Capital City · Area profile
Rest of NSW
788,429 km²
Older residents are more common in the Rest of NSW, where the typical person is 43. This expansive region is home to nearly 2.8 million people and is notably more likely to have Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander residents than the state average. It is a place of detached houses and larger families, though there are also many people living alone. While the population grew by 7% since 2016, the area remains much less diverse than the state capital and its surroundings.
Explore Rest of NSW by topic
The population is noticeably older than the national figure, with 22.2% of people aged 65 and over. First Nations people make up 6.6% of the community, which is well above the state average of 3.4%.
Most residents were born in Australia, and the area has far fewer overseas-born people (12.2%) than the state average of 29.3%. English and Australian are the most common ancestries.
English is the dominant tongue here, with only 6.6% of people using another language at home. This is far below the New South Wales figure of 26.6%.
About 37.8% of people report having no religion, a figure that rose 11 points since 2016. This is well above the state average, though still slightly below the national figure.
Higher education is less common here, as only 17.8% of adults hold a bachelor degree or higher. This is well below the national figure of 26.3%, though the number of people completing Year 12 rose by 5.2 points since 2016.
Typical weekly household incomes are $1,434, which is well below the state typical of $1,829. Only 16.7% of households earn $3,000 or more a week, though this has risen 7.3 points since 2016.
Long-term health conditions are much more common here than in most other areas, affecting 33.3% of people. This is well above the national figure of 27.7%, and 6.8% of residents need help with daily activities.
Unpaid care is a significant part of life here, with 13.1% of people providing unpaid care and 22.8% doing over 15 hours of housework weekly. Volunteering is also more common than in most areas.
The region has one of the highest populations of First Nations people, totaling 185,873. The typical age for this group is 23, and the unemployment rate is 10.6%, which is a little below the national figure.
One-parent families are much more common here than in most areas, at 15.8%. Around 27.9% of people live alone, which is a little above the state average.
Detached houses are the norm, making up 82.3% of homes. Ownership is high, with 38.0% of homes owned outright—well above the state figure of 31.5%—while renting is much less common.
Cars are essential for travel, as only 0.6% of people commute by public transport. However, working from home has become more popular, rising to 15.7% since 2016.
The population is relatively stable, with 37.9% of people moving in the last five years, which is a little below the national figure. Recent arrivals from overseas are also much less common than in most areas.
About 56.4% of adults are working or looking for work, which is well below the national figure of 61.1%. The unemployment rate is 4.6%, which is about the same as the state and nation.
The population is estimated at 2,953,694, though growth since 2021 has been 4.2%, which is a little below the New South Wales average of 6.1%.
The climate is typical for the state, with an average annual rainfall of 505mm and a typical maximum temperature of 25.2 degrees.
The area is somewhat walkable, but access to services is limited. For example, only 48.0% of homes are within a 15-minute walk of groceries, which is far below the state average of 67.7%.