4,585,537 ▲ +23.7%
Higher than 99% of urban centre areas.
- 2011: 3,707,530
- 2016: 4,196,198
- 2021: 4,585,537
The number of people who usually live in the area, counted on Census night.
Melbourne · Urban Centre
Demographics & Identity in Melbourne
Who lives here — how many people, how old they are, and how communities identify.
Over 878,000 more people have called Melbourne home since 2011, with the population growing by 24% in a decade. The city is younger than most areas, where the typical resident is 37 years old.
4,585,537
▲ +23.7%
- 1–2: 3 areas
- 2–3: 0 areas
- 3–5: 0 areas
- 5–9: 0 areas
- 9–16: 2 areas
- 16–27: 1 area
- 27–47: 2 areas
- 47–81: 2 areas
- 81–139: 14 areas
- 139–241: 145 areas
- 241–418: 340 areas
- 418–723: 351 areas
- 723–1,252: 304 areas
- 1,252–2,168: 191 areas
- 2,168–3,752: 181 areas
- 3,752–6,495: 107 areas
- 6,495–11,242: 69 areas
- 11,242–19,459: 44 areas
- 19,459–33,683: 31 areas
- 33,683–58,304: 17 areas
- 58,304–100,921: 8 areas
- 100,921–174,689: 8 areas
- 174,689–302,378: 4 areas
- 302,378–523,401: 5 areas
- 523,401–905,982: 2 areas
- 905,982–1,568,210: 1 area
- 1,568,210–2,714,494: 2 areas
- 2,714,494–4,698,656: 2 areas
All urban centre areas, 2021. The marker is Melbourne — higher than 99% of areas.
Population
How many people, and the typical age.
Melbourne is one of the largest areas at its level with 4,585,537 people. The typical age of residents is 37, which is a little younger than the state and national figure of 38.
37 yrs ▲ +2.8%
Younger than 79% of urban centre areas.
- 2011: 36 yrs
- 2016: 36 yrs
- 2021: 37 yrs
Half the population is older than this age, and half younger.
Age profile
How the population splits across age groups.
Young adults aged 25 to 44 make up the largest group at 31.3%. Seniors aged 65 and over make up 15.0% of the population, which is much lower than most areas and a little below the national figure of 17.2%.
15.0% ▲ +13.4%
Lower than 75% of urban centre areas.
- 2011: 13.2%
- 2016: 14.0%
- 2021: 15.0%
Share of the population aged 65 years and over.
17.9% ▼ -1.6%
Higher than 53% of urban centre areas.
- 2011: 18.2%
- 2016: 18.1%
- 2021: 17.9%
Share of the population aged under 15 years.
Age structure
View on map →In Melbourne, the largest group is Young adults (25–44) at 31%, followed by Older adults (45–64) (23%) and Children (0–14) (18%).
Identity & relationships
First Nations identity and marital status.
A small number of residents identify as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander at 0.6%, which is a little below the national figure of 3.2%. De facto relationships account for 10.6% of the population, though this rose 2.4 percentage points since 2011.
0.6% ▲ +45.8%
Lower than 94% of urban centre areas.
- 2011: 0.4%
- 2016: 0.5%
- 2021: 0.6%
Share of people who identify as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander.
10.6% ▲ +29.7%
Lower than 77% of urban centre areas.
- 2011: 8.2%
- 2016: 9.4%
- 2021: 10.6%
Share of people aged 15+ who are in a de facto marriage (registered marriages excluded).
Marital status
View on map →In Melbourne, the largest group is Married at 47%, followed by Never married (38%) and Divorced (8%).
Age & sex structure
Sources
- Census of Population and Housing — Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2021 (CC BY 4.0).
More for Melbourne
Cite this page
Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2021). Demographics & Identity in Melbourne [Census of Population and Housing]. CensusAtlas, used under CC BY 4.0. https://censusatlas.au/region/ucl/UCL201001/melbourne/topic/demographics-identity