers ◂ +2.4 pts 6.7%
7.2% Machinery operators & drivers +0.4 pts ▸ 7.6%

Walkability

Walk score in Other Urbanin Rural Balance +4.6 higher in Other Urban
5.3 71st pct 0.7 15th pct
Types ≤15 min in Other Urbanin Rural Balance +4.5 more in Other Urban
5.2 71st pct 0.7 15th pct
15-min city in Other Urbanin Rural Balance +57.0 pts higher in Other Urban
60.4% 71st pct 3.4% 18th pct
Walk to shops in Other Urbanin Rural Balance +57.2 pts higher in Other Urban
62.5% 71st pct 5.2% 29th pct
Walk to transit in Other Urbanin Rural Balance +69.4 pts higher in Other Urban
78.3% 71st pct 8.9% 29th pct
Walk to school in Other Urbanin Rural Balance +65.7 pts higher in Other Urban
69.4% 71st pct 3.7% 10th pct
Walk to a park in Other Urbanin Rural Balance +68.6 pts higher in Other Urban
93.4% 72nd pct 24.8% 19th pct
Walk to health in Other Urbanin Rural Balance +45.5 pts higher in Other Urban
47.4% 71st pct 1.9% 29th pct
Amenities/1k in Other Urbanin Rural Balance +10.8 more in Rural Balance
17.1 41st pct 28.0 75th pct
Intersections/km² in Other Urbanin Rural Balance +75 higher in Other Urban
75 74th pct 0 14th pct
Mean slope in Other Urbanin Rural Balance +6.6 pts higher in Rural Balance
4.3% 22nd pct 10.8% 95th pct

Compare Other Urban with nearby areas

Major Urban Bounded Locality Rural Balance Rural Balance Major Urban Bounded Locality Rural Balance Other Urban Rural Balance Major Urban Major Urban Other Urban

Compare Rural Balance with nearby areas

Other Urban Major Urban Bounded Locality Major Urban Bounded Locality Other Urban Rural Balance Rural Balance Major Urban Bounded Locality Major Urban Rural Balance

Cite this page

Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2021). Other Urban vs Rural Balance [Census of Population and Housing]. CensusAtlas, used under CC BY 4.0. https://censusatlas.au/compare/sos/SOS21/other-urban/vs/SOS63/rural-balance