Federal Electorate · Area profile
Wide Bay
14,217 km²
A typical resident in Wide Bay is 49 years old, making it one of the oldest areas at this level. This Queensland region is a place of older adults and retirees, with 26.6% of people aged 65 and over. The population grew by 12% to 152,236 people since 2011, yet it remains much older than the national average. It is a largely residential area where many people own their homes outright and live in detached houses.
Wide Bay is well supplied with schools for its relatively small share of children.
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The area is far older than the national figure, with a typical age of 49 and a high proportion of seniors. This trend is reflected in the children's population, which fell to 15.7% since 2011 and is now well below the state average.
Most residents were born in Australia, and the area has a far lower percentage of overseas-born people (15.3%) than the national figure. English and Australian are the most common ancestries, making up 44.5% and 37.6% respectively.
English is the dominant language, with 89.4% of people using it at home. This means the proportion of people using another language is far below the national figure at just 3.8%.
The number of people reporting no religion rose 19 points since 2011 to 44.8%, which is well above the national figure. Christianity remains common, accounting for 44.2% of the population.
Adults with a bachelor degree or higher make up 14.5%, which is far below the national figure. While the rate of people completing Year 12 rose to 44.4% since 2011, this remains much lower than most similar areas.
Typical incomes are among the lowest at this level, with a typical household earning $1,213 a week, well below the national figure. Only 11.8% of households earn $3,000 or more per week.
Long-term health conditions are more common here than in most areas, with 34.6% of people affected. This is consistent with the older population, as 8.5% of residents need help with daily activities.
Volunteer rates are higher than most areas at 16.0%, and 13.6% of people provide unpaid care. This is alongside a high rate of people doing 15 or more hours of unpaid housework per week.
People living alone are more common than in most areas at 26.8%. One-parent families are also slightly more common than the national figure, making up 15.8% of households.
A high 43.2% of homes are owned outright, far above the national figure. Detached houses are the norm here, with 86.8% of dwellings being separate houses, and typical weekly rents are well below the national average at $300.
The area is heavily reliant on cars, with only 0.6% of people commuting by public transport. This is consistent with the very long drive time to the city and a low number of public transport stops.
About 40.2% of people moved in the last five years, which is about the same as the national figure. However, recent arrivals from overseas are much lower than in most areas at 7.5%.
Only 48.9% of adults are working or looking for work, which is far below the national figure. The unemployment rate is 6.1%, which is a little above the national figure but fell since 2016.
The area is mostly car-dependent, with a walkability score of 3.2. This is reflected in the fact that only 39% of homes are within a 15-minute walk of groceries, well below the state average.