Booral - River Heads

The community is far older than the rest of Australia, with a typical resident aged 49 and over 22% of the population aged 65 or more. First Nations people make up 4.8% of the population, which is about the same as the Queensland figure.

Most residents were born in Australia, and the area has a much lower proportion of overseas-born people (16.2%) compared to the national figure of 27.7%. English and Australian are the most common ancestries.

English is the primary language for 92.4% of the community. Very few people use another language at home (3.8%), which is far below the national average of 22.3%.

Many residents report no religion, at 44.9%, which is well above the national figure. This represents a significant increase of 19 percentage points since 2011.

Schooling levels are far below the national average, with only 40.9% of people completing Year 12. Those with a bachelor degree or higher make up 12.4% of adults, well below the state figure of 21.9%.

Weekly personal incomes are much lower than the national figure, with a typical income of $607. Only 13.1% of households earn $3,000 or more a week, which is well below the 22.6% seen across Australia.

Health challenges are common here, with 38.1% of people living with a long-term health condition. This is far above the national figure, and 9.4% of residents need help with daily activities.

The area has a high proportion of people providing unpaid care (15.3%) and a notable number of former Defence Force members (6.1%), both of which are well above national levels.

First Nations residents are typically younger than the national average, with a median age of 22. Unemployment is higher than most areas at 13.4%.

Families tend to be larger than usual, with 2.6 people per home. People living alone are much less common here (16.0%) than in the rest of the state.

Housing is dominated by separate houses (98.4%), and 44.6% of homes are owned outright, far above the national average. Renting is very uncommon, at just 12.0%.

The area is heavily reliant on cars, as 67.4% of people drive to work and almost every home has a motor vehicle. There are no public transport stops in the area.

Movement into the area is high, with 47.9% of people having moved in the last five years. However, recent arrivals from overseas are very low at 3.3%.

Fewer adults are working or looking for work (53.2%) compared to the national figure of 61.1%. The unemployment rate of 6.9% is a little above the national average.

While the population is growing rapidly, the area ranks low for overall advantage and job skills compared to other similar regions.

The area receives far more annual rainfall (884mm) than the Queensland average of 379mm, and minimum temperatures are slightly higher than the state figure.

The community is almost entirely car-dependent, with a very low walkability score. No homes are within a 15-minute walk of public transport, and very few are within walking distance of groceries or health services.