214,564 ▲ +11.5%
Higher than 87% of council (lga) areas.
- 2011: 192,418
- 2016: 203,630
- 2021: 214,564
The number of people who usually live in the area, counted on Census night.
Wollongong · Council (LGA)
Demographics & Identity in Wollongong
Who lives here — how many people, how old they are, and how communities identify.
A population increase of 12% since 2011 has seen Wollongong grow to 214,564 people. While the typical resident is now 39, the area has seen a notable rise in the proportion of seniors. This growth is paired with a small increase in the number of people identifying as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander.
214,564
▲ +11.5%
- 1–2: 3 areas
- 2–3: 0 areas
- 3–4: 0 areas
- 4–7: 0 areas
- 7–12: 2 areas
- 12–20: 1 area
- 20–33: 0 areas
- 33–55: 1 area
- 55–91: 0 areas
- 91–150: 5 areas
- 150–248: 3 areas
- 248–409: 13 areas
- 409–675: 22 areas
- 675–1,115: 38 areas
- 1,115–1,840: 37 areas
- 1,840–3,038: 30 areas
- 3,038–5,014: 40 areas
- 5,014–8,276: 49 areas
- 8,276–13,661: 54 areas
- 13,661–22,550: 57 areas
- 22,550–37,223: 43 areas
- 37,223–61,442: 49 areas
- 61,442–101,420: 39 areas
- 101,420–167,409: 37 areas
- 167,409–276,336: 31 areas
- 276,336–456,137: 8 areas
- 456,137–752,926: 2 areas
- 752,926–1,242,825: 1 area
All council (lga) areas, 2021. The marker is Wollongong — higher than 87% of areas.
| Wollongong | 214,564 |
|---|---|
| Rest of NSW | 2,829,637 |
| New South Wales | 8,072,163 |
| Australia | 25,422,788 |
Population
How many people, and the typical age.
Wollongong is one of the largest areas at this level with 214,564 residents. The typical person is 39, which is about the same as the New South Wales figure and slightly older than the national average.
39 yrs ▲ +2.6%
Younger than 67% of council (lga) areas.
- 2011: 38 yrs
- 2016: 39 yrs
- 2021: 39 yrs
Half the population is older than this age, and half younger.
Age profile
How the population splits across age groups.
Seniors aged 65 and over now make up 18.6% of the population, a figure that rose 2.3 points since 2011. Children under 15 account for 17.6% of residents, which is about the same as the state and national figures.
18.6% ▲ +13.9%
Lower than 57% of council (lga) areas.
- 2011: 16.4%
- 2016: 17.6%
- 2021: 18.6%
Share of the population aged 65 years and over.
17.6% ▼ -5.2%
Lower than 51% of council (lga) areas.
- 2011: 18.5%
- 2016: 18.0%
- 2021: 17.6%
Share of the population aged under 15 years.
Age structure
View on map →Wollongong splits fairly evenly between Young adults (25–44) (26%) and Older adults (45–64) (25%), with Seniors (65+) at 19%.
Identity & relationships
First Nations identity and marital status.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people make up 3.2% of the population, which is about the same as the national figure. Those in de facto relationships rose to 11.2% since 2011, though this remains much lower than most similar areas.
3.2% ▲ +47.3%
Lower than 57% of council (lga) areas.
- 2011: 2.2%
- 2016: 2.6%
- 2021: 3.2%
Share of people who identify as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander.
11.2% ▲ +39.8%
Lower than 76% of council (lga) areas.
- 2011: 8.0%
- 2016: 9.3%
- 2021: 11.2%
Share of people aged 15+ who are in a de facto marriage (registered marriages excluded).
Marital status
View on map →In Wollongong, the largest group is Married at 45%, followed by Never married (38%) and Divorced (9%).
Age & sex structure
Sources
- Census of Population and Housing — Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2021 (CC BY 4.0).
More for Wollongong
Cite this page
Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2021). Demographics & Identity in Wollongong [Census of Population and Housing]. CensusAtlas, used under CC BY 4.0. https://censusatlas.au/region/lga/LGA18450/wollongong/topic/demographics-identity