Remoteness Area · Area profile
Major Cities of Australia
5,055 km²
More than a third of the 5 million people living in the Major Cities of Australia were born overseas. This is a young and highly educated population, where the typical resident is 37 and many hold university degrees. The community is increasingly diverse and prosperous, with typical weekly household incomes rising significantly since 2011. This growth is reflected in a workforce that is heavily concentrated in professional and managerial roles.
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The population is a little younger than the national figure, with typical residents aged 37. While the number of seniors has risen to 15.1%, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people make up a small 0.7% of the community.
Birthplaces are highly diverse, with 35.5% of people born overseas, a figure well above the national average. English and Australian are the most common ancestries, followed by Irish and Chinese.
Language diversity is very high, as 33.9% of people use a language other than English at home. This is far above the national figure, and about 5.4% of residents speak little or no English.
Christianity remains the most common religion at 40.3%. Those reporting no religion now make up 37.3% of the population, a significant increase of 14 points since 2011.
Education levels are very high, with 32.7% of adults holding a bachelor degree or higher. This is well above the national figure, and the proportion of people who finished Year 12 has also risen since 2011.
Typical weekly household incomes are much higher than in most similar areas, reaching $1,888. There has been a strong trend toward higher earnings, with the share of households earning $3,000 or more a week rising by 14 points since 2011.
About 25.7% of people have a long-term health condition, which is a little below the national figure. Those needing help with daily activities make up 5.6% of the population.
Unpaid care is common, with 12.6% of people providing support to others. However, volunteering has fallen by 3.7 points since 2011 and is now lower than the national average.
First Nations residents are more likely to have finished Year 12 than those nationwide, at 49.1%. They also have a much lower unemployment rate (8.9%) and higher typical personal incomes compared to most other areas.
Homes are slightly more crowded than usual, with 2.6 people per home. Most households are couples with children (61.8%), though 25% of people now live alone.
Rent is high, with a typical weekly cost of $388. Separate houses are much less common here than in other areas, and typical monthly mortgage payments have risen to $2,000.
Working from home has seen a massive jump to 28.5%, which is well above the national figure. This shift is consistent with a higher number of homes having no motor vehicle (8.6%).
The population is quite mobile, with 41.1% of people moving house in the last five years. Recent overseas arrivals account for 15.9% of the community.
The area has a high rate of people working or looking for work (64.1%). Professional and managerial roles are common, and health care is the largest industry of employment.
This is a very walkable area, with 98.2% of homes within a 15-minute walk of a park. Almost all residents (92%) live within 10 minutes of public transport.