Section of State Range · Area profile
500 or more
21 km²
Rapid growth has transformed 500 or more, with the population jumping 129% since 2016 to reach 1,739 people. This is a predominantly older community where the typical resident is 50, far older than the national figure. It is a place of contrast, combining high levels of language diversity and overseas birth with lower-than-average typical incomes. Most people live in detached houses and rely on cars to get around.
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The area is far older than the national average, with a typical age of 50 and a high proportion of seniors aged 65 and over at 24.0%. This trend is consistent with the fact that children under 15 make up only 15.6% of the population, which is much lower than most similar areas.
People born overseas make up 27.0% of the community, a figure that is about the same as the national average, though it has fallen by 7.5 percentage points since 2016.
Language diversity is very high here, with 36.6% of people using a language other than English at home, which is far above the national figure of 22.3%.
About half the community identifies as Christian, while 34.5% of people report no religion, a figure that is well below the national average of 38.9%.
Education levels are generally lower than the national average, with only 15.4% of adults holding a bachelor degree or higher, though this has risen by 4.0 percentage points since 2016.
Incomes are typically low, with the usual household earning $1,185 a week, which is well below the national figure of $1,746. Only 7.6% of households earn $3,000 or more weekly, among the lowest for similar areas.
Residents are slightly more likely to be healthy than the national average, with a lower rate of long-term health conditions (25.2%) and a much lower rate of mental health conditions (5.6%).
The area has a very high rate of volunteering at 27.7%, which is far above the national figure of 14.1%. Additionally, 25.1% of people do 15 or more hours of unpaid housework weekly, which is much higher than most similar areas.
Small households are common, with a typical size of 2.0 people and a high proportion of people living alone at 38.5%, far above the national average of 25.6%.
Almost all homes are separate houses (96.0%), and 39.9% are owned outright, which is well above the national figure. Typical weekly rents are $230, which is far below the national average of $375.
The community is almost entirely dependent on cars, with 0.0% of people commuting by public transport and very few homes (3.4%) without a motor vehicle.
Movement into the area has increased, with 38.3% of people moving in the last five years, though the number of recent overseas arrivals has fallen significantly since 2016.
Working or looking for work is more common here than in most similar areas at 65.0%, although full-time employment is well below the national average at 52.7%.
The area is mostly car-dependent with a walkability score of 3.0, as no homes are within a 10-minute walk of public transport.