Geraldton

Geraldton is an older community where the typical resident is 46, and seniors make up 24.8% of the population, which is well above the national figure. First Nations people make up 10% of the area, among the highest for its level, while children under 15 are much less common than in most other areas.

Most residents were born in Australia, and English and Australian are the most common ancestries. The proportion of people born overseas is 15.9%, which is far below the Western Australian and national figures.

English is the dominant language, with 80.5% of people using only English at home. Only 8.6% of residents use another language, a figure far below the national average, and very few people speak little or no English.

Christianity remains the most common faith at 45%, though the number of people reporting no religion rose 11 points since 2016 to 39.7%.

Education levels are much lower than in most areas, with only 12.3% of adults holding a bachelor degree and just 38.9% completing Year 12. This is far below the national figure of 58.8% for Year 12 completion.

Typical weekly household income is $1,143, which is well below the national figure of $1,746. Only 11.5% of households earn $3,000 or more per week, far lower than in most other areas.

Health needs are high here, as 34.3% of people have a long-term health condition, well above the national average. Mental health conditions and arthritis are the most common, and 8.3% of people need help with daily activities.

About 15.6% of residents volunteer, which is about the same as the state average. Fewer people provide unpaid childcare compared to most areas, with 20.8% doing so.

The First Nations community is large, but faces significant disadvantage with an unemployment rate of 21.6% and a typical household income of $884, which is far below the national figure.

Homes are smaller here, with just 2.1 people per household. This is partly because 39.9% of people live alone—far above the national figure—and one-parent families are much more common than in most areas.

Renting is very common at 38.6%, which is well above the national figure, though typical weekly rents of $230 are far below the national average. Most people live in separate houses, but homes typically have fewer bedrooms than in other areas.

While 94.4% of homes are within a 10-minute walk of public transport, very few people actually use it to commute, at just 1.1%. A higher than usual 9.4% of homes have no motor vehicle.

Around 37.9% of residents have moved in the last five years, which is about the same as the state average. The proportion of recent overseas arrivals fell 7.4 points since 2016.

Working or looking for work is less common here than in most areas, and the unemployment rate of 6.6% is a little above the national figure. The most common industries for workers are health care and retail.

The area is ranked as having very low access to money and resources, and its overall advantage score is smaller than about 88% of all areas. Population growth has also been much lower than the state average.

Geraldton is warmer than most areas, with an average maximum temperature of 27.3 degrees. Its annual rainfall is 354mm, which is far above the state average but among the lowest for its level.

The area is somewhat walkable, with 95.8% of homes within a 15-minute walk of a park and 71.3% near health services. However, only 54.8% of homes are within a 15-minute walk of groceries.