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Other Urban vs Rural Balance

Section of State comparison ≈ 94 km apart · Other Urban profile · Rural Balance profile

Other Urban Rural Balance

Other Urban and Rural Balance are two distinct environments separated by about 94 km. Other Urban is more concentrated and accessible, with a walkability score described as somewhat walkable and 69.3% of homes within a 15-minute walk of groceries. In contrast, Rural Balance is car-dependent and much more spread out, with only 5.2% of homes within a similar walk of food. These differences extend to housing; renting is far more common in Other Urban at 29.9%, while 46.2% of residents in Rural Balance own their homes outright.

Both areas share a very similar proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, at about 6%. They also have similar typical weekly incomes, with Other Urban at $652 and Rural Balance at $690. Despite these commonalities, some gaps are widening. Since 2011, the typical resident in Rural Balance has become noticeably older than those in Other Urban, and the difference in home ownership and renting between the two places has grown.

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Where they differ most

Renting: 18.8 pts higher in Other Urban One-parent: 8.3 pts higher in Other Urban Living alone: 9.5 pts higher in Other Urban No car: 5.5 pts higher in Other Urban Separate houses: 11.8 pts higher in Rural Balance

Demographics & Identity

Population in Other Urbanin Rural Balance +112,801 larger in Other Urban gap widening
220,162 72nd pct 107,361 59th pct
Median age in Other Urbanin Rural Balance +4 yrs older in Rural Balance gap widening
42 yrs 57th pct 46 yrs 79th pct
First Nations in Other Urbanin Rural Balance +0.4 pts higher in Other Urban gap steady
6.1% 56th pct 5.7% 53rd pct
Aged 65+ in Other Urbanin Rural Balance +2.2 pts higher in Other Urban gap narrowing
22.5% 86th pct 20.2% 69th pct
Under 15 in Other Urbanin Rural Balance +0.2 pts higher in Other Urban gap steady
17.0% 46th pct 16.7% 42nd pct
De facto in Other Urbanin Rural Balance +1.8 pts higher in Rural Balance gap steady
13.0% 59th pct 14.8% 82nd pct

Age structure

24.9% Older adults (45–64) +7.1 pts ▸ 32.1%
24.4% Young adults (25–44) ◂ +3.4 pts 21.1%
22.5% Seniors (65+) ◂ +2.2 pts 20.2%
17.0% Children (0–14) ◂ +0.2 pts 16.7%
11.2% Youth (15–24) ◂ +1.4 pts 9.9%

Marital status

42.9% Married +8.6 pts ▸ 51.4%
35.6% Never married ◂ +4.0 pts 31.6%
10.8% Divorced ◂ +0.9 pts 9.9%
7.1% Widowed ◂ +3.1 pts 4.0%
3.7% Separated ◂ +0.6 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 +1.1 pts higher in Other Urban gap steady
12.7% 35th pct 11.6% 28th pct

Country of birth

81.7% Australia ◂ +0.6 pts 81.1%
3.2% England +1.1 pts ▸ 4.3%
0.9% New Zealand +0.5 pts ▸ 1.4%
0.9% India ◂ +0.7 pts 0.2%
0.9% Nepal ◂ +0.7 pts 0.1%
0.5% China ◂ +0.4 pts 0.2%
0.5% Philippines ◂ +0.2 pts 0.2%
0.3% South Africa +0.1 pts ▸ 0.4%
0.2% Vietnam ◂ +0.1 pts 0.1%
0.1% Italy even 0.1%

Ancestry

44.6% English +0.7 pts ▸ 45.3%
42.7% Australian +0.4 pts ▸ 43.1%
9.5% Irish +0.8 pts ▸ 10.3%
9.2% Scottish +0.9 pts ▸ 10.1%
3.3% German +0.7 pts ▸ 4.0%
2.2% Dutch +0.2 pts ▸ 2.4%
1.3% Italian ◂ +0.1 pts 1.2%
1.3% Chinese ◂ +0.7 pts 0.6%
0.8% Indian ◂ +0.6 pts 0.3%
0.6% Filipino ◂ +0.3 pts 0.4%
0.3% Greek even 0.3%
0.2% Vietnamese ◂ +0.1 pts 0.1%

Language

Other language in Other Urbanin Rural Balance +3.3 pts higher in Other Urban gap widening
6.5% 31st pct 3.2% 0th pct
Limited English in Other Urbanin Rural Balance +0.6 pts higher in Other Urban gap steady
0.8% 42nd pct 0.3% 10th pct

Language used at home

88.5% English only +2.2 pts ▸ 90.7%
0.7% Mandarin ◂ +0.5 pts 0.2%
0.3% Punjabi ◂ +0.3 pts 0.0%
0.2% Vietnamese ◂ +0.1 pts 0.1%
0.2% Tagalog ◂ +0.1 pts 0.1%
0.2% Cantonese ◂ +0.1 pts 0.0%
0.1% Hindi ◂ +0.1 pts 0.0%
0.1% Arabic ◂ +0.1 pts 0.0%
0.1% Italian even 0.1%
0.1% Greek even 0.1%

Religion

No religion in Other Urbanin Rural Balance +1.8 pts higher in Rural Balance gap narrowing
49.6% 88th pct 51.4% 100th pct

Religious affiliation

49.6% No religion +1.8 pts ▸ 51.4%
39.8% Christianity ◂ +1.4 pts 38.4%
6.9% Not stated +1.8 pts ▸ 8.7%
1.3% Hinduism ◂ +1.1 pts 0.2%
0.9% Buddhism ◂ +0.4 pts 0.5%
0.8% Islam ◂ +0.5 pts 0.3%
0.7% Other religions ◂ +0.3 pts 0.4%
0.0% Judaism even 0.1%

Education & Qualifications

Year 12 in Other Urbanin Rural Balance +1.6 pts higher in Rural Balance gap narrowing
40.1% 42nd pct 41.7% 47th pct
Bachelor+ in Other Urbanin Rural Balance +1.0 pts higher in Rural Balance gap narrowing
16.4% 61st pct 17.4% 71st pct

Highest year of school

40.1% Year 12 +1.6 pts ▸ 41.7%
32.3% Year 10 +0.2 pts ▸ 32.6%
12.2% Year 9 or below ◂ +2.7 pts 9.5%
8.6% Year 11 +0.2 pts ▸ 8.8%

Highest qualification level

35.7% Certificate III / IV +0.4 pts ▸ 36.1%
19.7% Bachelor degree ◂ +0.2 pts 19.5%
13.2% Advanced diploma / diploma +1.1 pts ▸ 14.3%
6.6% Postgraduate degree ◂ +0.6 pts 5.9%
3.4% Certificate I / II ◂ +0.6 pts 2.7%
3.0% Graduate diploma / certificate +0.2 pts ▸ 3.2%

Field of qualification

13.9% Engineering & related +2.4 pts ▸ 16.3%
16.1% Management & commerce ◂ +3.1 pts 13.0%
12.6% Society & culture ◂ +1.7 pts 10.9%
11.2% Health ◂ +0.9 pts 10.3%
8.8% Education ◂ +0.6 pts 8.2%
6.1% Architecture & building +0.6 pts ▸ 6.8%
6.5% Food, hospitality & personal services ◂ +1.5 pts 5.0%
2.5% Agriculture & environment +3.6 pts ▸ 6.1%
2.7% Creative arts +0.4 pts ▸ 3.1%
1.9% Natural & physical sciences +1.0 pts ▸ 3.0%
2.2% Information technology ◂ +0.8 pts 1.4%

Income

Personal income in Other Urbanin Rural Balance +$38 higher in Rural Balance gap widening
$652 28th pct $690 37th pct
Household income in Other Urbanin Rural Balance +$212 higher in Rural Balance gap widening
$1,214 10th pct $1,426 35th pct
Family income in Other Urbanin Rural Balance +$172 higher in Rural Balance gap widening
$1,564 19th pct $1,736 35th pct
High earners in Other Urbanin Rural Balance +1.4 pts higher in Rural Balance gap steady
6.0% 24th pct 7.5% 38th pct
High-income homes in Other Urbanin Rural Balance +3.8 pts higher in Rural Balance gap widening
10.7% 7th pct 14.5% 37th pct

Household income distribution

33.5% $650–$1,499 ◂ +2.4 pts 31.0%
26.4% $1,500–$2,999 +2.6 pts ▸ 29.0%
22.4% Under $650 ◂ +5.4 pts 17.0%
6.3% $3,000–$3,999 +1.8 pts ▸ 8.0%
4.4% $4,000 or more +2.0 pts ▸ 6.4%

Personal income distribution

46.7% Under $650 ◂ +2.5 pts 44.2%
32.7% $650–$1,499 ◂ +0.9 pts 31.9%
12.4% $1,500–$2,999 +1.7 pts ▸ 14.1%
1.8% $3,000 or more +0.7 pts ▸ 2.5%

Health & Disability

Health condition in Other Urbanin Rural Balance +4.4 pts higher in Other Urban
35.9% 100th pct 31.4% 71st pct
Mental health in Other Urbanin Rural Balance +2.5 pts higher in Other Urban
12.1% 86th pct 9.6% 59th pct
Needs assistance in Other Urbanin Rural Balance +2.8 pts higher in Other Urban gap steady
8.0% 100th pct 5.2% 54th pct

Long-term health conditions reported

13.2% Arthritis ◂ +1.1 pts 12.1%
12.1% Mental health ◂ +2.5 pts 9.6%
10.4% Asthma ◂ +2.0 pts 8.4%
9.2% Other condition ◂ +1.1 pts 8.1%
5.8% Diabetes ◂ +1.3 pts 4.5%
4.9% Heart disease ◂ +0.6 pts 4.3%
3.5% Cancer ◂ +0.1 pts 3.4%
3.1% Lung condition ◂ +0.8 pts 2.3%
1.4% Stroke ◂ +0.4 pts 1.0%
0.9% Dementia ◂ +0.6 pts 0.3%

Number of long-term health conditions

56.3% None +3.6 pts ▸ 59.9%
22.6% One condition ◂ +1.5 pts 21.1%
8.4% Two conditions ◂ +1.4 pts 7.0%
4.9% Three or more ◂ +1.5 pts 3.4%

Community Participation

Volunteering in Other Urbanin Rural Balance +3.4 pts higher in Rural Balance gap steady
16.2% 52nd pct 19.6% 77th pct
Unpaid carers in Other Urbanin Rural Balance +0.6 pts higher in Rural Balance gap steady
13.0% 73rd pct 13.6% 87th pct
Unpaid child care in Other Urbanin Rural Balance +0.5 pts higher in Rural Balance gap narrowing
25.2% 55th pct 25.7% 62nd pct
Defence service in Other Urbanin Rural Balance +0.4 pts higher in Rural Balance
3.8% 69th pct 4.2% 81st pct
Housework 15h+ in Other Urbanin Rural Balance +5.6 pts higher in Rural Balance gap steady
21.4% 62nd pct 27.0% 100th pct

Family & Households

Household size in Other Urbanin Rural Balance +0.2 larger in Rural Balance gap narrowing
2.3 14th pct 2.5 57th pct
One-parent in Other Urbanin Rural Balance +8.3 pts higher in Other Urban gap steady
18.4% 87th pct 10.1% 18th pct
Living alone in Other Urbanin Rural Balance +9.5 pts higher in Other Urban gap steady
31.9% 91st pct 22.4% 23rd pct

Family composition

48.5% Couples with children +5.5 pts ▸ 54.0%
32.0% Couples without children +3.3 pts ▸ 35.3%
18.4% One-parent families ◂ +8.3 pts 10.1%
1.1% Other families ◂ +0.5 pts 0.6%

Household size

36.0% 2 people +5.0 pts ▸ 41.0%
31.9% 1 person ◂ +9.5 pts 22.4%
14.0% 3 people +0.2 pts ▸ 14.2%
11.4% 4 people +1.9 pts ▸ 13.3%
4.6% 5 people +1.3 pts ▸ 5.9%
2.1% 6 or more +1.1 pts ▸ 3.2%

Housing & Dwellings

Rent in Other Urbanin Rural Balance +$10 higher in Other Urban gap narrowing
$260 43rd pct $250 30th pct
Mortgage in Other Urbanin Rural Balance +$72 higher in Rural Balance gap widening
$1,278 12th pct $1,350 22nd pct
People / bedroom in Other Urbanin Rural Balance even gap steady
0.80 29th pct 0.80 29th pct
Renting in Other Urbanin Rural Balance +18.8 pts higher in Other Urban gap widening
29.9% 54th pct 11.1% 3rd pct
Owned outright in Other Urbanin Rural Balance +10.9 pts higher in Rural Balance gap widening
35.3% 57th pct 46.2% 93rd pct
Separate houses in Other Urbanin Rural Balance +11.8 pts higher in Rural Balance gap steady
86.6% 44th pct 98.4% 100th pct
3+ bedrooms in Other Urbanin Rural Balance +6.5 pts higher in Rural Balance gap steady
72.1% 33rd pct 78.6% 66th pct

How homes are owned or rented

35.3% Owned outright +10.9 pts ▸ 46.2%
31.6% Owned with a mortgage +6.3 pts ▸ 37.9%
29.9% Rented ◂ +18.8 pts 11.1%
1.3% Other tenure +1.9 pts ▸ 3.2%
1.8% Not stated ◂ +0.3 pts 1.5%

Types of homes

86.6% Separate house +11.8 pts ▸ 98.4%
8.3% Townhouse / semi-detached ◂ +7.9 pts 0.4%
4.2% Flat or apartment ◂ +4.0 pts 0.2%
0.8% Other dwelling even 0.8%

Bedrooms per home

52.3% 3 bedrooms ◂ +5.1 pts 47.2%
16.4% 4 bedrooms +8.1 pts ▸ 24.4%
21.4% 2 bedrooms ◂ +6.8 pts 14.7%
3.4% 5 or more +3.6 pts ▸ 7.0%
4.4% 1 bedroom ◂ +0.1 pts 4.3%
0.3% Studio / none +0.6 pts ▸ 0.9%

Weekly rent distribution

54.0% $200–$349 ◂ +10.0 pts 43.9%
22.8% Under $200 +3.6 pts ▸ 26.3%
18.9% $350–$549 +0.4 pts ▸ 19.4%
0.9% $550–$749 +0.9 pts ▸ 1.8%
0.2% $750 or more +0.2 pts ▸ 0.4%

Monthly mortgage distribution

47.2% $1,000–$1,799 ◂ +8.4 pts 38.7%
30.2% Under $1,000 ◂ +2.4 pts 27.8%
14.7% $1,800–$2,999 +7.0 pts ▸ 21.6%
3.4% $3,000 or more +3.4 pts ▸ 6.8%

Transport & Vehicles

No car in Other Urbanin Rural Balance +5.5 pts higher in Other Urban gap narrowing
6.8% 73rd pct 1.3% 13th pct
Work from home in Other Urbanin Rural Balance +6.9 pts higher in Rural Balance gap steady
5.6% 21st pct 12.5% 64th pct
PT commute in Other Urbanin Rural Balance +0.5 pts higher in Other Urban gap steady
1.2% 37th pct 0.7% 22nd pct

How people get to work

69.5% Car (driver) ◂ +4.9 pts 64.5%
5.6% Worked at home +6.9 pts ▸ 12.5%
5.4% Car (passenger) ◂ +1.5 pts 3.8%
3.5% Walked ◂ +0.4 pts 3.1%
1.1% Bus ◂ +0.5 pts 0.6%
0.4% Bicycle ◂ +0.2 pts 0.2%
0.0% Train even 0.0%

Motor vehicles per home

35.1% 2 vehicles +4.1 pts ▸ 39.2%
38.6% 1 vehicle ◂ +17.2 pts 21.4%
12.5% 3 vehicles +8.7 pts ▸ 21.2%
6.9% 4 or more +9.9 pts ▸ 16.8%
6.8% No vehicle ◂ +5.5 pts 1.3%

Migration & Movement

Recent movers in Other Urbanin Rural Balance +8.1 pts higher in Other Urban gap steady
38.6% 54th pct 30.5% 27th pct
Recent arrivals in Other Urbanin Rural Balance +9.8 pts higher in Other Urban gap steady
17.5% 72nd pct 7.8% 29th pct

Jobs & Industry

Unemployment in Other Urbanin Rural Balance +1.8 pts higher in Other Urban gap steady
6.1% 68th pct 4.4% 30th pct
Participation in Other Urbanin Rural Balance +3.5 pts higher in Rural Balance gap narrowing
55.7% 47th pct 59.3% 61st pct
Full-time in Other Urbanin Rural Balance +0.7 pts higher in Other Urban gap steady
55.4% 31st pct 54.8% 27th pct

Industries people work in

17.8% Health care & social assistance ◂ +4.9 pts 12.9%
3.7% Agriculture, forestry & fishing +10.7 pts ▸ 14.4%
11.0% Retail trade ◂ +3.8 pts 7.2%
8.8% Construction +1.2 pts ▸ 10.1%
9.0% Education & training ◂ +0.8 pts 8.2%
7.6% Accommodation & food ◂ +1.6 pts 6.0%
7.4% Manufacturing ◂ +0.2 pts 7.2%
5.4% Public administration & safety +0.4 pts ▸ 5.7%
4.8% Transport & warehousing ◂ +0.6 pts 4.2%
3.9% Professional & technical +0.6 pts ▸ 4.5%
4.1% Other services ◂ +0.5 pts 3.6%
3.0% Administrative & support ◂ +0.2 pts 2.8%

Occupations people work in

10.5% Managers +7.6 pts ▸ 18.1%
17.3% Professionals ◂ +1.1 pts 16.2%
14.4% Technicians & trades +1.3 pts ▸ 15.7%
14.6% Community & personal service ◂ +3.8 pts 10.8%
12.6% Labourers ◂ +0.1 pts 12.5%
11.4% Clerical & administrative ◂ +1.0 pts 10.3%
9.8% Sales workers ◂ +3.0 pts 6.7%
7.7% Machinery operators & drivers even 7.6%

Walkability

Walk score in Other Urbanin Rural Balance +5.0 higher in Other Urban
5.7 77th pct 0.7 15th pct
Types ≤15 min in Other Urbanin Rural Balance +5.0 more in Other Urban
5.6 80th pct 0.7 15th pct
15-min city in Other Urbanin Rural Balance +65.9 pts higher in Other Urban
69.3% 81st pct 3.4% 18th pct
Walk to shops in Other Urbanin Rural Balance +64.4 pts higher in Other Urban
69.6% 78th pct 5.2% 29th pct
Walk to transit in Other Urbanin Rural Balance +76.7 pts higher in Other Urban
85.6% 78th pct 8.9% 29th pct
Walk to school in Other Urbanin Rural Balance +62.5 pts higher in Other Urban
66.3% 67th pct 3.7% 10th pct
Walk to a park in Other Urbanin Rural Balance +66.6 pts higher in Other Urban
91.4% 67th pct 24.8% 19th pct
Walk to health in Other Urbanin Rural Balance +48.0 pts higher in Other Urban
49.9% 74th pct 1.9% 29th pct
Amenities/1k in Other Urbanin Rural Balance +11.6 more in Rural Balance
16.4 36th pct 28.0 75th pct
Intersections/km² in Other Urbanin Rural Balance +70 higher in Other Urban
71 73rd pct 0 14th pct
Mean slope in Other Urbanin Rural Balance +3.9 pts higher in Rural Balance
7.0% 76th pct 10.8% 95th pct

Compare Other Urban with nearby areas

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

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/SOS61/other-urban/vs/SOS63/rural-balance