State Electorate · Area profile
Oxley
9,263 km²
An aging population and lower-than-average incomes set Oxley apart from the rest of the state. This community is much older than most, with the typical resident aged 49 and a high proportion of seniors. It has a strong Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander presence, which has grown to 9.3% since 2011. The area is largely rural in character, with a high rate of outright home ownership and a population that relies heavily on cars for daily travel.
Oxley is well supplied with schools for its relatively small share of children.
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The community is far older than the national figure, with 27% of residents aged 65 and over. This senior population has grown by 11 percentage points since 2011, while the proportion of children under 15 has fallen.
Most residents were born in Australia, and the area has one of the lowest proportions of overseas-born people at 9.2%, which is far below the New South Wales figure of 29.3%.
English is the dominant language, with only 3% of people using another language at home. This is far below the national figure of 22.3%.
A large number of residents report no religion, accounting for 41.4% of the population. This figure has risen by 27 percentage points since 2011.
Educational attainment is much lower than in most areas, with only 36.4% of residents completing Year 12, far below the national average of 58.8%.
Typical incomes are well below the state and national figures; the typical weekly household income is $1,103, and only 8.8% of households earn $3,000 or more per week.
Health challenges are more common here than in most areas, with 35.7% of people living with a long-term health condition and 11.2% reporting a mental health condition.
Unpaid work is common, as 14.6% of people provide unpaid care and 16.5% volunteer, both of which are higher than the state and national figures.
The area has a higher than usual number of one-parent families (19.6%) and people living alone (29.4%), while typical households are smaller than most elsewhere.
Separate houses are very common at 89.4%, and home ownership is high, with 45.9% of homes owned outright, far above the national figure of 31%.
Car use is essential, as only 0.3% of people commute by public transport. While there are many bus stops, weekly departures per 1,000 people are far below the state average.
The population is relatively stable, with fewer people moving in the last five years compared to the rest of the country, and a low rate of recent overseas arrivals.
Fewer adults are working or looking for work (47.3%) compared to the national average, and the unemployment rate is a little above the state figure at 6.4%.
The area is mostly car-dependent, with a walkability score far below the state average and fewer than half of homes within a 15-minute walk of groceries or schools.