State Electorate · Area profile
Port Stephens
1,165 km²
Spreading across 1,165 square kilometres in New South Wales, Port Stephens is a large, maturing coastal community. It is far older than the national average, with over a quarter of its 76,424 residents aged 65 or more. This older profile is reflected in the housing, where many people own their homes outright and dwellings are typically large. The area has grown by 15% since 2011, remaining a predominantly Australian-born community with a strong connection to the land.
Explore Port Stephens by topic
The area has a much higher proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people than most regions, at 6.5%. It is a notably older community, with a typical resident aged 48 and 27.3% of people aged 65 or over, which is far above the national figure.
Most residents were born in Australia, and the area has far fewer overseas-born residents than the state or national averages. English, Australian, Irish and Scottish are the most common ancestries listed.
English is the primary language for 90.8% of the community. The proportion of people using another language at home is among the lowest in the region, at just 4.0%, and very few people speak little or no English.
Over half of the population identifies as Christian, while 38.5% report no religion. The number of people with no religion has risen significantly by 20 percentage points since 2011.
Educational attainment is much lower than most areas, with only 13.5% of adults holding a bachelor degree or higher. While 39.7% of residents completed Year 12, this is far below the state and national figures.
Typical incomes are much lower than the national average, with a typical household earning $1,338 a week. However, there has been a notable trend upward, with typical household income rising by $511 since 2011.
Long-term health conditions are very common here, affecting 37.4% of people, which is far above the state average. This includes a higher than usual rate of mental health conditions at 11.5%.
The area has a high proportion of former Defence Force members at 6.6%. Unpaid care is common, with 13.7% of people providing unpaid care and 24.4% doing significant amounts of housework.
Households are slightly smaller than the national average, with 2.4 people per home. About 15.7% are one-parent families, which is a little higher than the national figure.
Large, separate houses are the norm, with 80.8% of homes being detached and 80.2% having three or more bedrooms. A high 41.6% of homes are owned outright, far above the national average.
Cars are essential here, as only 0.4% of people commute by public transport and very few homes have no motor vehicle. Despite this, 17.8% of the workforce now works from home, a rise of 13 percentage points since 2011.
The community is relatively stable, with 39.7% of people moving in the last five years. There are far fewer recent arrivals from overseas compared to the state and national averages.
Fewer adults are working or looking for work here than in most areas, at 50.9%. The most common industries for local workers are health care and social assistance, followed by construction and retail.
The area is only somewhat walkable, as many homes are far from essential services. Less than half of the population can walk to groceries within 15 minutes, and only 24.8% can walk to health services.