Urban Centre · Area profile
Numurkah
6 km²
A high proportion of seniors and a reliance on cars shape daily life in Numurkah. This is an older community where the typical resident is 50, and nearly 30% of the population is aged 65 or over. While the population grew by 21% since 2011, the area remains quite traditional, with very few people using another language at home and a strong English-speaking majority. It is a place where most people live in separate houses and many own their homes outright.
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Numurkah is far older than the national figure, with a typical age of 50 and a senior population that is 13 points above the state average. The community has grown to 3,807 people and has seen a small increase in the proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander residents to 2.4%.
The area is overwhelmingly Australian or English in ancestry and has far fewer overseas-born residents (7.0%) than the national average of 27.7%. This trend has become more pronounced, as the proportion of people born overseas fell by 8.2 points since 2011.
English is the primary language for almost everyone, with only 2.7% of people using another language at home, which is far below the national figure. Very few people (0.5%) speak little or no English.
Half of the population identifies as Christian, while those with no religion make up 37.4%. The share of people reporting no religion has risen significantly by 15 points since 2011.
Qualifications are generally lower than in the rest of the state, with only 10.1% of adults holding a bachelor degree or higher. About 33.3% of residents have completed Year 12, which is far below the national figure of 58.8%.
Typical incomes are well below the national average, with a typical household earning $1,038 a week. Only 7.9% of households earn $3,000 or more per week, though this is 5 points higher than in 2011.
Health needs are much higher here than in most areas; 41.4% of people have a long-term health condition and 9.4% need help with daily activities. This is consistent with the town's significantly older population.
Volunteering is more common here than in the rest of the state, with 17.1% of people pitching in. There is also a higher rate of former Defence Force members (4.0%) compared to the national average.
The community has a high number of people living alone (36.6%) and a much higher rate of one-parent families (19.6%) than most areas. Homes are generally smaller than average, with 2.1 people per dwelling.
Separate houses make up 86.7% of dwellings, and 44.2% of homes are owned outright, which is far above the national figure. Rents are also much lower than average, typically costing $210 a week.
The town is very car-dependent, with 70.4% of workers driving to their jobs and only 0.4% using public transport. Very few people (6.6%) work from home, far below the state average.
While about a third of the population moved in the last five years, there has been a sharp increase in recent arrivals from overseas, rising from 2.1% in 2011 to 12.3% in 2021.
Working or looking for work is less common here than in the rest of the state, at 45.7%. The local workforce is concentrated in health care and social assistance, and the unemployment rate is a relatively low 4.1%.
Most homes are within a 15-minute walk of groceries, health services, and schools, making it more walkable than the state average in those areas. However, very few homes (38.1%) are within a 10-minute walk of public transport.