Urban Centre · Area profile
Brewarrina
5 km²
A typical household in Brewarrina earns $1,079 a week, which is far below the national figure. The community is notably young, with a typical resident aged just 33 and over a fifth of the population being children. It is a place with a strong Indigenous presence, as 54.2% of residents are Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander. This cultural identity and the high number of young families help explain why the area has seen such a significant shift in its demographic makeup since 2011.
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Brewarrina is much younger than most areas, and the number of children under 15 has risen to 23.0%. The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population is far above the national figure at 54.2%, a significant increase from 2.4% in 2011.
Most residents were born in Australia, and the proportion of people born overseas has fallen to 5.5%, which is far below the national figure.
English is the main language for 78.2% of the community, while 5.0% of people use another language at home, a figure that is far below the state average.
Christianity is the most common religion at 41.5%, though the proportion of people with no religion has risen to 37.4%.
Education levels are much lower than the state average, with only 28.0% of residents completing Year 12 and 11.2% holding a bachelor degree or higher.
Incomes are far below the national average, with the typical family earning $1,312 a week. Only 12.7% of households earn $3,000 or more weekly.
Residents report fewer long-term health conditions than most areas, with only 25.0% affected and a very low rate of mental health conditions at 4.6%.
Community participation has fallen since 2011, with only 9.6% of people volunteering, which is well below the national figure.
The area has a very high rate of one-parent families at 40.5% and a large number of people living alone, reaching 42.1%.
Renters make up a huge 56.3% of the community, far above the national average, while typical weekly rents are very low at $152.
Most people get to work by car or by walking, though 21.8% of homes have no motor vehicle, a figure far above the state average.
The area has seen a large influx of recent overseas arrivals, who now make up 39.0% of the population.
While full-time employment is well above the national average at 66.7%, the total number of adults working or looking for work has fallen significantly since 2011.
The town is very walkable, with 92.1% of homes within a 15-minute walk of groceries and 89.5% near health services, far exceeding state figures.