574,269 ▲ +10.3%
Higher than 80% of section of state areas.
- 2011: 520,596
- 2016: 552,316
- 2021: 574,269
The number of people who usually live in the area, counted on Census night.
Rural Balance · Section of State
Demographics & Identity in Rural Balance
Who lives here — how many people, how old they are, and how communities identify.
A typical resident in Rural Balance is 46, making the area far older than the national figure of 38. The population has grown by 10% since 2011 to reach 574,269 people. While it remains a large area, there is a clear shift toward an older age profile.
574,269
▲ +10.3%
- 1–2: 3 areas
- 2–3: 0 areas
- 3–5: 0 areas
- 5–9: 0 areas
- 9–16: 2 areas
- 16–28: 1 area
- 28–49: 1 area
- 49–85: 0 areas
- 85–149: 1 area
- 149–260: 1 area
- 260–453: 0 areas
- 453–789: 4 areas
- 789–1,376: 2 areas
- 1,376–2,399: 1 area
- 2,399–4,182: 3 areas
- 4,182–7,292: 0 areas
- 7,292–12,713: 3 areas
- 12,713–22,166: 1 area
- 22,166–38,647: 3 areas
- 38,647–67,381: 3 areas
- 67,381–117,481: 2 areas
- 117,481–204,831: 6 areas
- 204,831–357,126: 2 areas
- 357,126–622,657: 5 areas
- 622,657–1,085,615: 2 areas
- 1,085,615–1,892,791: 2 areas
- 1,892,791–3,300,120: 1 area
- 3,300,120–5,753,827: 3 areas
All section of state areas, 2021. The marker is Rural Balance — higher than 80% of areas.
| Rural Balance | 574,269 |
|---|---|
| Australia | 25,422,788 |
Population
How many people, and the typical age.
Rural Balance is larger than about 85% of similar areas, with its population increasing by 53,673 people since 2011. The typical resident has aged by 3 years over the last decade.
46 yrs ▲ +7.0%
Older than 79% of section of state areas.
- 2011: 43 yrs
- 2016: 45 yrs
- 2021: 46 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 20.8% of the population, which is well above the national figure and higher than most similar areas. This increase of 6.1 percentage points since 2011 helps explain why the overall age profile is much older.
20.8% ▲ +41.5%
Higher than 73% of section of state areas.
- 2011: 14.7%
- 2016: 18.2%
- 2021: 20.8%
Share of the population aged 65 years and over.
17.6% ▼ -11.8%
Higher than 60% of section of state areas.
- 2011: 20.0%
- 2016: 18.6%
- 2021: 17.6%
Share of the population aged under 15 years.
Age structure
View on map →In Rural Balance, the largest group is Older adults (45–64) at 31%, followed by Seniors (65+) (21%) and Young adults (25–44) (20%).
Identity & relationships
First Nations identity and marital status.
About 4.7% of people identify as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander, which is a little above the national figure of 3.2%. Most residents are married (53.7%), while the proportion of people in de facto relationships is much lower than in most other areas.
4.7% ▲ +53.4%
Lower than 56% of section of state areas.
- 2011: 3.0%
- 2016: 3.7%
- 2021: 4.7%
Share of people who identify as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander.
11.4% ▲ +26.3%
Lower than 85% of section of state areas.
- 2011: 9.0%
- 2016: 10.3%
- 2021: 11.4%
Share of people aged 15+ who are in a de facto marriage (registered marriages excluded).
Marital status
View on map →In Rural Balance, Married is the majority at 54%; Never married is next at 30%.
Age & sex structure
Sources
- Census of Population and Housing — Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2021 (CC BY 4.0).
More for Rural Balance
Cite this page
Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2021). Demographics & Identity in Rural Balance [Census of Population and Housing]. CensusAtlas, used under CC BY 4.0. https://censusatlas.au/region/sos/SOS13/rural-balance/topic/demographics-identity