Section of State · Area profile
Rural Balance
1,722,602 km²
Daily life in Rural Balance is centered around large, detached homes and a strong reliance on cars. The community is far older than the national average, with a typical resident aged 46 and a growing number of seniors. It is a largely Australian-born population with very few people using languages other than English at home. This is a stable, residential area where many people own their homes outright and a significant proportion of the workforce is employed in agriculture.
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The typical resident is 46, making the area far older than the national figure of 38. Seniors aged 65 and over make up 19.7% of the population, a figure that has risen 6.5 points since 2011.
The community is overwhelmingly Australian-born, with 79.1% born here. Only 11.5% of people were born overseas, which is far below the national figure of 27.7%.
English is the dominant language, with 86.6% of people using it only. Only 3.9% of residents use another language at home, and just 0.4% speak little or no English, both of which are much lower than most areas.
Half of the population identifies as Christian, while 36.7% report no religion. This last group has grown significantly, rising 16 points since 2011.
Education levels are lower than the national average, with only 13.6% of adults holding a bachelor degree or higher. However, the number of people who completed Year 12 rose 7.1 points since 2011 to 44.0%.
Typical weekly household income is $1,557, which is a little below the national figure of $1,746. Higher earners are becoming more common, as the share of households earning $3,000 or more a week rose 11 points since 2011.
Long-term health conditions are reported by 28.2% of people, which is about the same as the national figure. Arthritis is the most common condition, affecting 10.1% of residents.
Volunteer rates are higher than most areas at 17.8%, though this fell 5 points since 2011. There is also a strong presence of former Defence Force members, at 4.0%, which is much higher than most areas.
Families are generally larger here, with 2.7 people per home. This is consistent with the fact that one-parent families (10.2%) and people living alone (19.8%) are much less common than in most other areas.
Housing is dominated by separate houses, which make up 96.2% of dwellings. Home ownership is very strong, with 43.4% of homes owned outright—far above the national figure of 31.0%.
Car dependence is very high, with only 1.5% of homes having no motor vehicle. Public transport use for commuting is very low at 0.9%, while 17.3% of people work from home.
The population is relatively stable, as 30.9% of people moved in the last five years, which is well below the national average of 40.7%. Recent arrivals from overseas are also rare at 6.7%.
Agriculture, forestry, and fishing are major employers for 17.1% of the workforce. Full-time employment is a little above the national figure, and the unemployment rate is lower than most areas at 4.0%.
The area is heavily car-dependent, with a walkability score of 0.5. Only 2.9% of homes have a 15-minute-city walkshed and only 1.6% are within a short walk of health services.