1,946 ▼ -21.9%
Higher than 78% of suburb / locality areas.
- 2011: 2,492
- 2016: 2,284
- 2021: 1,946
The number of people who usually live in the area, counted on Census night.
Lightning Ridge · Suburb / Locality
Demographics & Identity in Lightning Ridge
Who lives here — how many people, how old they are, and how communities identify.
A typical resident in Lightning Ridge is 53, making the area far older than both the state and national figures. With 1,946 people, it is larger than about 80% of similar areas and is shaped by a population that leans heavily toward older adults and seniors.
1,946
▼ -21.9%
- 1–1: 689 areas
- 1–2: 0 areas
- 2–3: 119 areas
- 3–5: 108 areas
- 5–7: 243 areas
- 7–11: 241 areas
- 11–16: 514 areas
- 16–24: 579 areas
- 24–36: 898 areas
- 36–53: 1059 areas
- 53–79: 1168 areas
- 79–117: 1203 areas
- 117–174: 1171 areas
- 174–258: 1010 areas
- 258–384: 856 areas
- 384–571: 670 areas
- 571–850: 616 areas
- 850–1,263: 567 areas
- 1,263–1,879: 520 areas
- 1,879–2,794: 590 areas
- 2,794–4,154: 679 areas
- 4,154–6,177: 585 areas
- 6,177–9,186: 528 areas
- 9,186–13,659: 405 areas
- 13,659–20,311: 195 areas
- 20,311–30,202: 96 areas
- 30,202–44,910: 33 areas
- 44,910–66,781: 10 areas
All suburb / locality areas, 2021. The marker is Lightning Ridge — higher than 78% of areas.
| Lightning Ridge | 1,946 |
|---|---|
| 2834, NSW | 1,984 |
| New South Wales | 8,072,163 |
| Australia | 25,422,788 |
Population
How many people, and the typical age.
The typical resident is 53, which is far older than the national figure of 38. This makes Lightning Ridge much older than most similar areas.
53 yrs ▲ +10.4%
Older than 80% of suburb / locality areas.
- 2011: 48 yrs
- 2016: 51 yrs
- 2021: 53 yrs
Half the population is older than this age, and half younger.
Age profile
How the population splits across age groups.
Seniors aged 65 and over make up 29.2% of the population, which is far above the national figure of 17.2%. This helps explain why there are far fewer children under 15 here than in most other areas.
29.2% ▲ +27.3%
Higher than 85% of suburb / locality areas.
- 2011: 22.9%
- 2016: 27.9%
- 2021: 29.2%
Share of the population aged 65 years and over.
14.7% ▼ -20.3%
Lower than 65% of suburb / locality areas.
- 2011: 18.5%
- 2016: 14.8%
- 2021: 14.7%
Share of the population aged under 15 years.
Age structure
View on map →Lightning Ridge splits fairly evenly between Older adults (45–64) (30%) and Seniors (65+) (29%), with Young adults (25–44) at 19%.
Identity & relationships
First Nations identity and marital status.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people make up 20.3% of the population, which is far above the 3.2% national average. De facto relationships are also much more common here than in most areas.
20.3% ▲ +3.3%
Higher than 92% of suburb / locality areas.
- 2011: 19.7%
- 2016: 22.6%
- 2021: 20.3%
Share of people who identify as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander.
17.0% ▲ +45.4%
Higher than 79% of suburb / locality areas.
- 2011: 11.7%
- 2016: 13.6%
- 2021: 17.0%
Share of people aged 15+ who are in a de facto marriage (registered marriages excluded).
Marital status
View on map →In Lightning Ridge, the largest group is Never married at 40%, followed by Married (27%) and Divorced (16%).
Age & sex structure
Sources
- Census of Population and Housing — Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2021 (CC BY 4.0).
More for Lightning Ridge
Cite this page
Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2021). Demographics & Identity in Lightning Ridge [Census of Population and Housing]. CensusAtlas, used under CC BY 4.0. https://censusatlas.au/region/sal/SAL12329/lightning-ridge/topic/demographics-identity