7212, TAS

The area is far older than the national figure, with 25.6% of people aged 65 and over. This senior population has grown significantly, rising 11 percentage points since 2011, while the proportion of children under 15 has fallen to 15.0%.

Most residents were born in Australia, and the area has a much lower proportion of overseas-born people (10.7%) compared to the national figure of 27.7%. English and Australian are the most common ancestries, both appearing in about 45% of the population.

English is the primary language for 92.5% of the community, and the proportion of people using another language at home is far below the national average at just 2.0%. No one in the area reports speaking little or no English.

A large portion of the community (44.7%) reports having no religion, a figure that rose 19 percentage points since 2011. This is well above the national figure of 38.9%, though it remains below the state average for Tasmania.

Education levels are lower than the national average, with 40.7% of residents completing Year 12. Around 17.5% of adults hold a bachelor degree or higher, which is well below the 26.3% seen across Australia.

Typical weekly household income is $1,320, which is well below the national figure of $1,746. While incomes have risen since 2011, only 12.1% of households earn $3,000 or more per week.

Long-term health conditions are more common here than in most areas, affecting 34.2% of residents. Arthritis is the most reported condition, affecting 12.3% of the population.

Residents are more likely to be volunteers (20.6%) and provide unpaid care (14.5%) than people in most other areas. A high proportion of people also spend 15 or more hours a week on unpaid housework.

Homes tend to be smaller than average, with 2.3 people per household. About 26.2% of people live alone, and couples without children make up 38.3% of families.

Housing is dominated by separate houses (94.9%), and 47.7% of these are owned outright, which is far above the national figure. Renting is much less common here than in the rest of the state, at 16.4%.

The area is heavily reliant on cars, with 67.8% of workers driving to work and 0% using public transport. Only 1.9% of homes have no motor vehicle, and the drive time to the city is among the highest in the region.

The community is very stable, with only 27.4% of people moving in the last five years, which is far below the national figure. There were no recent arrivals from overseas in 2021.

About 56.7% of adults are working or looking for work, with a similar unemployment rate to the national figure at 4.4%. The most common industries for workers are health care, agriculture, and construction.

The area sits around the middle for overall advantage compared to similar regions, with a score of 971, slightly below the national average of 1,000.

Most residents are car-dependent, with a walkability score of 3.2. While many homes are within a 15-minute walk of groceries or health services, very few are within a short walk of a park or public transport.