625,087 ▲ +26.4%
Higher than 92% of council (lga) areas.
- 2011: 494,501
- 2016: 555,721
- 2021: 625,087
The number of people who usually live in the area, counted on Census night.
Gold Coast · Council (LGA)
Demographics & Identity in Gold Coast
Who lives here — how many people, how old they are, and how communities identify.
Over 625,000 people now call the Gold Coast home, with the population growing by 26% since 2011. This is one of the largest areas of its type in the country. While the typical resident is 39, the community is aging, with the number of seniors rising since the last census.
625,087
▲ +26.4%
- 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 Gold Coast — higher than 92% of areas.
| Gold Coast | 625,087 |
|---|---|
| Rest of Qld | 2,615,036 |
| Queensland | 5,156,138 |
| Australia | 25,422,788 |
Population
How many people, and the typical age.
The Gold Coast has seen a massive increase of about 130,586 people over the last decade. The typical resident is now 39, which is a little older than the national figure of 38.
39 yrs ▲ +5.4%
Younger than 67% of council (lga) areas.
- 2011: 37 yrs
- 2016: 38 yrs
- 2021: 39 yrs
Half the population is older than this age, and half younger.
Age profile
How the population splits across age groups.
Older residents make up 17.8% of the population, a figure that rose 3.3 points since 2011. In contrast, children under 15 account for 17.6%, which is a little below the Queensland average.
17.8% ▲ +23.0%
Lower than 62% of council (lga) areas.
- 2011: 14.4%
- 2016: 16.4%
- 2021: 17.8%
Share of the population aged 65 years and over.
17.6% ▼ -5.2%
Higher than 50% of council (lga) areas.
- 2011: 18.5%
- 2016: 18.1%
- 2021: 17.6%
Share of the population aged under 15 years.
Age structure
View on map →Gold Coast splits fairly evenly between Young adults (25–44) (27%) and Older adults (45–64) (25%), with Seniors (65+) at 18%.
Identity & relationships
First Nations identity and marital status.
De facto relationships are more common here than in most areas, making up 13.6% of the population. People identifying as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander make up 2.2%, which is a little below the national figure.
2.2% ▲ +73.5%
Lower than 69% of council (lga) areas.
- 2011: 1.3%
- 2016: 1.7%
- 2021: 2.2%
Share of people who identify as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander.
13.6% ▲ +19.0%
Higher than 62% of council (lga) areas.
- 2011: 11.4%
- 2016: 12.4%
- 2021: 13.6%
Share of people aged 15+ who are in a de facto marriage (registered marriages excluded).
Marital status
View on map →In Gold Coast, the largest group is Married at 44%, followed by Never married (37%) and Divorced (11%).
Age & sex structure
Sources
- Census of Population and Housing — Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2021 (CC BY 4.0).
More for Gold Coast
Cite this page
Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2021). Demographics & Identity in Gold Coast [Census of Population and Housing]. CensusAtlas, used under CC BY 4.0. https://censusatlas.au/region/lga/LGA33430/gold-coast/topic/demographics-identity