Urban Centre · Area profile
Kootingal
2 km²
A significant Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander presence sets Kootingal apart from most similar areas. This growing community in regional New South Wales has seen its population rise 16% since 2011. It is a place of contrasts, where a high number of young children and a large senior population live together in spacious, detached homes. While typical incomes are well below the national figure, the area is highly walkable with easy access to parks and schools.
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The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population is 12.4%, which is well above the national figure of 3.2%. The community is quite diverse in age, with 20.2% of residents being children under 15 and 23.1% aged 65 and over.
Most residents were born in Australia, and only 4.5% were born overseas, which is far below the New South Wales average of 29.3%. Australian and English are the most common ancestries.
English is the primary language here, with only 2.0% of people using another language at home. This is far below the national figure of 22.3%.
Christianity is the most common religion at 58.1%. Those reporting no religion make up 34.4% of the population, a figure that has risen 23 points since 2011.
Education levels are lower than in most areas, with only 9.7% of adults holding a bachelor degree or higher. However, the number of people completing Year 12 rose 9.6 points since 2011.
Typical weekly household income is $1,223, which is well below the national figure of $1,746. Those earning $2,000 or more a week make up 4.7% of the population.
Health challenges are more common here than in most areas, with 41.5% of people having a long-term health condition. About 14.9% of residents live with a mental health condition, which is well above the national average.
The area has a higher rate of people caring for children unpaid (26.8%) than most areas. However, the number of volunteers fell 6.7 points since 2011 to 11.0%.
One-parent families are much more common here than in most areas, making up 20.3% of households. About 28.7% of people live alone.
Large homes are the norm, with 84.5% having three or more bedrooms and 91.7% being separate houses. While 32.0% of households rent, the typical weekly rent of $310 is well below the state average.
Cars are essential for most, as only 0.4% of people commute by public transport. Only 8.0% of the workforce works from home, which is far below the national figure.
The community is quite mobile, with 42.3% of people moving in the last five years. Recent arrivals from overseas make up 3.6% of the population.
About 56.9% of adults are working or looking for work. The most common industries for local workers are health care and social assistance, followed by retail trade.
Kootingal is quite walkable, with 98.9% of homes within a 15-minute walk of a park and 83.7% within 15 minutes of a school.