2877, NSW

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people make up 20.3% of the population, which is far above the national figure of 3.2%. The community is also notably young, with children under 15 representing 21.8% of residents, well above the Australian average of 18.2%.

This is an area with very low overseas birth rates, as only 5.0% of people were born abroad compared to 27.7% nationally. Most residents claim Australian (41.4%) or English (33.6%) ancestry.

English is the main language for 84.1% of the community. Only 4.3% of people use another language at home, which is far below the national figure of 22.3%.

Christianity is the most common faith at 63.0%. The proportion of people reporting no religion is 22.4%, a figure far below the Australian average of 38.9%, though it has risen 11 points since 2011.

Educational attainment is much lower than most areas, with only 10.5% of adults holding a bachelor degree or higher. Just 36.8% of residents completed Year 12, which is far below the national figure of 58.8%.

Typical weekly household incomes are well below the national figure, sitting at $1,282 compared to $1,746. Only 11.7% of households earn $3,000 or more per week, though this has risen since 2011.

Long-term health conditions affect 29.4% of residents, which is a little above the national figure of 27.7%. Arthritis (11.0%) and asthma (9.5%) are the most common reported conditions.

Local residents are more likely to volunteer than people in most other areas, with a rate of 19.6%. This is well above the national figure of 14.1%.

One-parent families are much more common here than in most areas, making up 16.8% of households. Additionally, 30.9% of people live alone, which is well above the national average.

The area consists almost entirely of separate houses (95.2%), and 79.8% of homes have three or more bedrooms. Rent and mortgages are much lower than usual, with typical weekly rent at just $200.

Most people rely on cars, with 65.6% driving to work and only 0.7% using public transport. This dependence is reflected in the fact that 35.9% of homes have two vehicles.

While few people have moved house in the last five years (30.1%), there has been a significant increase in recent arrivals from overseas, which rose 16 points since 2011 to 39.0%.

Full-time employment is much higher than in most areas at 64.2%. However, the unemployment rate is also higher than most, at 5.7%, and 21.6% of the workforce is employed in agriculture, forestry, and fishing.

The region faces significant disadvantage, ranking in the bottom 20% of similar areas for access to money and resources. Its overall advantage score is 923, which is lower than the national average.

The area is mostly car-dependent, with a walkability score of 3.5, far below the state figure of 6.2. Only 39.6% of homes are within a 15-minute walk of groceries.