Section of State · Area profile
Other Urban
2,479 km²
A significant gap in education and income levels sets Other Urban apart from the national average. This large community of over 937,000 people is characterized by a high proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander residents, who make up 7.9% of the population. It is a place of contrasts, where a high number of children and a growing senior population live alongside a workforce with fewer university degrees than typical. Most residents live in detached houses and rely heavily on cars for travel.
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The community is diverse in age, with children under 15 (19.3%) and seniors over 65 (20.2%) both appearing in higher numbers than in most similar areas. The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population has risen to 7.9% since 2011, which is well above the national figure of 3.2%.
Most residents were born in Australia, and the area has far fewer overseas-born people (13.9%) than the national average of 27.7%. English and Australian are the most common ancestries, followed by Irish and Scottish.
English is the dominant language, with 86% of people using it at home. The proportion of people who speak another language is 6.5%, which is far below the Australian figure of 22.3%.
About 40.2% of residents report having no religion, a figure that has risen by 20 percentage points since 2011. Christianity remains the most common affiliation at 48.3%.
Education levels are much lower than the national average, with only 12.8% of adults holding a bachelor degree or higher. However, more people have completed Year 12 than in most similar areas, and this figure rose to 44.6% since 2011.
Typical weekly household income is $1,386, which is well below the national figure of $1,746. Personal incomes are also lower than usual, with 42.7% of people earning under $650 a week.
Health challenges are more common here, as 32% of people have a long-term health condition, which is well above the national figure. This is reflected in the 7.5% of people who need help with daily activities, among the highest for its level.
The area has a higher than average number of people who have served in the Defence Force (4.0%). While volunteering has fallen since 2011, about 14.2% of people still give their time to help others.
One-parent families are much more common here than in most similar areas, making up 17.6% of households. About 27.2% of people live alone, and the typical home holds 2.5 people.
Large homes are common, with 78.6% of dwellings having three or more bedrooms and 84.7% being separate houses. Typical weekly rent is $295, which is well below the national figure of $375.
Car travel is essential, as 67.5% of people drive to work and only 1.2% use public transport. Very few people work from home (6.3%) compared to the national average of 21%.
The population is quite mobile, with 43.1% of people moving house in the last five years. This is a little above the national figure, although the number of recent arrivals from overseas has fallen since 2011.
More people are employed full-time (60.3%) than in most similar areas, though the unemployment rate of 5.7% is higher than the national average. Many residents work in health care and social assistance.
The area is considered somewhat walkable, with 86.9% of homes within a 15-minute walk of a park. However, only about half of all homes have a full range of amenities within a 15-minute walk.