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Other Urban vs Rural Balance

Section of State comparison ≈ 639 km apart · Other Urban profile · Rural Balance profile

Other Urban Rural Balance

Other Urban and Rural Balance are far apart areas with very different living patterns. Other Urban is more walkable, with a typical resident aged 32, and has a much higher share of renters at 53.2%. It is also more diverse and highly qualified, with 39.2% of people using a language other than English at home and 20.3% holding a bachelor degree or higher. In contrast, Rural Balance is more car-dependent and residential, where 90.8% of homes are separate houses and 26.3% are owned outright.

Typical household incomes are almost identical in both areas, sitting around $1,960 to $1,986 a week. While they share similar income levels, other gaps have widened since 2011. Other Urban has seen its lead grow in the share of people who finished Year 12 and the proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander residents. Meanwhile, the gap in outright home ownership has also increased, with Rural Balance remaining far more likely to own their homes.

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Where they differ most

Renting: 28.7 pts higher in Other Urban Separate houses: 20.6 pts higher in Rural Balance Other language: 16.1 pts higher in Other Urban Bachelor+: 10.3 pts higher in Other Urban Owned outright: 14.5 pts higher in Rural Balance

Demographics & Identity

Population in Other Urbanin Rural Balance +14,284 larger in Other Urban gap steady
48,456 49th pct 34,172 46th pct
Median age in Other Urbanin Rural Balance +4 yrs older in Rural Balance gap steady
32 yrs 4th pct 36 yrs 12th pct
First Nations in Other Urbanin Rural Balance +10.7 pts higher in Other Urban gap widening
39.8% 98th pct 29.1% 93rd pct
Aged 65+ in Other Urbanin Rural Balance +3.3 pts higher in Rural Balance gap widening
7.5% 11th pct 10.8% 21st pct
Under 15 in Other Urbanin Rural Balance +3.0 pts higher in Other Urban gap widening
22.7% 99th pct 19.7% 86th pct
De facto in Other Urbanin Rural Balance +1.5 pts higher in Rural Balance gap widening
15.5% 90th pct 17.0% 100th pct

Age structure

34.3% Young adults (25–44) ◂ +6.2 pts 28.2%
22.3% Older adults (45–64) +5.7 pts ▸ 28.1%
22.7% Children (0–14) ◂ +3.0 pts 19.7%
13.1% Youth (15–24) +0.2 pts ▸ 13.3%
7.5% Seniors (65+) +3.3 pts ▸ 10.8%

Marital status

47.4% Never married ◂ +5.8 pts 41.7%
39.0% Married +4.8 pts ▸ 43.8%
6.5% Divorced +1.1 pts ▸ 7.7%
3.6% Separated even 3.6%
3.4% Widowed ◂ +0.2 pts 3.2%

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 +8.6 pts higher in Other Urban gap widening
18.5% 65th pct 10.0% 12th pct

Country of birth

73.9% Australia +3.7 pts ▸ 77.6%
2.4% India ◂ +2.2 pts 0.1%
2.3% New Zealand ◂ +0.8 pts 1.5%
1.6% England +0.5 pts ▸ 2.2%
1.9% Philippines ◂ +1.3 pts 0.6%
0.8% Nepal ◂ +0.8 pts 0.0%
0.3% Vietnam +0.3 pts ▸ 0.6%
0.5% China ◂ +0.4 pts 0.1%
0.5% South Africa ◂ +0.2 pts 0.2%
0.2% Italy even 0.1%

Ancestry

20.2% Australian +9.6 pts ▸ 29.7%
19.7% English +6.9 pts ▸ 26.6%
6.8% Irish +0.5 pts ▸ 7.3%
5.7% Scottish +1.1 pts ▸ 6.8%
3.6% German +0.4 pts ▸ 4.0%
2.4% Indian ◂ +2.2 pts 0.2%
2.3% Filipino ◂ +1.5 pts 0.9%
1.5% Italian +0.1 pts ▸ 1.7%
1.5% Chinese ◂ +0.7 pts 0.9%
1.0% Dutch +0.2 pts ▸ 1.2%
0.3% Vietnamese +0.4 pts ▸ 0.7%
0.3% Greek +0.1 pts ▸ 0.5%

Language

Other language in Other Urbanin Rural Balance +16.1 pts higher in Other Urban gap widening
39.2% 93rd pct 23.1% 80th pct
Limited English in Other Urbanin Rural Balance +1.1 pts higher in Other Urban gap narrowing
5.3% 88th pct 4.3% 82nd pct

Language used at home

52.0% English only +10.7 pts ▸ 62.7%
1.0% Punjabi ◂ +1.0 pts 0.0%
0.9% Tagalog ◂ +0.8 pts 0.2%
0.7% Mandarin ◂ +0.5 pts 0.2%
0.3% Vietnamese +0.4 pts ▸ 0.7%
0.4% Hindi ◂ +0.4 pts 0.0%
0.3% Arabic ◂ +0.3 pts 0.0%
0.1% Greek +0.1 pts ▸ 0.2%
0.2% Italian ◂ +0.1 pts 0.1%
0.2% Cantonese ◂ +0.1 pts 0.0%

Religion

No religion in Other Urbanin Rural Balance +3.1 pts higher in Rural Balance gap widening
36.8% 30th pct 39.9% 42nd pct

Religious affiliation

43.5% Christianity ◂ +4.1 pts 39.4%
36.8% No religion +3.1 pts ▸ 39.9%
11.3% Not stated +5.6 pts ▸ 16.9%
4.6% Other religions ◂ +2.4 pts 2.2%
1.9% Hinduism ◂ +1.8 pts 0.1%
1.1% Buddhism +0.2 pts ▸ 1.3%
0.8% Islam ◂ +0.6 pts 0.2%
0.1% Judaism ◂ +0.1 pts 0.0%

Education & Qualifications

Year 12 in Other Urbanin Rural Balance +11.5 pts higher in Other Urban gap widening
46.9% 72nd pct 35.5% 28th pct
Bachelor+ in Other Urbanin Rural Balance +10.3 pts higher in Other Urban gap widening
20.3% 76th pct 10.0% 15th pct

Highest year of school

46.9% Year 12 ◂ +11.5 pts 35.5%
17.5% Year 10 +5.1 pts ▸ 22.6%
12.5% Year 9 or below +1.4 pts ▸ 14.0%
12.4% Year 11 ◂ +0.5 pts 11.9%

Highest qualification level

25.1% Certificate III / IV +9.9 pts ▸ 35.0%
22.6% Bachelor degree ◂ +10.7 pts 11.9%
11.8% Advanced diploma / diploma ◂ +0.2 pts 11.6%
9.2% Postgraduate degree ◂ +6.4 pts 2.8%
4.0% Graduate diploma / certificate ◂ +1.5 pts 2.6%
2.6% Certificate I / II +1.1 pts ▸ 3.7%

Field of qualification

10.7% Engineering & related +7.3 pts ▸ 18.0%
13.5% Management & commerce ◂ +2.2 pts 11.4%
13.5% Society & culture ◂ +5.7 pts 7.8%
13.5% Health ◂ +6.6 pts 6.9%
8.6% Education ◂ +2.4 pts 6.2%
4.3% Architecture & building +1.3 pts ▸ 5.6%
2.1% Agriculture & environment +3.3 pts ▸ 5.5%
4.6% Food, hospitality & personal services ◂ +0.6 pts 4.0%
2.5% Creative arts ◂ +1.2 pts 1.3%
1.7% Natural & physical sciences ◂ +0.2 pts 1.5%
1.5% Information technology ◂ +0.8 pts 0.8%

Income

Personal income in Other Urbanin Rural Balance +$25 higher in Other Urban gap narrowing
$842 71st pct $817 67th pct
Household income in Other Urbanin Rural Balance +$26 higher in Other Urban gap narrowing
$1,986 77th pct $1,960 76th pct
Family income in Other Urbanin Rural Balance +$93 higher in Rural Balance gap narrowing
$2,028 62nd pct $2,121 71st pct
High earners in Other Urbanin Rural Balance +0.4 pts higher in Other Urban gap steady
11.9% 71st pct 11.5% 69th pct
High-income homes in Other Urbanin Rural Balance +1.4 pts higher in Rural Balance gap steady
24.2% 74th pct 25.5% 78th pct

Household income distribution

31.6% $1,500–$2,999 ◂ +6.0 pts 25.6%
21.4% $650–$1,499 +0.1 pts ▸ 21.5%
12.0% $4,000 or more +1.5 pts ▸ 13.5%
12.0% Under $650 +0.7 pts ▸ 12.6%
12.2% $3,000–$3,999 ◂ +0.2 pts 12.0%

Personal income distribution

39.5% Under $650 ◂ +3.6 pts 35.9%
25.8% $650–$1,499 ◂ +2.0 pts 23.8%
20.6% $1,500–$2,999 ◂ +1.8 pts 18.8%
3.6% $3,000 or more ◂ +0.2 pts 3.4%

Health & Disability

Health condition in Other Urbanin Rural Balance +0.6 pts higher in Other Urban
20.2% 19th pct 19.6% 18th pct
Mental health in Other Urbanin Rural Balance +0.7 pts higher in Other Urban
5.0% 19th pct 4.3% 16th pct
Needs assistance in Other Urbanin Rural Balance +0.6 pts higher in Other Urban gap steady
3.8% 29th pct 3.2% 17th pct

Long-term health conditions reported

6.2% Other condition ◂ +0.6 pts 5.6%
5.9% Asthma ◂ +0.6 pts 5.3%
3.5% Arthritis +1.6 pts ▸ 5.1%
5.0% Mental health ◂ +0.7 pts 4.3%
4.7% Diabetes ◂ +0.4 pts 4.3%
3.9% Heart disease ◂ +0.6 pts 3.3%
1.3% Cancer +0.5 pts ▸ 1.8%
1.1% Lung condition +0.4 pts ▸ 1.5%
0.6% Stroke even 0.6%
0.5% Dementia ◂ +0.2 pts 0.2%

Number of long-term health conditions

69.1% None ◂ +6.2 pts 62.9%
15.0% One condition ◂ +0.7 pts 14.3%
3.5% Two conditions +0.1 pts ▸ 3.6%
1.7% Three or more ◂ +0.1 pts 1.6%

Community Participation

Volunteering in Other Urbanin Rural Balance +0.8 pts higher in Other Urban gap narrowing
13.9% 38th pct 13.1% 35th pct
Unpaid carers in Other Urbanin Rural Balance +0.7 pts higher in Other Urban gap steady
9.9% 29th pct 9.2% 25th pct
Unpaid child care in Other Urbanin Rural Balance +4.7 pts higher in Other Urban gap steady
33.8% 97th pct 29.1% 89th pct
Defence service in Other Urbanin Rural Balance +2.4 pts higher in Rural Balance
2.7% 24th pct 5.1% 89th pct
Housework 15h+ in Other Urbanin Rural Balance +4.1 pts higher in Rural Balance gap widening
16.1% 29th pct 20.2% 50th pct

Family & Households

Household size in Other Urbanin Rural Balance +0.1 larger in Rural Balance gap steady
2.9 92nd pct 3.0 95th pct
One-parent in Other Urbanin Rural Balance +5.7 pts higher in Other Urban gap widening
20.5% 94th pct 14.9% 55th pct
Living alone in Other Urbanin Rural Balance +4.6 pts higher in Other Urban gap steady
25.2% 42nd pct 20.6% 14th pct

Family composition

57.8% Couples with children +1.1 pts ▸ 58.9%
19.7% Couples without children +5.3 pts ▸ 25.0%
20.5% One-parent families ◂ +5.7 pts 14.9%
1.9% Other families ◂ +0.6 pts 1.3%

Household size

27.2% 2 people +4.7 pts ▸ 31.9%
25.2% 1 person ◂ +4.6 pts 20.6%
15.8% 3 people ◂ +1.4 pts 14.4%
14.0% 4 people +1.4 pts ▸ 15.4%
10.4% 6 or more ◂ +1.2 pts 9.2%
7.4% 5 people +1.1 pts ▸ 8.5%

Housing & Dwellings

Rent in Other Urbanin Rural Balance +$25 higher in Other Urban gap narrowing
$260 43rd pct $235 25th pct
Mortgage in Other Urbanin Rural Balance +$434 higher in Rural Balance gap widening
$1,733 65th pct $2,167 92nd pct
People / bedroom in Other Urbanin Rural Balance even gap steady
1.10 94th pct 1.10 94th pct
Renting in Other Urbanin Rural Balance +28.7 pts higher in Other Urban gap widening
53.2% 96th pct 24.5% 39th pct
Owned outright in Other Urbanin Rural Balance +14.5 pts higher in Rural Balance gap widening
11.9% 1st pct 26.3% 15th pct
Separate houses in Other Urbanin Rural Balance +20.6 pts higher in Rural Balance gap widening
70.2% 16th pct 90.8% 54th pct
3+ bedrooms in Other Urbanin Rural Balance +0.7 pts higher in Other Urban gap narrowing
66.6% 16th pct 66.0% 14th pct

How homes are owned or rented

53.2% Rented ◂ +28.7 pts 24.5%
25.9% Owned with a mortgage +10.8 pts ▸ 36.7%
11.9% Owned outright +14.5 pts ▸ 26.3%
6.5% Other tenure +3.1 pts ▸ 9.5%
2.7% Not stated +0.5 pts ▸ 3.1%

Types of homes

70.2% Separate house +20.6 pts ▸ 90.8%
23.1% Townhouse / semi-detached ◂ +22.2 pts 0.9%
1.3% Other dwelling +4.2 pts ▸ 5.5%
4.0% Flat or apartment ◂ +3.7 pts 0.4%

Bedrooms per home

45.8% 3 bedrooms ◂ +10.1 pts 35.7%
21.8% 2 bedrooms ◂ +3.6 pts 18.1%
17.4% 4 bedrooms +3.7 pts ▸ 21.1%
8.0% 1 bedroom +1.8 pts ▸ 9.8%
3.4% 5 or more +5.7 pts ▸ 9.1%
1.1% Studio / none +1.7 pts ▸ 2.8%

Weekly rent distribution

36.6% Under $200 +3.0 pts ▸ 39.6%
26.2% $350–$549 ◂ +8.9 pts 17.2%
18.6% $200–$349 +2.6 pts ▸ 21.2%
7.5% $550–$749 ◂ +0.3 pts 7.2%
2.0% $750 or more ◂ +0.6 pts 1.4%

Monthly mortgage distribution

37.7% $1,000–$1,799 ◂ +16.1 pts 21.6%
34.4% $1,800–$2,999 +3.0 pts ▸ 37.5%
9.5% $3,000 or more +14.1 pts ▸ 23.5%
13.9% Under $1,000 ◂ +3.1 pts 10.8%

Transport & Vehicles

No car in Other Urbanin Rural Balance +7.5 pts higher in Other Urban gap widening
17.0% 94th pct 9.5% 86th pct
Work from home in Other Urbanin Rural Balance +5.2 pts higher in Rural Balance gap steady
2.8% 7th pct 7.9% 39th pct
PT commute in Other Urbanin Rural Balance +0.2 pts higher in Other Urban gap narrowing
1.5% 45th pct 1.3% 43rd pct

How people get to work

61.7% Car (driver) ◂ +1.8 pts 59.9%
9.6% Walked ◂ +0.1 pts 9.6%
8.4% Car (passenger) ◂ +3.5 pts 5.0%
2.8% Worked at home +5.2 pts ▸ 7.9%
3.4% Bicycle ◂ +2.7 pts 0.7%
1.4% Bus ◂ +0.2 pts 1.3%
0.0% Train even 0.0%

Motor vehicles per home

36.3% 1 vehicle ◂ +10.1 pts 26.2%
31.2% 2 vehicles +1.4 pts ▸ 32.6%
17.0% No vehicle ◂ +7.5 pts 9.5%
10.6% 3 vehicles +6.4 pts ▸ 16.9%
4.9% 4 or more +9.9 pts ▸ 14.8%

Migration & Movement

Recent movers in Other Urbanin Rural Balance +11.1 pts higher in Other Urban gap widening
39.4% 57th pct 28.4% 16th pct
Recent arrivals in Other Urbanin Rural Balance +12.0 pts higher in Other Urban gap narrowing
24.6% 82nd pct 12.6% 49th pct

Jobs & Industry

Unemployment in Other Urbanin Rural Balance +1.3 pts higher in Other Urban gap widening
7.0% 72nd pct 5.7% 61st pct
Participation in Other Urbanin Rural Balance +3.7 pts higher in Other Urban gap steady
58.8% 58th pct 55.1% 44th pct
Full-time in Other Urbanin Rural Balance +1.7 pts higher in Other Urban gap narrowing
71.0% 87th pct 69.3% 86th pct

Industries people work in

22.4% Health care & social assistance ◂ +14.9 pts 7.5%
17.1% Public administration & safety ◂ +2.3 pts 14.8%
6.8% Construction +5.3 pts ▸ 12.2%
11.3% Education & training ◂ +2.9 pts 8.4%
0.7% Agriculture, forestry & fishing +10.4 pts ▸ 11.1%
7.5% Retail trade ◂ +1.8 pts 5.7%
5.5% Accommodation & food ◂ +0.6 pts 5.0%
2.0% Mining +2.5 pts ▸ 4.5%
4.3% Other services ◂ +0.1 pts 4.2%
4.1% Professional & technical ◂ +0.7 pts 3.4%
3.3% Transport & warehousing +0.7 pts ▸ 4.0%
2.5% Administrative & support +0.6 pts ▸ 3.1%

Occupations people work in

24.8% Professionals ◂ +10.1 pts 14.7%
18.4% Community & personal service ◂ +7.2 pts 11.2%
12.5% Technicians & trades +5.3 pts ▸ 17.8%
11.8% Managers +4.3 pts ▸ 16.0%
12.2% Clerical & administrative +0.6 pts ▸ 12.8%
7.5% Labourers +4.9 pts ▸ 12.4%
3.9% Machinery operators & drivers +3.7 pts ▸ 7.7%
5.9% Sales workers ◂ +0.8 pts 5.1%

Walkability

Walk score in Other Urbanin Rural Balance +4.3 higher in Other Urban
4.7 63rd pct 0.3 7th pct
Types ≤15 min in Other Urbanin Rural Balance +4.5 more in Other Urban
4.8 62nd pct 0.3 7th pct
15-min city in Other Urbanin Rural Balance +56.3 pts higher in Other Urban
56.9% 60th pct 0.6% 3rd pct
Walk to shops in Other Urbanin Rural Balance +56.8 pts higher in Other Urban
59.9% 65th pct 3.0% 12th pct
Walk to transit in Other Urbanin Rural Balance +51.3 pts higher in Other Urban
55.2% 56th pct 3.9% 19th pct
Walk to school in Other Urbanin Rural Balance +72.9 pts higher in Other Urban
78.7% 83rd pct 5.8% 16th pct
Walk to a park in Other Urbanin Rural Balance +87.0 pts higher in Other Urban
93.3% 71st pct 6.4% 5th pct
Walk to health in Other Urbanin Rural Balance +41.6 pts higher in Other Urban
44.9% 63rd pct 3.3% 29th pct
Amenities/1k in Other Urbanin Rural Balance +5.4 more in Rural Balance
11.7 0th pct 17.1 40th pct
Intersections/km² in Other Urbanin Rural Balance +20 higher in Other Urban
20 44th pct 0 0th pct
Mean slope in Other Urbanin Rural Balance +0.5 pts higher in Rural Balance
3.0% 5th pct 3.5% 10th pct

Compare Other Urban with nearby areas

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

Compare Rural Balance with nearby areas

Bounded Locality Other Urban Major Urban Rural Balance Rural Balance Bounded Locality Rural Balance Bounded Locality Major Urban Other Urban Other 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/SOS71/other-urban/vs/SOS73/rural-balance